THE CANADIAN HORTICULTURIST. 



CONSTRUCTION OF A FARM ICE-HOUSE. 



£y^ P^WO classes of farm ice-houses 

 are practicable. If high dry 

 ground or a hill-side is available, 

 a pit or submerged house can 

 be constructed. Make a hole in the 

 ground of the desired size, the bottom 

 highest in the middle, so that the water 

 from melting will drain toward the 

 walls. At each side place a line of 

 tile leading from the house to the side 

 of the hill, or to another drain or ditch. 

 Drainage must be perfect, or results 

 will not be satisfactory. For walls, put 

 in a frame made much like that of an 

 ordinary corncrib, with the boards close 

 together and on the inside of the up- 

 rights. The joists should be 2 x 6 pine 

 or hardwood, depending upon which is 

 the cheapest. Stone may also be used. 

 The roof is best if 2 x 6 studding is 

 used, boarded on both sides ; but any 

 kind of a roof will serve, especially if 

 covered with hay, straw, or stalks to 

 keep out the heat. If the pit is in a 



a Fig. 1308.— h 



shady place— which is always desirable 

 — the gables may be left open for ven- 

 tilation. If sun strikes the roof, ordi- 

 nary ventilators must be provided. 

 Drainage must be perfect and the ven- 

 tilation adequate, but it is best to have 

 as little circulation of air as possible. 

 A door must be made for taking out 

 ice, and as the supply is lowered a lad- 

 der becomes necessary. Fig. 1308 a 

 shows such a pit. If water stands near 

 the surface of the ground, admitting of a 



Fig. 1309.— Ice-house. 

 possibility of its rising in the pit, the 

 safest way is to build the house entirely 

 above ground, taking the precautions 

 outlined above as to location, drainage 

 and ventilation. A floor is not abso- 

 lutely necessary, although desirable. A 

 cheap shed with rough posts, carefully 

 double boarded and the air space filled 

 with sawdust or chaff, will be better 

 than nothing, and if a straw stack or 

 heap of cornstalks could be built over 

 it, such an affair would keep ice fairly 

 well. But thrifty farmers believe in 

 building a durable ice-house that will 

 last. The common type is shown in 

 Fig. 1308 b. A 6-in. dead-air space is not 



A DURABLE ICE-HOUSE 



sufificient, even if the outer boards are 

 matched and the inner square edged, 

 with tarred paper underneath both. 

 Some think the paper is hardly neces- 

 sary under the inside boards if they 

 are matched, but square-edged boards 

 may be used on both sides with paper 

 on both sides of studding. Fig. 1309 



Fig. 1310.— Plan. 



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