Los Angeles daily herald., 1888-01-18
COLD COMFORT.
The Mountain Tops Where
the Ice Grows.
THE CROP OF THE SEASON.
Beautiful Lakes in the Sierras
Where the Summers Ice is
Cut For the Coast.

Such mornings as this disqui
sition on ice may not seem the mos
attractive in the world. But HERALl
readers, as they sip their coffee il
cosy rooms made warm by coal at so
per ton, may condescend to let thei
minds travel forward to the summe
time, when they will gladly exchang
such dear fuel for cheap ice. Th
summer is coming, and then a ,uml
of clear, crystal ice will be no un
welcome thing to keep the butte
solid and the cream sweet. AT mid
day next July and August dish Q
ice cream will be
GAS welcome as flowers in spring! Ira lal
Yesterday a HERALD reporter en-
countered on the streets
MR.. A. W. THoRNE,
Who for ten years has aided in max
ing the summer heats less uncomfort
able to the citizens OF Los Angeles by
his efforts to furnish them ice. Fol
nine years he was engaged in prepar
ing ice by artificial or chemical
means, but year ago following the
line of improvements inaugurated in
the ice business, he joined the forces
of the Union Ice Company and took
part in supplying us with the product
of natures lavish and skillful hand.
Approaching the purveyor of cold
comfort the reporter said:
"Well, Mr.. Thorne, where do you
hail from ?"
why" replied he, "I am from
Boca, where l have been for week
past engaged in
HARVESTING THE BIGGEST CROP
You ever saw. Oh, do not look
astonished. know it is mid-winter
and that the tops of the Sierras are
cold. But that is all right, All crops
do not do best in semi-tropic temper
atures. The more Arctic the weather,
the better for our industry. l went
about through all our big fields-we
do not have to irrigate them. The
water lies full fathoms deep"
there. In the summer you can look
into their liquid depths mile below
their surfaces. At Boca, at Truckee,
and other places where we cut cur
ice there is not a speck of any sort of
extraneous matter to contaminate the
water from which it is frozen. The
rain is distilled there in the very
clouds, 10000 to 1000 feet above the
level OF the sea. That's two to three
miles skyward. There are no notes
in the sunbeams up there. 1t falls on
the bald, hard granite tops of the
mountains, which are washed clean
by the pelting storms of countless
years. They run down rocky courses
into the lakes whose pure, crystal
depths are the wonder of all be-
holders.
And such ice as this cold
winter has frozen there. The
blocks we are cutting ont
average twenty-five inches in thick
ness, which is most unparalleled
thing in California. 1 have never
seen such perfect blocks in my life.
1t is as clear as the air, and as fine
and even in its grain as the best plate
glass;"
THE STOCK.
"Well, shonld say we have laid
in stock of it. The Union Ice Com
pany has 150 men hard at work every
day in the week. 1t is by no means
an unusual thing for us to lay in
1000 tons day. When the campaign
closes we shall have not less than
100, 900 tons of this ice in store for the
supply. That will go a
long way towards keeping the butter
solid and the lettuce crisp next july"
ARTIFICIAL ICE.
"You ask what 1 think of this
Tahoe ice as compared with that
made by chemical apparatus? l
think there is no sort OF comparison
between the two commodities, In the
first place chemical ice is made in the
cities, and such water as can
be obtained is used. 1t is
our river water at best. 1t is
from a stagnant pool, perhaps, lat worst.
1t has come in contact with all sorts
of soils and salts-not to speak of
absolute filth. Then in making it
there are metal vessels, rusty, per-
haps dirty, and there ia the ever-pres.
ent danger of some Of the chemicals
becoming mixed up in the ice. Well,
if any housekeeper had ever looked
down into the crystal depths Of beau
tiful Lake Tahoe in summer, or had
iseen our, men cut the ice from
is surface in winter; and then
would take a look into the
modas operandi of dirty ice factory,
she would no longer hesitate as to
what ice to use. She would take the
perfect handiwork of Dame Nature
and her skillful and cleaniy processes
in preference to any modern device,
however good the counterfeit present
ment may be. No skill, no art, no
science, has ever approached in its
purity and cleanliness, the work
nature carries on in her great labora-
tory up on ,op of the everlasting
mountains. We made artificial ice
ourselves when we could get
no better. But the moment
we could reach these pure crystal
blocks. up ON the frozen lakes we
abandoned our plants and took the
better work of nature in pre- ference to
the best we could do. Yes and the
change is for the benefit OF the
people; for we can make ice in Los
Angeles cheaper than we can cut it,
store it and haul it 800 miles by rail.
We have enough of the real article
for all Los Angeles and for all the
cities of the coast. We gave youl
people good ice last year, but we shall
give them far better next summer
Nature has out done herself in thi'
respect this season.
Commercial Restaurant.
Tho ua1l known Commercial restal1