39 



kets. It is a boon in case of sickness, and it is hardly necessary to 

 say that it is almost an essential to the housewife in good house- 

 keeping. 



The numerous streams, ponds and lakes of Massachusetts provide, 

 with the help of the winter climate, a sufficient supply of ice for 

 summer refrigeration on the farm at little more than the cost of the 

 labor in harvesting the ice crop. With this readily available supply, 

 and an appreciation of the advantages of storing sufficient for the 

 summer's needs, the principal question in the minds of Massachu- 

 setts farmers wiU be in what manner to store the ice rather than 

 whether or not storage is desirable. This article will, therefore, deal 

 more directly with the types of storage houses than with theoretical 

 considerations of the value of the ice during the summer season. 



The earliest form of ice-storage in use was the cave or pit. His- 

 torical records show that both the Persians and the Romans made 

 use of ice brought from mountain caves to cool their beverages dur- 

 ing the summer, and the practice of storing in such places has con- 

 tinued to the present time. Caves and pits have the advantage of 

 protection from the direct rays of the sun, and of a comparatively 

 steady temperature throughout the entire season. They have, how- 

 ever, the very serious disadvantages of poor drainage, inaccessibility 

 and inconvenience in storing, removing or sometimes in both storing 

 and removing, the ice. Fig. 1 illustrates a comparatively modern 



TroLf) Ooor 





Fig. 1. — Ice pit. 



SurFace Drain 



type of ice pit, showing how it is pro^'ided with artificial drainage 

 and with insulation, with a roof as an additional protection against 

 the loss of ice. 



