The Worcester spy. [volume] (Worcester, Mass.) 1898-1904, 1899-01-13
ICE CROP.
It Is Now in Sight
They Think.
THE LOCAL DEALERS
Getting Ready to Fill Their
Houses Next Week.

Cold weather, such as that of the last
few days, brings joy to the ice dealers.
After much disappointment, it at last
looks as if the ice barons would be able
to harvest their first crop before the
end of the present week.
Up to date, conditions have been ad-
verse The frozen surface of each ice
pond has been unusually long in at
tanning the thickness necessary before
it can be cut. However, the recent
sharp winter weather changed the sit
uation. The sufferer from biting
frosts and wintry blasts can comfort
himself with the thought that today S
discomfort may be the means of lessen
ing his ice bill next summer.
The Walker Ice Company harvested
Its first crop yesterday. Early in the
morning gang of workmen COM
menced to cut the ice on Goes pond,
which had been marked off the day be-
fore. The ice on that pond is consid-
erably thicker than that on Salisbury S
pond, owing to the fact that a thick
blanket of snow fell over the surface
OF the latter as soon as the first crust
was formed, preventing it from freez-
ing the necessary thickness
Garfield & Harrington are busily en-
gagged cutting ice on Lake Quinsiga-
mond. The strike was satisfactorily
settled Wednesday afternoon, and the
whole force has been working steadily
ever since. The difficulty arose over a
break in the machinery Tuesday noon.
Garfield & Harrington announced their
intention of laying off the men without
pay until the break was mended, and
in consequence, a portion of the men
refused to work. The difficulty was
adjusted by offering the workers near
| ly full pay for the days work.
! The first company to harvest ice in
the vicinity Of Worcester this year was
the Bay State Company Boston con-
Germ, which harvests ice from Lake
| Quinsigamond
| For over a month, busy gangs of
workmen have been engaged in cutting
and scraping the surface of the differ
ent ponds. Many who have seen the
/ men at work on Salisbury pond have
gone away with the opinion that they
were reaping an enormous harvest. But
such has not been the case Short
seasons of cold weather have been fol-
lowed by thaws. Snow has fallen or
the surface of the ice, and this. by
melting, has formed SNOW ice
/ Snow ice is useless for commercial
purposes. That is why it has to b.
laboriously sawed and scraped away
leaving the layer of pure water ic,
free.
The employees of the WSlker Ic,
Company commenced to scrape tn,
surface of Salisbury pond over fouI
weeks ago. They are at it yet. AL
/ together, the surface of the pond hai
1 been scraped clean six times. But M
I q al.
snow has come, requiring the whole
] process to be repeated
| Unless the snow ice" is removed
the cold does not strike deep enough
TO produce the necessary thickness
Scraping is the most expensive part OF
| ice harvesting. The mere cutting ant
storing away of the ice chunks is as
nothing compared to the labor and eX-
pense of caring for the ice before it is
in condition to be cut. This year the
expense to the dealers has been greater
than usual. Thirty-two horses and
nearly 80 men have been working or
Salisbury pond many days
| worcester ice at present is only
eight inches thick. Twelve is the thick.
ness required before 1t can be cut. But
there is every prospect that it will be
thick enough by Saturday.
Old ice harvesters say that seldom
are they so late in harvesting the first
crop as this year. The first block
they say, should be cut before Christ
mas. The days are gone when six
crops could be taken out in one winter
Ice dealers refuse to admit that the
lateness of the season will cause a rise
in prices next summer That this has
proved an expensive season for them
they admit, but they say that the extra
expense will come out of themselves
and not their customers