Gloucester County Democrat. (Woodbury, N.J.) 1878-1932, 1900-12-13
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Asb GAR 3H
lcEHousE BUILDING.
short Range Observations and En-
nerserre az n western Farmer.


From some experience and considera-
BILE short range observation ! know
that a very satisfactory icehouse can
be made by using poles for the sides
| and roofs, says a Country Gentleman
writer. When timber is as cheap COM
pared with lumber as 1t Is In many
| places this Is the cheapest icehouse
that can be made. Double sides are
not needed. ALI that is needed is some
thing TO bold foot of sawdust about
the ice. The poles or logs used need
not fit tight together They must be
so close together that the rain will not
beat into any extent between them,
and aside from this 1t would be neces-
sary to notch the poles to make solid
| structure.
Ice will keep in house made in this
way better than in one with tight
board sides. Why this is so | do not
know. Perhaps the limited circulation
of air over the sawdust at the sides
permitted by the spaces between the
poles and which | have heard it said
cools the sawdust by cooperating the
moisture from 1t may be, in part at
least, responsible for this. | think 10
this must be credited the fact that the
poles do not rot very rapidly, although
they are always damp to some extent.
And as the poles are so much thicker
than boards the house lasts longer. OF
course one should only use poles of a
wood that resists dampness well. In
! the places where | have seen most of
these pole icehouses white oak. which
resists moisture we'll (and. while not
abundant. Is not scarcel Ia generally
used for this purpose. suppose that
house built of elm poles, for exnm-
pie, would not last long. for elm rots
rapidly when kept moist.
Reverting to the alleged and proba-
BILE beneficial effects of air circulation
over the sawdust. is 1t not true that an
icehouse should be put in an airy place?
| think that the ideal location is under
the protection of spreading tree. near
hilltop, where there is apt to be a
good breeze and where there Is slight
slope. The slope aids In draining the
house, and good drainage is all impor.
tant. Where stone is plentiful proba
bly, the best way to get drainage is to
start with layer Of broken stone siz
inches thick. In many places here liz
the west stone is scarce. however Elk
cellent drainage can then be got by
putting pieces of fence rails or branches
of trees on the ground. making layer
about six inches thick. These should
fit solidly against each other, but it Is
all the better if they do not fit closely
together On top of these put lay q
or two of pieces of fence rails or
straight boughs. putting them as close
| TO each other, side by side, as possible
Then lamp the floor down. using a
broad headed lamp.
Though / have heard 1t disputed,
yet believe that the larger the house
the better the ice will keep. | believe
that this is true up to the limit Of size
of farm icehouses at least. 1t is Ger.
tajnly better to have the house too
large than too small. Ice properly used
is highly beneficial: 1t adds much to
the pleasure OF the table; it takes away
| from the discomfort of the long, hot
days in the field. and it keeps fresh
vegetables, fruits and butter from los
ing quality and value. There are tens
of thousands of farmers who do not
have Ice who would have it IL they
only knew hoXsSp it is.
The ayaS 4; IN s Idlmly s1Ssnalsld
l have "A least IA feet square
) onxd ting a foot Of saw
:. k1es between the ice
{ eo.,
lee 10 feet square. The roof Of this pole
icehouse can be of anything that will
certainly keep out rain aud snow.
have seen some ieehouses rooted with
straw. | do not recommend this, how
ever because straw roof Is rarely the
cheapest In the end
If I remember rightly. Waldo 3.
Brown says to put rather high gable
roof on the icehouse and leave the ga
bles open. This would give the necessa-
ry ventilation all right, and to have
plenty of air moving over the top Of
the ice Is almost as important as good
drainage. But In this part of the coun-
try--it may be less breezy ia southern
Ohio-leaving the gables open would
lAouAC Aaih anu oHOh OA-eop Va INC iSS
to an extent that wodld work no small
damage. Yet il is probably better to
have the gables entirely open than to
close them up tight. | would empha-
size the recommendation that sawdust
be put around the sides as the Ice Is
put In. Another thing. 1t should be
tamped in solidly. 1t is not enough to
trample it down. When the ice is all
in, cover it over with sawdust a foot
thick and lamp that solid too. When
taking out Ice. uncover as little space
as possible at time. and put the saw
dust back carefully.