28 New Hampshire Experiment Station [Bulletin ^S 



The stone cellar foundation was used for one side on Farm No. 4. 

 The remaining three sides were roughly boarded u\), using the sui)port- 

 ing posts for corners. Rough boards, laid on logs, provided a floor on 

 which the ice was placed and packed with sawdust in the usual way. 

 Putting the ice in storage was easily accomplished by sliding it from 

 the sled into the cellar over a chute. The labor of daily removal, 

 however, was correspondingly increased in bringing it back up to the 

 floor above. It is very probable that this case is representative of a 

 minimum cost method for ice storage, from the standpoint of over- 

 head expense. 



Operating Costs for Natural Ice Refrigeration. Detailed estimates 

 on the costs of operation with natural ice are given for each of the 

 three farms in Table 11. The minimum values used refer to years 

 when conditions for harvesting and storing ice made it a relatively easy 

 task. The maximum values stand for years when considerable diffi- 

 culty was experienced, due to poor weather conditions. 



In the cool weather of late spring and early fall, the cooling room 

 on Farm No. 2 required less attention, 2 loadings a week being consid- 

 ered as average, in midsummer 3 loadings a week, or more, were nec- 

 essary. The minimum and maximum values allow for difficulties in 

 servicing the cooling room which vary from year to year but are largely 

 clue to the condition of the ice in storage. 



Seventy-two dollars ($72) additional labor was regularly hired on 

 this farm regardless of conditions; therefore, this value alone is used 

 for labor when considering cash or money-out-of-pocket expenses. 



On Farm No. 4 the full amount of ice needed for the entire year was 

 never put in, and it was necessary to purchase from $20 to $25 worth 

 to finish out the season. The fact that the ice was dragged by hand 

 from the cellar to the cooling room accounts for the absence of horse 

 or truck labor in servicing. It is interesting to note that in one year 

 the nearest sawdust was nearly ten miles away, which made it possible 

 to haul but one load per day. "All the ice for this farm varied from 

 $235.55 to $291.30, but cost on an average of $263.43 per year. To 

 this can be added about twenty dollars overhead or fixed charges. Af- 

 ter deducting the value of the ice used for other purposes this makes 

 a range of from $206.24 to $250.84 with an average of $228.54 for the 

 total annual cost of maintaining and operating the cooling room with 

 natural ice. 



Although the ice storage on Farai No. 1 was located in the group of 

 farmstead buildings, it was far enough away from the cooling room to 

 require the use of a team or a truck. In this way the ice was brouglit 

 to the same door that the milk is loaded from and accounts for the 

 hauling charge. In this case all the ice costs varied from $170.10 to 

 $219.50 with an average of $194.80, which is believed to be an under 

 rather than an over estimate. After deducting the cost of ice used 

 in the house, there is a range in expense from $196.40 to $239.63 or 

 an average cost of $218.01 per year for the total cost of maintaining 

 and operating the cooling room with ice. 



Twenty Years Experience Using Natural Ice. Natural ice was used 

 for refrigeration on Farm No. 2 from 1902 to 1923, and a review of 

 this farmer's experiences shows the efforts made to clevelop greater ef- 



