The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1884-01-09
THE ICE HARVEST.
Dealers Predicting an Advance in Prices
Regardless of the Cold Weather.

The ice harvest in this city employs over five
hundred men. On last Wednesday G. F.
Schmidt & Co., brewers, began cutting ice, and
the following Friday they began hauling and
storing the geld product in their ice-houses
which are eight in number, at their brewery.
Two of these houses are of brick and six are of
frame, and they hope within two weeks from the
beginning, last Wednesday, to cut and store 10,
600 tons of ice. Eighty men are employed by
this house in cutting and storing, and one hun
bred and fifty wagons each with teamster, are
required to haul the ice from the canal, where it
is cut, to the brewery.
Peter Lieber & Co.. brewers, are now receiv-
ing one hundred and eighty carloads of ice, their
winter and spring supply, ON contract, from the
Indianapolis Ice Company. They will require
an additional amount of one hundred and twenty
carloads for summer use.
The indianapolis Ice Company are not cutting
ice here this winter. Some time ago they erected
ice-hOuses on Lake MaXinkuckee, and their pres
emit and future supplies will be obtained from
that point, switch having been put in at the
lake to connect with the railroad, which is about
three miles distant. They cut their first ice at
Maxinkuckee day before yesterday. The ice is
crystal In answer to the question whether
there would be greater supply than last year,
and at as low or lower prices. the answer was
that it is too early to tell and that it will take
fully two weeks to determine whether full crop
viii be gathered this winter. 1t may be that the
weather will turn warm suddenly as it got
cold and, if that should happen it would be ex-
tremely unlikely that second harvest would
present itself.
The John Hit Lake Ice Company are whole
SalerS oh baip &c d1ad toll
In this city They have number of large stor-
age houses on four lakes at LaPorte. How will
the price of ice next summer compare with last
summers price~ inquired the reporter
The price next summer will be higher proba-
bly,, but not much" was the answer.
why not lower!N
''It couldn't be lower unless the retailers gave
it away. Last winter we filled our ice-houses, as
nearly every other ice-packer did. The whole
sale price, delivered in Indianapolis was So 80
ton 1t was 81 a ton at the lake. Pond ice here
last season sold at twelve and onehalf cents a
hundred to butchers saloon-keepers and other
large consumers, and to families at thirty-fve
cents hundred pounds, where only fifteen or
twenty pounds day were taken. To put up as
much ice in indianapolis this winter as last will
require several weeks You see the season be-
gins late this year. Last year cut for two
weeks in December and took our time from
that on. The way we handle the
ice business can put it up
more rapidly than it is done here. We have ice
lelU over Ifoln last year. ana could supply our
trade if we had no crop this winter at all. The
Ice we are putting up now is thirteen to fourteen
inches in the clear, and entirely free from snow,
as all our ice is scraped."
The wholesale ice dealers and packers in this
city are Hit q Co, Indianapolis Ice Company
the George Suffer estate and NJ. Carver & Co
The pond and canal ice put up here is about
fourteen inches thick Most of it is not more
than half clear, that is, seven inches clear, solid
crystal ice and the other Opaque, soft and snowy
None of the dealers are willing to entertain the
idea that ice will be cheaper next spring and
summer. Most of them think the cutting sea-
son will be short, and that next spring will show
an advance rather than decrease in price.