Grand Rapids herald. [volume] (Grand Rapids, Mich.) 1892-1959, 1893-01-20
HOW THEY CUT ICE
ABOUT 100000 TONS TO Be CUT
Al Reeds Lake This Winter-The Ice IL
Of al Exceptionally Fine Qualify.
How II L. Harvested.

Out at Reeds lake the ice harvesters
are no ding high carnival. The rasp
aud clink of the lceman's 10 Is re-
sound on the AR aud give the surround
lngs . tone Of activity quite unpre-
cedented At any other season OF the
year. Something over loo. 900 tons will
be put up in Grand Rapids this winter.
Most of II will come from Reeds lake.
The Valley City company will store
about $4,000 tons; the Grand Rapids
Ice and Coal company about $4,000;
Hiram Collins 1000; the South Grand
Rapids Ice anu Coal com pany about
$4,000; the Grant company about 1000
aud the 5. T.. Bennett Fuel and Ice
company about 5000 tons.
No Mint Juiep Famine.
But the regular dealers put up little
more than half of the entire amount.
All the brewers cut ana store their
own ice. The packing houses and
larger meat markets do the same.
Many of the hotels have their private
ice houses, and part of the saloons de-
pend upon their own supply. IL
might be- stated parenthetically that
loo. 900 tons of ice means 100000, 600
pounds. IL takes less than tour ounces
of ice for a mint Julep. Unless the
straw crop is q failure the success of
another summer industry is practically
assured.
To the person that has little spare
time and two suits OF under-clothIng,
there can be no more interesting win
ter amusement than to go out to the
lake and watch the process of harvest
ing the ice crop. The average individ-
ual has an idea that hand-saw and q
pair of ear-laps ars the essential ele-
ments IN cutting ice. They ale not.
1t Is as systematic as putting down =
parlor carpet.
How 1t IL Done.
First the snow is carefully cleared
from given area by means of a large
snow plow, drawn by span of horses.
rectangular space is carefully meas
ured Oft, and the marker is brought
out. 1t Is provided with teeth Get In
rows a. distance equal to the size Of
the cake of ice-usually twenty-five
inches. The marker Is drawn by
single horse. Parallel line are first
drawn and then the lines at right
angles, thus marking the ice into
squares the size of each cake. A pillow
furnished with long teeth arranged on
the same plan as those of the marker
IS then used. This cuts grooves about
three inches deep In the ice. AS ice is
usually cut when it is twelve inches
thick, three cuts are made. This pre-
vents the cakes from breaking up.
The ice is then cut into RATS about
forty squares long ahd ten squares
wide. The RATS are lowed IN tho
direction of the ice house or elevator
and broken into strips. These strips
are pushed through . narrow channel
that leads from the open water to the
ice house elevators. As il passes
through this canal it is broken into
chunks, and the pieces are carried into
the ice house by means of an endless
chain, IN much the same fashion as
saw logs are lifted into mill.
The Ice Houses.
The ice houses themselves are more
deliberately constructed than the casual
observer Is aware. Between the outer
and inner walls are three distinct conf
partments' The outer one. which is
about eight inches wide, Is filled with
sawdust. The inner one serves as q
cold air fiue.
The cakes of ice are carefully COW
cred VITA sawdust. When the house Is
filled quantity of straw or marsh hay
is aced on top, and the building
locked up.
Although the ice is packed as care
fully as possible yet the loss to packers
| is almost one-fourth.
The ice at the lake is now about
twelve inches thick ten inches of which
Is as clear as glass. The two inches of
snow ice is a great benefit, as it pre-
vents the cake from being honey.
combed when exposed to the sun.
Old Boreas made ten-strike on his
1898 ice crop and up to date no ice