Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1901-08-03

are carefully removed When the ice has
| formed it Is kept free from snow, by
sweeping soon as it will bear the weight
| of man, and by snow scrapers as soon as
horses can be driven on to it. frozen
depth of from sixteen to twenty-four
| inches is generally allowed to accumulate
| before the actual harvesting begins. the
| first work then is to lay off field to be
cut. This is done with great care and
precision.
First a line is stretched and on this Is
| laid straight edge. The first incision in
| the ice is made with a hand grower, a tool
with seven steel blades each about a quar-
| ter of an inch in width, but each in turn
protruding into the ice about quarter OF
an inch farther. The ice Is thus marked
| off into squares of about two and one-half
feet each way. A horse ice pillow is then
brought on. and each trip of the ploW
deepens the crevice about two inches 1t Is
not necessary to cut to the water, and six
or eight inches are left intact to be split
| off with the ice chisel when the ice is
| taken ashore. This latter process first
neceSSitateS a canal in the ice from the
harvest field to the shore. Great slabs of
squares are then pried off. each containing
about twelve squares one way and twenty
the other These huge pieces are propelled
along the canal to the shore by means of
poles in the hands of the harvesterS When
the shore is reached machinery run by
steam takes a hand in the operation. A
huge derrick-like apparatus, over which
runs an endless chain. takes up the ice
after it has been broken into individual
cubes, by means of cups arranged on the
chain. When the top of the derrick is
reached the ice is deftly rescued from the
cup and sent sliding down an inclined
plank chute to the ice house near by. An
opening in the gable end of this house ex-
tends from the floor to the roof and as
one tier of ice is fitted on the floor space
the track is raised and another tier laid
until the house is full
Getting Ice to Market.
This constitutes the winter work Of the
ice man, and although it is a busy time, it
does not compare with the haste in getting
the ice out when summer comes. Here the
incline plane is again brought into use, but
this time the sliding is done from the ice
house to the hold of a vessel Ice ships
carry from 500 to 1000 tons, and to begin
at the bottom of the hold and fill between
each deck is long task. Last week Wash
ington's ice famine was relieved by the ar
rival of the largest ice schooner that ever
came up the Potomac. She was a five
Sticker'' and she brought over 800 tons of
ice Four days with steam hosting ma
chinery were required to relieve her of her
cargo at the wharf of the American Ice
Company.
Each one of these ice ships has a story
of it's own. and in order to keep Washing
ton well supplied with ice there should ar
rive several ships week.
1t takes about six weeks to make the
round trip from the Maine coast to this
city. and each schooner rarely counts on
making more than two trips a season. This
class Of shipping is peculiar unto itself.
The schooners are rarely owned by the Ice
companies, but are chartered for each trip.
A return cargo Is thing eagerly sought
for by their captains, and it is not unusual
for coal to be taken from Baltimore to New
York on the up trip.
The sailors who man these ships are
mostly Norwegians, and they keep things
interesting for their captains by generally
deserving the ship as soon as 1t gets into
port at this end, and they get paid If they
desert here they will at once go to Balti-
will reship on the first schooner bound out.
To go to Maine on an ice ship is also get
ting to be a very popular thing among gov
eminent employees when their vacation time
arrives There is not a ship arrives but her
captain is besieged by at least half a dozen
enthusiastic landlubbers for passage. AS
general rule, ship captains do not care for
passengers and although an occasional
passenger is taken, it takes considerable
diplomatic maneuverins to arrange the
trip.
At the Ice wharyes.
When the ice rea ches Washington it is at
once in the enemy's country. Only about
per cent melts on the voyage. but as soon
as the steam winch hoists the 300 pound
blocks out of the hold of the ship it i'm
mediately becomes appreciably smaller and
less in weight but greater in value
When the thermometer seems to be an
chored permanently above the 30 mark
there is an attraction about the ice wharf
that cannot be equaled by the hills, parks
or fountains. Here the day begins at 3 in
the morning and ends around midnight.
Beside the big wagons that are loaded with
tons Of ice there are backed up to the load
ing platform dilapidated baby perambula-
tors. little toy express wagons and wheel
barrows. Although the trade Is controlled
by the trust, the trust caters alike to rich