ice in England 



I 



Thcfc gre more generally ufed in warm countries, 

 than in England, but particularly in Italy, where the 

 incancft perlon who rents a houfe, is not without a 

 a vault or cellar for keeping of ice •, but as the ufe of 



is much greater of late than it was 

 formerly, fo the number of Ice-houfes has been 

 greatly incrcafed j and akJiough the mention of thcfe 

 may, at firft fight, feem foreign to my fubjeA, yet 

 if it is confidcicd, that thcfe buildings are generally 

 . creded in gardens, and as often put under the care 

 of gardeners, it may not be amifs for me to give fome 

 general directions for the choice of the fituation and 

 ftrudure of the building, as alfofor the management 



of the ice. .': . . ' " 



''-■ In the choice of a fituation for an Ice-houfc, the prin- 

 cipal regard fhould be, that of a dry fpot of ground, 

 for wherever there is moilLure, the ice will melt ; 

 therefore in all ftrong lands, which detain the wet, 

 there cannot be too much care taken to rnake drains 

 all round the building to carry off all moifture 9' for 

 when this is lodged near the building, it will cccafion 



- a dam.p there, which will always be prejudicial to the 



keeping of the ice. 



The next confidcration muft b 



to have the place 



fo elevated, that there niay be defcent enough to carry 



off v/hatever wet may happen near the building, or 



- from the ice melting; alio, that the place be as 



rriuch expofed to the fun and air as poffible, and hot 



■ pl^.S'ed v.nder the drip, or in the fhade of trees, as hath 



' been too often pradlifed, under a falfe notion, that if 



. '■ it fliould be expofed to the fun, the ice will melt away 



'Viri fum'mer, which never can be the cafe where there 



' is fufficient care taken to exclude the outward air 



E 



pcrfon who builds, if hewill be at the cxpoicc; but 

 if not, then the plate into which- the roof Is t*Q be 

 framed, muft be hid en this outer wall, which ihould 

 be carried high enough above the inner arch, to ad- 

 mit of a door-way in, to get out the ice. If the build- 

 ing is to be covered with flates or tiles, tlicfe fliould 

 be a thicknefs of Reeds laid under, to keep out the 

 fun and external air ; if thefc Recdr> are laid two feet 

 thick, andplaftered over with lime and hair, thej^ will 

 be no danger of the heat getting through it.:. ; .- 



.The external wall need not be built circular,- but of 

 any other figure, either fquare, hexanguIar,"or cj^ian- 

 gular ; and where this ftands much in fight may be fa 



,i contrived as to make it a good objeft. I 1-jaVe feea 



an Ice-hbufe built in fuch a manner as to have a hand- 



.. fome alcov^ feat in the front, and behind this /eat was 



. . contrived a paffage to get out and put in the jce; and 

 by having the entrance behind, to the north ^fpeft, a 

 fmall paffage being next tlie feat, through which a 



r perfon might enter to tak? out the ice, and a large 

 door being contrived with a porch, \yide enpuo-h for 

 a fmall cart to back in, to moot down the Jcc upon 



.' the floor near the mouth of "the well, where ft ,p]iy 

 be well broken, before it is put down. The aperture 

 of this mouth of the well need not be more jjian two 

 feet and a half diameter, v^'hich will be larore enou.^K 

 to put down tne ice, and it it was greater, it would 

 be inconvenient; there fliould be a ftone fitc*ed to 

 flop this aperture," which mufl be clofed up,as fecure 

 as poffible, after the ice is put in, and all the vacant 

 fpace above and between this and the outer door, miJft 

 be filled clofe with Barley Strav/, to exclude the'^airj* 



. fo the door to enter for taking out the ice (l)ouid be on 





(which muft always be regarded^ in^ the building of I ;' the oppofite fide, immediately behind ti:e alcQYcfcat, 

 thefe houfes) for the heat of the fun can never pene- ' ^ ' '" ' "^" 

 frate through the double' arcKe's of the building,' fo 



r '■ 



K 



as to add any warmth to the air; but when the. bujid- 

 ' ing is entirely; open p the fun and wind, all damps 



• - arid vapours will tfiereby be removed, from about the 

 • -building,' which 'can' never be kept too dry,'' or free 

 ^■'from itioift, vapours. Asto ^^^^ figureof the building, 

 ^-that may be according to the fancy of the owner: but 

 ^*^or the well mto which the ice is to be put, a cu'cular 



^^ - ■ ^ ^j ilk ^v 4 ~ ~ 



^rfjgure is^the moft convenient -, the depth' of the well, 

 l^as alfo the diameter pf it, fnuft be proportioned to 

 ""'-^he quantity of ice wanted, but it is always bcft to 

 f 'nave enoucrh; for when the houie is well built, it 

 ■' "wjU keep tlie ice for two or three years ; and there 

 *-%ill be this' ad vahtage'irt'havrng it Mg& enough to 

 ■'*cont:^in ice for two years confumption, that if a mild 

 ^ winter fhould happen, wh.en there is not ice to be had, 



* 'there will be a ftock to Hipply the want. ' 



