Crittenden press. [volume] (Marion, Ky.) 1879-1907, 1900-04-19
FARM ICE HOUSES.
A Prize Article on Building and
Storing.

A Prize Article on Building and
Storing.
Thousands of farmers during the
hot sultry summer days-when their
milk Is too warm to be palatable, their
hutter always comes upon the table
looking like platter of yellow oil and
fresh meats become stale In q single
day--resolve, that by another season
I they will be abundantly supplied with
Ice and good refrigerator. But their
fall work pushes them and before they
are aware OF II, the ice, crop Is ripe"
and no suitable building has been pre-
pare for its reception. As a result,
many abandon the idea altogether,
while others put up a limited amount
In rail pen with straw, or stack up
small amount In one corner OF the
barn. The result Of this hasty prepar.
alton Is very unsatisfactory. AS soon
as the warm days come 1t begins to
melt badly and before the sultry dog
days" arrive the ice Is all consumed
or melted away.
Josh Billings once said that the time
! to set a hen is when she Is ready. Elk
actly so with the. Ice harvest The
proper time to put up Ice Is when 1t is
ICdug anu Wloc 10 Nut VIM hoo
his house ready 10 receive II when 1t
is ready to harvest The ice cannot be
put up In the pleasant autumn days,
but the building can be erected and
the sawdust drawn and piled ready for
/ use. With this preparation and ex'
pense met very few will neglect the
| ice harvest.
The building.-An expensive build
l,,rW l1 nnA Ukra Nyo uA
waste of means. Many fall down"
when they build too small. No Ice
house should be less than 12xl2, and
16x16 with 10.foot studding Is better.
The latter size is ample for two fam
lilies where they live sufficiently close
and need 1t only for domestic use. Far
| less ice will supply two families from
a 16x16 house, than from two 1Oxl2
houses. The larger the body OF ice
the less, proportionately, Is the waste
from melting.
The pond.-When a spring or brook
Is available 1t Is better and cheaper to-
have your own ice pond. A few days
work with team and scoop will make
an excavation and dam sufficient for
the purpose. Then you can build your
ice house on the banks, where 1t can
be very rapidly filed. And when your
own house Is filled you can often sell
the second and third cutting to neigh.
bors for a sufficient sum to make
good return for your, investment in
the pond. Ice from a pond prepared
for the purpose, where the f1ow OF
water can be cut OF when the freezing
process is going on, Is much more uni.
form In thickness than when taken
from streams or lakes fed by springs.
Harvesting and housing.-Cut the
ice in squares about eighteen inches
each way, using great care to have all
the blocks cut true. Close attention
to this feature will save much time In
packing and be a safe guard against
the admission Of air and melting. Put
a layer all over the bottom, leaving
space about Is inches all around the
wall to be filed with well-cured and
rotted sawdust, tamped in closely.
Before the second layer Of ice is
crushed Tee IN ana Hhia tie iRts Gs5 with
cold,' slush with ice water. Follow
this up until the house is filled, and
you will have practically one vast cake
of Ice, with no space for air to start
the melting. There is Just one advan.
tage in a double wall flied with saw.
dust; you do not have to remove all
the dust each year. The difference
is not. in my opinion, sufficient to war
rant the extra expense In construc.
ton. Care should be exercised to get
dust chat is sufficiently rotted not to
heat. Hauling early In the summer
and stacking in close heap. allows II
time to go through sweat and cool
down ready for use. When the house
is full and the space around the sides
well packed with dust, cover the entire
top with from eight to twelve inches
OF dust and quietly await the pleasure
Ot using 1t next summer
When one lives near a city where
daily trips are made with milk, veg
etables, etc. so as not 10 incur special
trips to the artificial ice plant, II may
in some cases. be cheaper to buy Ice
at from fifteen to twenty-five cents a
hundred than to preserve your own
natural product.-Ohio Farmer.