The morning call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1878-1895, 1894-02-25

natural ice," said w. w. Donaldson, gen.
eral manager of the company, the other
day, "is not exactly new one in this
country. Right here 10 this city it has
been tried three times, hut each attempt
Ialled because the organizers did not mas
Ter the intricate mechanical appliances.
rms Is the first natural ice skatDg-rink
operated In the United States and the
fourth In the world. There is one in
Paris, another in Berlin and a third in
southampton. England. Therefore this
Is The fourth in the world and the first in
the United States.
tine successful construction of this rink
is the result Of ten years of careful study
and experiments on my part while engaged
IN the coid-storage business. l was rre-
pairing similar rink in Chicago when the
disastrous fire destroyed the big c"d-stor-
age building at the Worlds Fair The
plant being destroyed. we had to abandon
the project.
How is this natural ice produced?
There IS no secret about it. The ice is
produced by Her cules machine of the or
binary type employed in cold-stOrage work.
The difference here is in the manner of
freezing. In cold storage il is done In
tanks and insulated ronms. Here the ice
IS frozen three times day, and the refrig-
eramenr used is anhydrOus ammonia
Ibis Is employed to cool the strong brine.
After the brine is cooled it is pumped
through system Of pipes 10000 feet In
length, which run through the water that is
turned into ice. The cold brine absDrbs
the heat. The floor beneath is insulated
and made no of dead air cells aud covered
with sheet lead to make it water-tight,
In the placing of the pipes lies the
principal secret. The pipes run in three
centers from header at each end of the
tank. These headers are six inches in
diameter. and the pipe is taken out of
each header at six-inch centers. This
admits OF circulating the brine from both
ends at the same time. The return is also
taken from both ends and carried back TO
the brine-tank. By this means we have a
cooling surface exposed tn the outside air.
In This way we ouiwit nature, and our ice
surface has an even temperature all over.
Through inch pipes leading from the
headers the brine is kept in constant
motion.
"Of course. after being used several
hours the surface of tie ice becomes cut
up and somewhat rough. That is why we
have three sessions daiIy-morning. noon
and light. During these intervals the
snow Is swept off the ice, and with hose
or orchard sprayer thin coating of water
is spread over the ice to fill up the cuts.
In this manner we have perfectly smooth
surface three times a day. The water ia
frozen at temperature of about 10 de-
grees above zero, which would be as cold,
probably, and as hard as ice frozen in any
cold country when the temperature Is
about zero. The tempera ure eighteen
inches above the ice i. Only two degrees
lower than outside the building. and four
feet above the surface there is no differ
ence whatever"
With considerable pride Mr.. Donaldson
showed the visitors the mechanical appli-
ances used in manufacturing the ice.
Most OF the machinery presented a polar
appearance, for it was coated with ice to a
tnly Hs,fr
ment OF the rink was overjoyed last week
by the discovery Of an artesian we'll under
the Larkln-street end OF the building.
This means saving of about S15 day in
the cost of water.
This rink" continued Mr.. Donaldson,
viii be new in many ways. We propose
to elevate the sport and the management
Of the rink will see that its patrons are
protected from annoyance Of any kind.
No LIQUOR Is sold, and smoking while
ladies are on the ice is not Permitted.
There is staff of instructors for begin
ners, and must say that with the native
daughters the invigorating pastime is be-
canning more popular daily. aud espe-
ciaily so as their proficiency in
creases. There Is whole family that
comes here from San jose several times
week. The members OF this family lived
for years In cold climate and are excel
lent skaters. When a session closes. so
fond are they of the sport that they leave
the ice with reluctance. We have fitted up
dressing-rooms for them. for they spend
most of their time here during their fire.
quent visits to the city.
''Some of the best-known society people
in the city are taking steps to form clubs
and arranging for the exclusive use OF the
rink during certain hours of the day. One
of these clubs will be formed next Wednes.
day night. Many features will be intro.
duced during the evening, such as polo,
base ball. football. etc. We have a club of
expert skaters who will play these games
on the ice with the greatest of ease and
safety"