The Abbeville messenger. (Abbeville, S.C.) 1884-1887, 1886-03-23
FILLING THE ICE.HOUSE.
The Manner in which it In Done by n Pari
ticuinr Fnrmer.

The first icc-house that VIC built was
not Il success. The ice was good as long
as 1t lasted, but it did not last long
enough. a man who had been in the
ice business for many years told me that
the point of greatest Importance was TO
provide good drainage. We built the
icc-housc on Il side hill, with a strong
plank floor, well supported.
The inside of the icc-house was lined
with boards, leaving n space about six
inches from the outside, which was
hlled with sawdust. Care was taken
also to guard against the admission of
heat at the door. But the ice melted
rapidly. There was q constant dripping
OF water from beneath, and by the first
OF August the ice was all gone. We had
made perfect provision for drainage, but
with the exception of covering the bot
tom with sawdust, there was nothing to
prevent the air from getting to the ice
underneath. OF course, | ought to have
known better, and | mention the fact to
show how easy it is to make a mistake.
Drainage Is essential, but it is equally
essential to exclude the warm air from
getting to the ice from below. NV prcsI
cnt ice-housc is built on Il side hill,i
where there is plenty Of fall for a drain.
But no drain is needed. The soil is
porous enough to absorb all the watcr.t
We dug Il cellar six feet deep. and sur
oundcd it with a stone wall. and set
a frame building on top, with IL large
ventilator. There is no floor, and the
inside is singlc-boardcd.
In filling the icc-house, we lay a few
rails Mt the bottom, and covcrthcm with
cut straw or sawdust. The ice is packed
close up to the stone wall, with no space
between and no sawdust.
The frame is about six inches wider
than the inside Of the stOn. wall. and
when we get up above the wall there is
Il space of six inches between the ice and
the boards. This space we fill in with
Sawdust or cut straw. or if ice is album
dant, VIC place the ice close up to the
boards.
When you nave filled the ice-house,.
put in another load. We use about 200
pounds Il week for forty weeks, or 5000
pounds, and at the end of the year have.
say, 1000 pounds of old ice lest. TG
furnish this amount, we put in twenty-l
five tons of ice. In other words, to get
iivetons Of ice for use, we put in twenty
five tons. According to. this, in u small,
icc-housc, with no ps:ns taken to pre-
serve the ice, four pounds are melted to-
keep one. The ice mclts from the top,
and an extra ton on top means an extra
ton for use.
said no pains are taken Mt any time
to preserve the ice. The point of the
remark is this: If you have an album
ancc of ice, with no fear of running
short, you are not constantly worrying
about its being left uncovered. We
take care, before the warm weather sets
in, to have plenty Of sawdust or cut
straw on top of the ice, and as it meltd
on the sides of the building, fill tho
space with the sawdust or cut straw,
This, of course, is essential. But there
will he many times during the busy
summer months On n farm when Tom,
Dick, or Harry will be called uron to
get ice, and will be pretty certain to
leave the door open or the ice uncovered.
Put in the extra load, and you need
have no fears Of running short of ice.
We let the Deacon and any other neigh
Dor who will help to draw the ice in win
ter have all they want in summer. Keep
out rain, keep the air from getting to it
underneath, keep the top and sides Gov
cred, and if the ice is fifteen feet high,
it will keep. The sun may shine and
the winds blow on the covering, and do
good rather than harm. But do not for
get to put in another load on top. Fill
the icc-house to the roof. The ice
should melt into con shape, so that the
water or melted ice will run off on the
outside. When filled to the rocf, the
cold water from the melting ice in the
centre will run in among the small
pieces of ice with which the cakes are
''chinked," and as IT dcscends will
freeze the whole into one solid mass
and after that all the wctting will be
from the outside.-JseM Harris, in
american Agriculturist.