Clinch Valley news. [volume] (Jeffersonville, Va.) 18??-2019, 1900-01-26
Farm icE HOUSES.
A Prize Article On Building and
Storing.

thousands OF farmers during the
no! sultry summer days-when their
nlih IL TOO warm to be palatable, their
outter always comes upon the table
iookins ike platter Of yellow oil and
iresn meats become stale In a single
day-resolve that by another season
they VIII be abundsntly supplied with
ice and good refrigerator. But their
IsIi work pushes them and before they
are aware OF IL, the Ice crop Is ripe"
ana no suitable building has been pre-
pare Ior It's reception. AS a result,
many abandon the idea altogether
while others put up a limited amount
IN rail- pen with straw or stack up
a small amount in one corner OF the
oarn. The result OF this hasty prepar-
ntlon 10 very unsatisfactory AS soon
as the warm days come Il 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
10 set hen Is when she is ready. Ex-
ectly SO with the ice harvest. The
proper time to put up ice IL when ii Is
ready; and wise is the farmer who has
bis house ready TO receive 1t when IL
10 ready to harvest The ice cannot be
put up Ia the pleasant autumn days,
out tho 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
Ing is needless, and an extravagant
waste OF means. Many fall down"
when they build too small. No ice
house should be less than 12x12, and
1916 with 1o-foot studding is better.
The latter size ia ample for two fam
lies where they live sufficiently close
and need 1t only for domestic use. Far
less Ice will supply two families from
16x16 house. than from two 10X12
houses. The larger the body of ice
the less, proportionately. is the waste
from melting.
The pond.-When a spring or brook
is available, II Ia 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 il can
be very rapidly oiled. And when your
own house is filed you can often sell
the second and third cutting to neigh
bors for sufficient sum TO make a
good return for your investment In
the pond. Ice from q pond prepared
Tor the purpose, where the flow Of
wdter can be cut on 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 hous!ng.-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 meNing Put
layer all over the bottom, leaving a
space about Is inches all around the
wall TO be filled with well-cured and
rotted sawdust, tamped In closely.
Before the second layer OF ice is
placed. fill in all the interstices with
crushed leo, and II the day is very
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 double wall filled 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 that is sufficiently rotted not to
heat Hauling early In the summer
and stacking in a close heap, allows 1t
time TO 20 through a sweat and cool
down ready for use When the house
Is frll 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
OF using II next summer
When one lives near a city where
daily trips are made with milk, veg
etables, etc, so as not to incur special
trips to the artificial Ice plant, it 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.