The Magnolia gazette. [volume] (Magnolia, Miss.) 1872-current, 1891-12-12
REFRIGERATION.
The Science CT the Day.
tFrOm the Aannfacturs' Record. ]

".
The ignorance OF the general
public on the subject of refriSera.
gion often leads TO very amusi "
criticicms upon the relative valne
Of IL tural and manufactured ice as
refrigerating agents. Ii is not gem
rrAlly known that the refrlgerating
power Of ice is exerted byils dlssp-
intiOn, so that he ice which mrlt4
quickest will absorb the greatest
amount of he AMI cause tho low
est temp ,rature. The criticism i
'iten heard that manufactured
ice melts more rapidly than
natural ice, aud il, therefore, mot
as cnld' as that produced by na.
ture. Dealers ia natural ice use AS
a stock argument the statement
that their stock is colder than
he mechanic Il product, aud as
they have for many years been
autOcrats in their line, the public
has, as general rule, come to
ntlieve their statements without
thought or investigation and this
impression prevails to an alarm
ing extent in all parts Of the coun-
try. Aside from the reverse having
been scientifically established, /
have been using manufactured irc
in my domestic refrigerator for
many months, and nothing would
induce my family to return to tue
use of natural ice, except the in
ability to obtain any other kind.
Que of the chief points Of advan-
taga Of the manufactured ice is its
absolute purity and freedom from
disease germs. The water from
which the ice is made is heated
in large boilers until it assumes
he form OF steam, III which form
it is passed through pipes to 4
receiving tank where it is con.
densed. and from whence it is con
Quoted to the cans IN which il IS
frozen into pure crystal ice. In the
process of dlstillation al foreign
substances are left behind, ali
disease germs are destroyed, and
che water which il frozen into ice
by the action Of refrigerating
agents is free from all injurious
substances or germs.
There is no such thing as abso.
lutely pure natural ice. Ii has
long been known that diseases may
be transmitted through the medium
of ice, and there are w,ll antheuti-
Gated aud carefully recorded in
stances Of the spread Of typhoid
and typhus teverS by the use Of ice
taken from streams in infected dis
tricts, in which the germs of the
disease were held in u dormant
state in the ice for many months.
The State Board of Health Of
Massachusetts, made very ex-
haustive investigation Of the
natural ice question recently, and
the results published by the board
should cause the immediate erec-
ton of ice-making plants in every
locality where ice is used, even III
the most Northern latitndes. If
these results were known through
out the UHit Il States the demand
for mechanically made ica would
be so great that the manufacturer
OF ice-makug and refli 2 rating
machines could not possibly supply
the demand for ice pl ltnts.
wish ] could occupy sufficient
space in the Manufacturers
Record to give the results of the
boards Investigations in detail,
but as | cannot tiO that | will sum
mar re as bfi-tiy AS possible the
principal points developed.
The board examined 236 sam pies
of ice t.,kei from different points
III Massachusetts, Vermont. New
Hampshire and Maine, iucluiiing
the NJ iine lakes and rivers from
which so large poI'ioi OF the ice
supply of the Atlantic coast States
is taken, and not single sample
Was free from injurious Substances.
many OF them the pollution was 50
great as 10 be an immediate menace
10 lite, yet The ice from these
sources was sold by dealers to the
unsOspectlng puOlic, who, hal
they known the true stale of Affairs,
would have preferred paying hand
somely TO have avoided using it.
la discussing the existence Of
bacteria in ice the board state that
the absence OF any great number
of bacteria from the ice should moi
be taken as al imdica ion that tnt
&c, is not dangerous 10 health, fol
there is a vide diffe eace in theii
hArnfuiness. They say "a ltrg,
number OF bacter.a of Que kind IN ~
be practically harmless, VIII 9 Z
small number of anOth kind m 4,
communicate a most serious dis ase
IL is known, from these expe,i
ments as well as from hers, tina
many kinds of bacteria sarlive I
long season in ice, aud it has beef
shosn by Dr. Prudden that Tia,
baci lus of typhoid fever will live
IN decreasing numbers ia ice foI
lar, months vt least. IL is thei
the quality Of the bacteria rath-l
ia IN the quantity tnat We are t
co Hider," etc.