The Mankato free press. [volume] (Mankato, Blue Earth County, Minn.) 1879-1924, 1914-02-06
Short Ice Crop
Higher In Price
From SATURDAYS Daily.

From SATURDAYS Daily.
What the local supply of ice win
be for next summer depends al
most entirely on the weather for
The next week or two. So say those
who are engaged In the Ice business
II there should be a cold spell for
a few days there is no doubt that
the Ice men could cut enough to
make an ample supply for the city
Of Mankato at the two usual cut.
ting PAGES on the Minnesota river.
One Of these cutting places is al
the mouth of the Blue Earth and
the other is farther up the Min.
nesota at South Bend.
Ice Thin In Blue Earth.
Thus far there has been very
little attempt TO cut any fee at the
mouth Of the Blue Earth. There
the ice Is very thin. and In one
or more places the river is abso-
| lutely open. so that u Is not safe
to drive the teams over the ice in
that locality to do any blowing. 4
great deal Of cutting. however, has
been done at South Bend But II
costs fifty cents a load TO haul the
Ice to the main part of the city
from South Bend. whereas Il costs
only thirty cents load to do the
hauling from the mouth Of the Blue
Earth. As rule sixteen cakes,
weighing from ESQ 10 600 pounds
each, can be taken as load. A
difference OF twenty cents a load
In the cost of the hauling Is likely
TO make quite a difference in the
retail price OF the Ire. when one
considers how long that additional
money must be tied up before the
men who have advanced II are able
10 get their money back.
Small Crop Of Ice.
Furthermore, there are ice men
who have cone no cutting at all yet.
because the fields they have staked
out are at the mouth of the Blue
Earth. IL these dealers should not
be able to put up any ice at all,
there Is no doubt that the local
crop OF Ice would be much smaller
than IL usually Is, and that would
have the inevitable effect OF forcing
Up the retail price.
Last summer ice was selling for
residence use ut 81 per month for
four deliveries week. That Is
about the usual rate. Once the
rrice was s2.25 per month. Ice
men now ere Of the opinion that
the question in regard to the price
for the coming summer Is whether
II will be 81 per month or more
than that. They do not think there
Is any chance for the price being
less than 81
Trying to Secure Contracts.
Some OF the ice dealers are now
endeavorins to get hotels and other
institution that use large quaint.
ties OF ice to make contracts for
their entire ice supplies during the
coming warm season.
Ice men are now engaged In con.
structing a pontoon bridge across
The mouth of the Blue Earth river
on which TO do their hauling from
South Bend This would not be
necessary l. the ice were ten To
eleven inches thick, for that thick.
ness would be adequate to sustain
the weight OF team of horses
That was about the thickness OF
the Ice at South Bend when the
cutting commenced not many days
aGo. The cutting increased the
thickness, as the recent cold smell
occurred during that time, and thus
the thickness grew, as the cold air
vas allowed !. to penetrate downward
through the burrows. Thus a thick.
ness of seventeen inches was oh.
tanned. Ice cutters can thus some.
times increase the thickness of ice
by as much as three inches per
day.
Trouble With Floods.
The ice cutters have had consid.
trable trouble during the past few
days on account of floods. Floods
are one OF the greatest difficulties
with which ice men have TO con.
tend. When the river rises over
the Ice. that has been partly plowed.
II nils up the burrows that have
oeen cut. and IL the weather Is cold.
Ice forms In these burrows. and then
the cutting work has to be done all
over again. Sometimes, a thin skim
OF ice forms over the flooded part.
and thus the cutters are greatly
handicapped.
Ice VIII Be Of Good Quality.
Even IL the Ice Is scarce during
the coming summer. Il will be Of
good qualit.-. the ice men say. At
south Bend the ice Is beautiful and
clear. This Is rather surprising IN
view OF the fact that there has been
scarcely any snow this winter, and
enc would expect that under tina,
condition q great deal of dust would
blow over the ice. and become fro
zen into the surface. Why this has
lot occurred at South Bend, the ice
men do not seem to know. There
have been seasons when the surface
ct the ice has been so dirty that
, two or three inches had TO be
scraped away from every cake.
Ice men complain that fishing mar.
ties have given than a c-o~. -,