Wood County reporter. [volume] (Grand Rapids [i.e. Wisconsin Rapids], Wis.) 1857-1923, 1905-05-23
VALUE OF AN ICEBERG.
Germ1ess Goodness Going to Waste
Daily Worth Enough to Pay
the National Debt.


presents a fascinating problem to the
theorist who is fond Of figuring. To null
tiply the worth of one captive glacial
derelict by the figures standing for the
annual product of the Greenland flords
q result would be obtained that would
paralyze the thinking faculties Of the
average amateur statistician, says the
New York World. The good, salable.
fresh-water, germless GOODNESS that goes
to waste in the Gulf stream In q day
would more than pay the public debt OF
the United States. which In 1904
amounted to 500 1921. 77375.
Ponder on the resources and possibili-
ties wrapped In an arctic crystal raft
800 feet long, 500 feet from base
to summit and 500 feet thick-a size by
no means exaggerated. These dimen-
sions mean 200, 000, 900 cubic feet Forty
five cubic feet in the whole sale trade In
New York Is allowed for . ton OF con-
gealed water, but, generously, call 1t SO
cubic feet to the ton. The floating slab
would furnish 100000 tons of Ice.
An average-sized family In the tenn
perate zone can struggle along with .
ton Of ice year. At the present re-
tail price OF 80 cents hundred pounds
ton represents s.. The iceberg, or
1000, 900 tons, would therefore be worth
the moderate fortune Of $2A.00O,000.
Estimating the average family a.
containing six persons. and each OF
100000 households as consuming q
ton year, the polar island would sup
ply domestic refrigerating for 24,0OO.-
600 persons for 365 days. One hundred
pounds of ice will freeze ten gallons Of
ice-cream. A ton will freeze 200 gal.
Ions. The supposititious ice chunk
would freeze 1900, 900 times 200 gallona.
which equals 800 900, 900 gallons.
A gallon of cream at one sitting pro.
vides sufficient helping for "a persons
II the guests are not all women. Hence
this solitary lump, which Is only one OF
a thousand born every month during
the brief summer within the polar CIR
Gle. would provide enough Ice to fur
nish little company Of 9.200, 000. 000
guests.
Bartenders of experience say that two
ounces of ice is sufficient for the cool
ing of cocktail. A pound would cool
eight cocktails and q ton 10000 cock
tails. Four million tons, or the same
old glacial calf from Greenland. would
therefore prove adequate to the prep
aration of $4,000, 600, 600 of these ap-
petizing swallows. This would DO many
more than the entire population Of the
earth could drink before one dinner,
for the worlds people by continents fig
ures up to only 1, 4S7, 900, 900 Inhabitants.
The dimensions of the unit Of one
clear, flinty mass, taken az an illustra-
ton, are not unusual. The much-used
frozen drink Is only one inflnitesimal
mite In natures waste. which again IL
not a waste, because It returns, after
being melted, In the forms Of vapor and
fog and moisture, to Greenland, to be
converted again into snow and help
make new glacier.
Scarcely steamer crossing the
Banks misses sighting three or more
of these crystal spurs studding the
westward bound lane. forcing ships not
only 200 miles southwark of their usual
course, but an additional 60 miles. In
March there was report OF ice for
every day Of the month. During the
present month the reports are more nu-
merous The limits of the shifting
archipelago are latitude 1928 and lati-
tude 41.55, and longitude 5S.16 and longi-
tude 42.1S.
BY the thousands they are formed
from the Greenland glaciers, which. as
they sweep into the sea. ''calve'' or
throw off mighty blocks. The part
above water is one-eighth or one-ninth
of the whole mass. Every glacier In
Greenland gives birth each year to from
10 to 100 icebergs. Melting above and
below causes change in the center OF
gravity, tho slippery nugget becomes
topheavy. topples over and presents a
new shape.