' '■■} If the qtiantity wanting is not great, a well of fix feet 



■^ diarpeter, and eight feet deep, will be large enough ; 



'"^ but for large confumption^ it fhould not be lefs than 



' fiiric or ten feet diameter, and as many deep : where 



'tfife"' fituation" is either "dry ^chalk,' gravel, or fand, 



the pit' m^y'^*^' ^^"^^^^'y ^*^^^ ^he furface of "the 



■;- ground; but in flrong loam, ^ clay, or mbift ground, 



;;'it will be* the' beft way to raife it fo hieh above 



''the lurrace, as that there may be no danger from 



'^^•the'\^t;V^-^ -^^■'P'^-^.^-^ ^ v-^-;'^^;^..^'-'-^ /— ^^V*--;^ 



.^ as was before-mentioned ; and this door feould be no 

 /; larger than is abfolutely neceffary for the.' coming. at 

 ^"the ice, .arid miift be ftrohg^^and clofe t4j:^cluds the 

 r'^^irj'and at five or fix ftct difl"ance frc.m thjs ppther 

 '^- door fhould be contrived, which fliould be clofeiv 

 Inut before the inner door is opened, whenever the 



ice IS t 



out 





opened, 



' - * - ■ ■ I 



'i 



-At the bottom of the well there fhould ,be I'fpace 

 . - left, about two feet deep, to receive any moilrure 

 jI^wTiich may*'^d rain from the ice,*" "aiid" a 'fmall under- 



*\"grdu'n3 drain fhould be laid froni'this, to carry off the 



- \ydt ; over this fpace "of two feet, fhould be'placed^a 



- frronp- <rrate of wood, to let the moiiture fall down, 

 Twhich may at any time happen, from meltine of the 



ice. 



JV 



The fides of this well muft be bricked up with 

 "a wall, at leafl two brick's and a 'Mlf thick • but if 

 \itii yet thicker, it v/ill be better, becaufe thd thicker 

 *'the walls are made, the lefs danger there will be 

 1 of the well being affeded by any external caufe. When 

 p;he well'is SfbughTwithin three feet of the'^turlace, 

 ' there mufl be another outer a'rch 6r%all begun, which 

 ' muft be Qarried up to the height of the top 6f the in- 

 ' tended afcfi'of the well : and if there is a fecond arch 

 turned over from^this well, it will add to the good- 



■'The building being finlflied, 'fliould have ^tjycpe tg^dry 

 ■' before the ice is put into it ; for Vv^hen the walls are 



Y green, ttie damp of them frequently melts tlie ice. At 

 ^ -jhe bottom 'or the Well, upon the wooden 'grate, 



V fhould be laid fome fmall fap:^Qts ; and if upon thefe 



; a layer of Reeds is placed Imcoth for the ice to lit 



■ uponV It will 'be better than Straw, whicK is com- 



/ rhonly'ufed ;' and in the choice of the ice, the thTnner 



it, is, the better it may be broken to powderV forthc 

 ^^ fmaller it is broken, the better it will unite when put 

 into the well : in putting of it in, there muft be care 

 'taken to ram it clofe, as alfo to allow a"Vacancy 

 all round next the wall, of about two niche's V* this 

 is "to give paffage to any moifture, which may be oc- 

 'cafioned by the melting of fome of the ice on the 

 ^ top, which, if pent up, will miek the ice downv/arc ; 

 Vwhen'the ice is put into" thp well, if there is a littk 

 . /^ falt-peffe rriixed at every ten inches oi-^foot thick- 

 • nefs, it will caufe the ice to ioin rnore clofcly into a 

 ^ :'folid mafs^ ^^ The inffru6ticns here given, being Ccje- 

 l ) fully cbfervecl, v/ill be fiifEcient to "guide^^perfons 

 1 '^wholly igfibraht in thcfe iliatfers. 1 ' '\>-».' i^i^r*- 

 JET, D'EAU is a French word, >hi.ph %nlfi?s'a 

 """ "fountain that cafts up water to any confiderable height 



* m the air. . , ... ,. - 



^ ^ Mdnfa iVTariotte," in his Trcatlfe ofHydrcftatics, 



?■■ ' That 



> 



' J 



I -r 



t. . 





> * 



' L 



t 



atk Jet d'Eatfvy'illnet^cr rife fo high as its referva- 



tory, bu^ alv/a*^^; falls fhprc of it by p. fpace which u 



,in a fubduplicate ratio, of that height; and t,hls he 



* proves Sy feveraf experiments; that though Jt^ts 



' ^ougferto'rife to the height "^of "the rcfervatoric^, yet 



rthe-'fri^ion of the fides cf the ajutages, and :k 



' *''refiftance of the air, are the caufes that in Jeti tuat 



have'" very high refervatories, the heignt or tnt: 



'-rjets does hot come up to that of tue'refervacory by a 



great dealr:':^;: ; ..'... -, - \ • 



^^He •ddds; That if a greater branches out in many 

 fmallcr ones, or is diftributed thrc4.igh fevcral Jets, the 



nefs of the houTef ^'but this rnuft be fubmitted to the I Square of the diameter cf the main pipe muft be pro- 



F-^ 



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