The Sunday morning news. [volume] (Jersey City [N.J.]) 1886-1891, 1891-03-08
These Cold Winter Days
Will Make Ice Cheap
Next Summer.
PROPHESIES ABOUT PRICES
What Leading Dealers Have to Say
of the Natural and the
Artificial Product.

A4tS dAuOuACSi1tcut early IL blht SSdSou
that the ice crop was a failure carried
sad tidings with 1t to many household.
The charges were from six to a dozen
times The usual prices, both wholesale
and retail. Artificial ice factories were
built. and ice was manufactured and sold
at lower prices than the natural product.
but 1t was not produced rapidly enough
to supply the demand A great deal of
curiosity is expressed By the residents af
this city as to what prices viii prevail for
the coming season. To -ascertafn what
the dealers will charge. and to get few
statistics concerning the ice crop OF the
winter, talked with several ice dealers
of the city
The first Office visited was that of the
Hudson River Ice Company at No. / Ex-
change Place. Mr.. Samuel McBurney,
secretary and treasurer Of the company,
was seen there.
NOT WHAT IT SHOULD BE
How is the ice crop this winter. Mr..
MeBarneyf" i asked.
well, the crop is not what it might
be- he replied. what cold weather we
had was in short spells, aud though the
river was frequently covered with ice,
and pretty thick ice, too, IL was so soft
and slushy as TO be of little use. There is
III Nv stJEtQ ia t41 4Cc H9u5co VI tile Il III
son River about two-thirds of the am cunt
Of ice necessary to supply the inerropoli-
tan district. It is estimated that from
2,500, 900 to 100000 tons of ice will be the
amount of the entire crop on the Hudson
this year. Last year not thousand tons
were cut. all told.
artificial ice enjoyed a large-sized
boom last year, but The factories did not
get into full operation until late ia the
season. II the claim of the artificial ice
companies that they can sell their pro-
duet cheaper than the natural ice has any
foundation they ought 10 do well this
summer. The great trouble with artifi-
cial ice Is to make it clear. Il can be
done, bus it is more expensive. Besides
this there is considerable danger in the
manufacture Of ice through the improper
or careless handling Of the chemicals en-
pioyed. The factory of the Western
Refrigerator Company at No. 223 TO 239
Kinzie street. Chicago, a six-story build
ing, was partly destroyed by an explosion
of ammonia-gas used in the ice machine.
s'Dr Prudden lhas pronounced against
natural ice. He says that the ice Of the
Hudson River contains germs of fever
and other diseases. a little ice factory on
the East River, however, thus condemns
itself and its fellow ice makers. We wish
it TO be distinctly understood that NO
ammonia in any form is used in our pro-
cess or in or about our plant Inasmuch
as nine-tenths of these plants do use
ammonia, this FIRMS evident desire 10
deny all use Of il is very odd, indeed. The
company preserves mysterious secrecy
with regard to It's own methods. which
leads one to wonder what it does employ
with regard to tine ice harvest, let me
state that the amount cut at Whitehall,
n. Y, is SO per cent below the average
both as regards quality and quantity.
The prices will not be determined upon
until about April. It is safe to say, how
ever, that they will not exceed fifty cents
per hundred pounds for private families,
and thirty cents for saloons. hotels, gro
ceries, etc"
next called upon Mr. Irving Joy, who
has an office at the foot of Morris street.
He did not know much about the situa-
ton at present, be said. as ne had just re-
turned from the ice fields on the Hudson.
The ice up there was not quite up 10 the
standard, he thought. He was certain
this season would be considerably better
than the last. both in regard to the
quantity of the ice and the prices
charged.
LOOKING FOR PLENTY.
Mr.. Charles G. Leonard was seen at his
Office at No. 693 Grand street.
There is no doubt that there will be
plenty of ice" said he. There may not
be much left over, but there will be
enough to supply the demand. Some
houses ION the Hudson have not been
filled. but the majority have"
EAT present we are getting all our ice
from Greenwood Lake, bat as soon as the
Hudson is open to navigation ourice will
come from the river. The prices this
year will be, at the most, half those of
last year. Ice viii be sold at wholesale at
the docks for about 50 4 ton. We did not,
as many people imagine, make much
money last year; in fact, we lost. Com
paraiively few families could afford to
use ice at all. and in our wholesale trade,
where a firm formerly took a ton or two
at time, they ordered from four to six
hundred pounds. Then the season was
short. and we lost great deal on shrink
age. We had 10 pay great deal for the
ice ourselves, and it came from such dis
tances that the cost Of freightage was
very large.
1.-THE artificial ice companies got good
hold last year, but they will not do as
we'll this season. Even If they sell their
Ice as low as they claim they can, few
people will use il, for It Is not as cold as
natural ice. have found myself it lasts
longer than the natural ice, but from this
very fact it has not as great cooling DroD-
critics. Ice, as you probably know, only
cools other substances in proportion as it
melrs. and ice that melrs slowly does not
cool as well as that which nselts more
rapidly. That is why a confeetioner
mixes salt with the cracked ice about his
freezer. TO make the latter melt more
rapidly and freeze the cream. On, mol
don't think artincial ice will stand any
show this season
ssBrewersf We don't do much in that
line The majority Of brewers nowadays
have cooling machines run by means OF
chemicals.
The next firm interviewed on the sub
iect was the Greenwood Lake Ice Com
pany. A trustee OF the company was
seen at the Office at No. 81 Pavonia ave-
nue..
WHAT IS THIS MTsTERYf
IF wanted TO | could say something
that would astouish the people. said he.
something in regard TO The coming sum
mer, but / am unfortunately not in
position to do so. AS to prices, may say
that they will be with us about forty
cents hundred for private families and
twenty-five cents Tor larger dealers.
ssWe get our ice from Greenwood Lake,
Echo Lake and Lake Hopatcong The
ice crop on these lakes Is plentiful. very
plentiful. indeed. We have already
housed much mora than we shall need
for the coming season, besides selling
lO0. 900 tons from the field TO smaller
houses along the routes of the railroads.
l shonld say we had about $4,000 tons
already stored, with prospects Of much
more
AT the immense brick structure, which
serves rs home for the New jersey Ice
Company. Superintendent g. 4 Heath
:sMost Of opr Ice il procured from the
Hudson bus We occasionally SCI soms 81