109 THE FABMER'S AND 



eight or ten feet, and build a house from the bottom, ex. 

 tending from four to ten feet above the surface. The 

 earth and all the materials, on this plan, are too swift 

 conductors of heat to completely secure the ice. The 

 better plan is to construct a building entirely above ground. 

 One house should be built in another, the walls being 

 eighteen or twenty inches asunder, and this space filled 

 with pulverized charcoal or tan bark. The floor should 

 be filled some twelve or fifteen inches, and a layer of tan 

 bark thrown over it to the depth of a few inches. This 

 kind of a floor will completely absorb the moisture and 

 keep the air dry. Rye straw makes an excellent roof. 

 No matter how coarse and cheap the materials are. A 

 good ice-house may be built of legs. 



