The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1890-06-13

Are there many manufacturers of fee
plants in this countryp Mr.. Roberts was
asked.
Mr.. Roberts replied that there may
be said to be but about six of prominence,
four of which, of the compression system,
are the Arctic of Cleveland, the De La
Vergne Of New York, the Consolidated of
Chicago and the Prick Of Waynesboro, Pa.
There are he said, two or three smaller
establishments where plants Of the COM
preston system are turned out. The two
principal establishments which manufacture
plants Of the absorption system are the
Blymyer of Cincinnati, O., and the STRAIT
ton of Columbus, GA. The difference be-
tween the two systems, Mr.. Roberts
explained, is that by the absorption, or
older system, the supply cannot be con-
trolled by the engineer. 1t cannot be
forced, whereas by the compression system
the engineer may increase or diminish the
Ice supply at his pleasure.
Inc average temperature of the bath in
which the moIds are lowered is 49, Fahren-
heit, but Mr.. Roberts says that southern
plants go below this average, and range
from 12' to IA Fahrenheit, it requiring
forty-eight hours to freeze a 300-pound
block of ice.
docs the manufactured ice last as long
as the natural ice?"
''In the winter, yes. In the summer the
The reason is obvious. In the winter, if a
block of artificial ice be placed beside a
block OF natural ice, and exposed to the
atmosphere, the melting process will affect
the two blocks alike. If a block of ice
manufactured in the summer is placed
alongside of a block of natural ice, the latter
has already begun to melt, whereas the
block Of manufactured ice is as cold as it
can be made and must necessarily last
longer"
Artificial ice, Mr. Roberts says, is fast
taking the place of natural ice and he pre-
diets that within ten years all cities of 5000
inhabitants and over, north and south,
will be using the artificial ice
for the reason that the heating
of the water to the steam point kills
all disease germs and bacilli, and when this
steam is condensed and filtered and then
frozen 1t Is absolutely free from organic
matter. A second reason assigned why the
artificial ice will drive the natural Ice from
the market is that it costs less to manu-
facture the ice than to harvest the natural
crop and get it to market, plant for har-
vesting, transplanting and storing ice often
representing an outlay greater than that
required for one Of the largest ice plants
Mr.. Roberts says it costs from Is to 90
cents ton alone to harvest ice on the Hud-
son river, and he understands that the
Knickerbocker company claim that it costs
them 81 10 to deliver Hudson river ice on
the wharves in New York Very little ice
was harvested last winter, and an ice fam
inc is the result, and ice is retailing in the
cities of the north at from 1-cent a pound
to II cents, and is likely to go higher be-
fore the summer is over.
The factories which manufacture ice
plants have never known what it is to be
crowded as they are with orders, and with
the exception of the factory at Columbus,
1t Is estimated that seven-eighths of
the orders are from the cities of the north,
and to meet these orders ice plant factories
are running double time Many large
dealers have contracts to deliver a given
amount of ice, and it is estimated that the
supply on hand in the north will not last
through the month of July, and in some
localities no longer than during the month
of june. This means to some dealers loss of
trade and possible bankruptcy through
failure to fill contracts and to obviate this
many extensive northern ice dealers have
been rushing to get ice plants in operation
by the time the present stock of natural ice
has been consumed.
In addition to the home demand for ice
plants there is a growing demand of plants
of American manufacture in the countries
Of South and Central America. The
superior excellence of American ice plants
is conceded, as they are far in advance of
those manufactured in other countries.
Walter Robertson, TIE British vice
consul of this city, who spent five years in
Africa, in discussing the ice question yes
terday in group of gentlemen, remarked
that the introduction of ice plants in that
country Will be bonanza to some one. He
said that when ship comes into an African
seaport with a surplus of ice, it is
auctioned off in small blocks, and there is a
regular scramble for it and it commands
exorbitant prices.
An agent for an ice plant manufacturing
firm said the other day that an ice plant
was established in one Of the Brazilian cities.
and the ice readily sold at S45 per ton,
although the cost of manufacturing the ice
was but SIS per ton. Ice comes high, but it is
luxury that the pan-American brethren
must have.