The times. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1890-1903, 1890-02-27
THE SUPPLY Office.
How Invention IL to Compensate for the
Lack of Nature.

How Invention IL TO Compensate for the
Lack OF Nature.
I'm the Circuit Court yesterday was cnar-
tered the Crystal Ice Company TO manufact.
ure. buy and sell ice. and 10 buy store and
sell meats. fruits and other table goods.
The capital stock is 90 bee not less than SJ0.-
900 nor more than 100000. The principal
Office is 20 Dee i'm Richmond. The officers
are: John Pope, president; Thomas i.
Jclrie@, yicc-president; &. ID. Nlngneid
secretary and treasurer; and the above ano
Lewis G.nier and Howard >wineiOrd arc
the drecilf-.
This action D. r.s -'n 20 public notice
"a subject winch uus ND.u lowering In thl
minds of many Richm0ndCr- and Virgin
ians ever since "a majority of persons have
come 20 the conclusion that nature is NOT
going % supply ice t0 any great extent in
tnis section during This alleged winter.
Already plans have been made for ma-
chimes for the manufacture of ice at Dan
Vile. Lynchburg and fredericksburg. and
fhe scheme of establishing such factory
40 suffolk is earnestly discussed.
Steamers arriving in New York report the
presence 0f large fields Of ice and hundreds
0f detached lcebergs in the direct track ol
the transatlantic steamers. ln the hydro
graphic office 0f the Navy Department O.
careful record has been kept for number
Jfyears of all the ice reported. and the loca
ton OF each report is accurately charted on
ID special chart. These records show thai
This is the most remarkable year of which
anything is known. As rule, the first Zee
Is reported about the lst OF February, and
Them only "a few detached bergs. and DO B.
generally ms late as May or june Delor
much field ice is encountered.
Al present. comparatively little Is known
about the formation and movements 0i these
great quantities OF ice that annually come
down into the North Atlantic except that
they are found during the winter months li
fha Arctic seas. and with the first breakln.
up of the weather begin 90 driii southwark
impeIed by wind and current. THE ice
comes down through the channel between
Greenland and Iceland on the east coast OF
Greenland. and ON the west coast of that
great Arctic island 10 comes down through
payi. strait from BaiDn's bay, smith SOUND
and the unknown -eds beyond. The zee D.
carried southwark by the Labrador current
until 10 gets 0l the banks OF Newfoundland
where the Gulf stream is encountered and d
sort of pocket is found, often hlllng tht
ocean with practically impossible held oil
ice from the banks as FAR east as 80 degrees
dcrrecs north latitude. some Of the larger
berg. are carried by the under current wei
out into the warm waters of the 1nli stream
but they soon disappear there, aud it is very
seldom that "a berg is encountered any
further south than iO degrees.
As the season advances the warm rays O
the sun and the action Of the water rapidly
dissolve the ice until by the end Of August
il is getting scarce and in september ant
October an encounter with berg is rathcl
an infrequent occurrence. After >eptem
her there Is generally n0 more ice seen unit
the end of the next January.
This year has been very exceptional, how
ever. and tAe icc has apparently continued
10 run all WINTER a5 during All the TAI
months bergs were frequently cncounterel
by the transatlantic steamers. and ne ID
mher and January considerable quaint
ies began 90 appear. Toward the end o
January field ice and bergs were as ia
south as ij degrees north latitude, ana Dl
tue middle OF February they bad cOm'
down as far as % degrees north, practically
filing uu the pocket between the banks an,
tine Gulf stream.
II is believed that this extraordinary de
scent Of ice is in Il large measure due q
nOrthery gales that are supposed 10 have
prevailed at the same time the recent 80
we're westerly gales prevailed on the Allan
tic. What the photographers and weathe
men are now chiefly interested in finding on
is Just what Is tie condition of affairs ia th'
north seas. 10 j. believed that this nm
usually early movement OF the ice, taken n
coniucti0n with the mild winter that ha
prevailed, VIII result in the ensuing seaeoi
being an unusually open one in the Afci'
region.
Perhaps desperation may lead to the OF
ganizatiOn Of some enterprising compan
to capture the bcrgs aud tow them int
these comparatively torrid latitudes. Ihi
would be good outlet for some OF IN
enormous capital which Englishmen wis
10 invest here.