138 



(rLEA^i^Gb iJS BEH: (JULTUKE. 



Pe!B. 



es, Is then run In these lines. The marking-plow 

 has an outrigger attachment which makes a 

 scratch, or mark, parallel to the first furrow in 

 which the marking-plow runs on returning. When 

 the field is marked, plows cutting to 6 inches in 

 depth are run through the furrows across and 

 back. These are followed by plows cutting yet j 

 deeper. Two-thirds of the thickness of the ice is 

 usually cut with plows, rendering the cutting with 

 chisel-bars an easy matter. The plows are worked 

 by horse power. Large blocks (13 x 20-feet cakes 

 in size) are then sawed clear through by hand, and 

 floated into a canal about a foot wider than the 

 block of cakes. Care is taken to stop up with 

 snow the end of furrows made by plows, to pre- 

 vent water running in and freezing. In this wide 

 canal the blocks are broken into strips by three or 

 four men, with implements similar to a gardener's 

 spading-fork. These strips, containing 13 cakes, 

 are kept moving by men (armed with pike-poles) 

 who stand on either side of the canal. Smaller 

 canals, a little wider than the cakes are long, open 

 into the larger canal, and at right angles to it. 

 There are as many of these smaller canals as there 

 are elevators in the building. Here the strips are 

 broken into single cakes by a chisel-pointed bar. 

 It will be remembered, that the breaking into strips 

 and cakes is rendered comparatively easy since 

 the plows leave but from four to six inches uncut. 

 The cakes are pushed into the aprons where the 

 bars of the elevator, above described, catch them 

 and take them up the incline. 



A house of 4000 tons' capacity requires 300 men in 

 the building and field, and can be filled in 13 days. 



HINTS TO THOSE WHO PUT UP THEIR OWN ICE. 



The great difficulty experienced by many who 

 put up their own ice, or, in fact, any who have it 

 put up in a small quantity, is to have it keep well. 

 A few hints, gathered from one of the most suc- 

 cessful practical ice-men on the Hudson River, 

 may be of value to some. 



Houses built all above ground are least ex- 

 pensive. A wall laid in mortar, reaching below 

 frost, and coming just far enough above ground to 

 clear the sill from the surface, should be built. 

 Sills may be made of two two-inch plank, spiked to- 

 gether, or of other material. Sills should be wide 

 enough to take 3 x 12 studding. Wide studding 

 are used in order to give ample space for sawdust 

 filling. 



A house 13 ft. square inside, and 10 ft. high, will 

 hold 32 tons; same height, 15 x 15, holds 50 tons 

 (45 cubic ft. to the ton). Siding nailed to studding 

 inside would be best of hemlock; outside, to suit 



taste of builder. Boards or plank should be laid 

 on the bottom to keep ice from contact with earth. 

 Care should be taken to get sawdust filling well 

 into the corners. A door 13 ft. high, by 3 or 3'4 

 wide, in two sections, upper and lower, is cut in 

 one end. A cleat is nailed to the studding, just in- 

 side the door, and another to the further side of 

 the studding, to hold short boards, which are put 

 in as the house is gradually filled. As the courses 

 rise, a block and tackle are used in hoisting. Swale 

 hay or rye or oat straw makes a good and clean 

 covering for the top. Get enough on, and settle 

 it well. 



Where a number of families in a farming neigh- 

 borhood put up ice it would bo economy to have 

 an ice-plow. A first-class one, with swing-marker 

 attachment, can be olitained for about f.50.00. By a 

 number clubbing together, the cost would be in- 

 considerable. Getting in ice, like thrashing, re- 

 quires quite a force of men to work it to advan- 

 tage; and if neighbors go at it together in the 

 same way, the labor will be materially lessened. 

 With a plow and a couple of chisel-bars, very little 

 sawing need be done, and yet have cakes in good 

 shape for stowing. About 33 x 33 inches is a very 

 convenient shape for handling. 



A nine-inch plow will make a furrow of the same 

 depth in ice. One stroke of the chisel-bar will de- 

 tach it, and leave a good even face. 



Geo. M. Watkins. 



Cedar Hill, Albany Co., N. Y., Feb. 7, 1887. 



As more people are out of work during the 

 winter than at any other time during the 

 year, I think it will be an excellent idea to 

 lay our plans so as to put in tlie time during 

 these winter months, and the ice-business 

 can be profitably carried on in almost every 

 locality. The market-gardener will many 

 times find it quite convenient to have some 

 means of preserving perishable products 

 (strawberries and the like), and the use of an 

 ice-house may save him a good many dollars, 

 even if he does not think of going to the ex- 

 pense of cold-storage buildings. The young 

 friend who furnished me the letter in regard 

 to the ice-business above, was also interested 

 in market-gardening; and when I told him 

 about my searches for greenhouses for grow- 

 ing vegetables, he said he thought he could 

 help me, and I will tell you something about 

 it in our next chapter. 



He that tilleth his land shall be satisfied with bread 

 derstanding.— Prov. 13: 11. 



We were on the streets at the time ; and 

 when I mentioned it he turned abruptly and 

 entered a green-gxocer's, situated a little be- 

 low the sidewalk. Just at that moment it 

 struck me that one who proposes to deal in 

 lettuce, celery, beets, turnips, and articles 

 that are apt to dry up if precautions are not 



CHAPTER XXXVl. 



but he that followeth vain persons is void of un- 



taken, is very much better located in a base- 

 ment than in a store level with the walk. 

 Mr. W. mentioned the purpose of our visit, 

 and the proprietor was very courteous and 

 obliging. So much for having somebody 

 who is acquainted in a large city, to assist 

 you. The storekeeper showed uS different 



