252 



now TO nuiLD ice-houses. 



These plain nnd concise hints by Mr. 

 Wyeth, will enable our readers, who have 

 failed in building ice-houses in the common 

 way, to remedy their defects, or to construct 

 new ones on the improved plan just given. 



In the ice-house above ground, the 

 opening being in the side, it will be best to 

 have a double door, one in each partition, 

 opposite each other. The outer one may be 

 entire, but the inner one should be in two 



The main points, it will be seen, are, to or three parts. The upper part may be 



place a sufficient non-conducting medium 

 of tan or saw-dust, if above ground, or of 

 wall and wood partition, if below ground, 

 to prevent the action of the air, or the damp 

 soil, on the body of ice enclosed in the 

 vault. 



Mr. Wyeth has not told us how large the 

 dimensions of an ice-house built in either 

 of these modes should be to provide for the 

 use of an ordinary family through a sea- 

 son ; but we will add as to this point, that a 

 cube of twelve to fourteen feet — that is, a 

 house, the vault of which will measure 

 about twelve to fourteen feet " in the clear," 

 every way, will be quite large enough, if 

 properly constructed. An ice-house, the 

 vault of which is a cube of twelve feet, will 

 hold about fifty tons of ice. One of this 

 size, near Boston, filled last January, is still 

 half full of ice, after supplying the wants 

 of a family all the season. 



Double Door of the Ice-houit. 



opened first, so that only so much of the 

 ice may be exposed at once, as is necessary 

 to reach the topmost layers. 



An ice-house below ground is so incon- 

 spicuous an object, that it is easily kept out 

 of sight, and little or no regard maybe paid 

 to its exterior appearance. On the contrary, 

 an ice-house above ground is a building of 

 sufficient size to attract the eye, and in 

 many country residences, therefore, it will 

 be desirable to give its exterior a neat or 

 tasteful air. 



A simple and pleasing mode of doing this, 

 and one which probabl}^ will prove quite 

 satisfactory in most farms and country seats, 

 will be to side or weather-board the exterior 

 joists, (left by Mr. Wyeth,) and build the 

 roof, after the mode shown in the f 7 oiitispiece 

 of the September number of this journal, 

 and explained on page 109. 



It will frequently be found, however, that 

 an ice-house above ground may be very con- 

 veniently constructed under the same roof 

 as the wood-house, tool-house, or some other 

 necessary out-building, following all the ne- 

 cessary details just laid down, and continu- 

 ing one roof and the same kind of exterior 

 over the whole building. 



In places of a more ornamental character, 

 where it is desirable to place the elevated 

 ice-house at no great distance from the 

 dwelling, it should, of course, take some- 

 thing of an ornamental or picturesque cha- 

 racter. 



In figures 63 and 64, (see Frontispiece,) 

 are shown two designs for ice-houses above 

 ground, in picturesque styles. Figure 63 



