Essex County herald. [volume] (Guildhall, Vt.) 1873-1964, 1914-12-04

Ice is very p6TlSHdDl6 COullhOulIJ
and, therefore, certain important prin-
ciples must be considered in the con-
struction of a place to store it In
vestigators of the United States de-
partment of agriculture consider that
there are four important things to be
considered in order to keep ice well.
These are as follows:
l. The ice must have a minimum
of surface exposed to the air or to
the packing material. This is most
easily accomplished by piling the ice
in the form of a cube. A mass Of Ice
Il by IL by IL feet exposes less sur
face than the same tonnage piled in
any form less nearly that of cube
or of a globe.
2. The keeping Of good ice depends
upon the completeness of its insula-
ton, whereby it is protected from ex-
ternal influences, such as heat and
air.
8. Drainage is important because
the lack of it interferes with the in
sulation.
4. The ice itself must be packed so
as to prevent as completely as pos
sible the circulation of air through
the mass. The more nearly the mass
of ice approaches that of a solid cube,
both in shape and texture, the easier,
with good drainage and insulation,
will be the keeping problem. TAe
keeping of ice, then, depends upon
the shape of the mass, it's insulation,
Its drainage and it's solidity.
The ease and rapidity with which
Ice may be gathered depends upon
the condition and location of the field
as we'll as upon the tools used for
doing the work.
If the ice field is covered with
snow the formation of ice will be re-
tarded, as the snow acts as blanket
and raises the temperature, thus re-
tarding the ice formation. If the ice
sheet is sufficiently thick and snow
falls upon it, the snow must be re-
moved before harvesting can proceed;
DR. if, on the other hand, 1t is desira-
BILE to increase the thickness of the
Ice after the snow falls, the field may
be flooded and the snow saturated
with water, which is allowed to
freeze, thus adding layer Of snow
Ices Flooding on small fields may be
accomplished in either of two ways:
By "overflowing," which consists
merely in conducting water to the
field, or by piercing the ice field here
and there with a bar or auger, to al
low the water to force itself to the
surface and gradually to saturate the
snow.
Snow may be removed from small
fields, when necessary, by means of
shovels, but upon large fields it will
be economical to use horsepower
scrapers. A simple plank scraper is
shown in the accompanying figure.
A Snowhouse for the Farm.
"Snow we'll packed will last as long
as ice," say those who have tried the
experiment on farms where more
snow than ice is available in the win
ter In a properly constructed snow
house the snow may be kept for
long time and used in the summer in
the place of ice. This plan, say field
agents Of the United States depart
ment of agriculture, has already given
excellent results in practice, and is
especially recommended to farmers in
Virginia, West Virginia, Kentucky and
Maryland There is, however, no rea-
son why it would not be profitable to
construct a snoWhouse in any region
where there is a likelihood of any
considerable snowfall in the course
Of the year.
In Virginia and Maryland success
tul snowhouses have been made from
pit sheltered by a gable roof some
tour feet above the ground. The dirt
dug from the pit is piled around the
board sides of the house and graded
In order to drain the water away
Underground the pit should not be
.ess than 16 feet in diameter and
depth with a bottom from two to six
feet smaller than the top. This is to
prevent the formation of air spaces
around the snow as it settles. The
pit should be lined with planks two
inches thick. Obviously, the coolest
place av lilable should be selected, and
whenever possible, shade from sur
rounding trees should be utilized to
keep off the rays Of the sun. Proper
packing of the snow in the house is
essential. 1t should be tramped down
with the feet and tamped with a
block of wood. After a few days,
when the first loads have settled, the
spaces between the snow and walls
should be filled with more snow piled
as high as possible The top should
then be covered first with sacks and
finally with two or more feet of saw
dust or straw. AS fast as the snow
melts around the sides, the spaces
thus left should be packed with straw
N order to prevent air currents. Care
should also be taken to fill the snow
house before the snow becomes wet.
N the case of heavy falls the snow