236 



REFRIGERATORS. 



(Continued from page 228.J 

 After coiistnicting and using tlie Refrigerator 

 ■wliicli lias heen det-cribed, ;is its usel'iilness de- 

 pended entirely on a supply of iee ; 1 was natural- 

 ly led to reflect on the most economical means of 

 preserving it, and lience the foregoing investiga- 

 tion of the subject. In the course of that investi- 

 gation an improvement in the Refrigerator occur- 

 red. I clearly discovered, tliat agreeably to the 

 laws of heat, auj' refrigerating body placed in the 

 upper part of a chamber defended from external 

 heat, would certainly receive heat from the atmos- 

 phere of the chamber, until a. common tempera- 

 ture was produced. I therefore concluded that if 

 a small tin vessel was attached to the imiler side 

 of the lid, of the Refrigerator, to contain the ice 

 only, aiid tlie lid made to slide instead of raising 

 up, that the large tin vessel might be spared ; 

 which would certainly be a great improvement, 

 especiall}' as in that case there woidd be no abso- 

 lute necessity for the wooden vessel to be water 

 tight, and some difficulty attends keeping any 

 other than a hooped vessel in that condition. In 

 order to prove by exi)eriinent as far as I had con- 

 venience for doing it, I removed the tin vessel from 

 the refrigerator and placed a vessel containing 

 water, and another milk on the bottom qf the 

 wooden vessel, one at each end ; I then fixed a 

 pewter bason containing ice and salt, as near the 

 top as I could to admit the lid' to shut over it. 1 

 found both water and milk began to freeze in 

 about an hour ; and by letting them remain some 

 time longer they were both frozen to the bottom ; 

 the temperature of the room about 55°. H.aving 

 never betore seen, or heard of any liquid being 

 frozen by means of ice and salt in a temperature 

 above the freezing point, in any other way than 

 by placing the vessel containing tlie liquid intend- 

 ed to be frozen in contact with the mixture ; this 

 experiment as far as it went was encouraging. — 

 Some days afterwards the temperature of the 

 room the same, I fixed the bason containing ice 

 only, as before, and made use of a thermometer 

 to try the effect. I was now disappointed by 

 finding that 1 could not by this means reduce the 

 atinospliere within the vessel as low as the ice by 

 6 or 8°. But on a little reflection the cause was 

 very plain. The uoucouductors enclosing that 

 portion of atmosphere, were not so perfect but 

 they admitted some heat to pass through, and this 

 continually mixing therewith, before it could be 

 taken up by the ice would of course always occa- 

 sion a dilfercnce in temperature. This plan will 

 not therefore answer the purpose as well as the 

 other, either when a great degree of cbldness is 

 required, or when it is necessarj' to |>roduce im- 

 mediate effect. But for those on a large scale, 

 such as would be jiroper to stand in cellars, or 

 the holds of vessels, I think this last mentioned 

 kind is to be |ireferred. 



The following I think would be an eligible mode 

 of construction. Suppose it is required to have 

 one w hose content siiall be equal to six cubic feet 

 clear of the ice vessel : let a box of wood be made 

 three feet long two feet wide and sixteen inches 

 deep in the clear ; let another box be made of 

 such dimensions that the first may stand wiYhin it ; 

 leaving an interstice between, on all sides, and 

 also between their bottoms of about an inch. — 

 The sides and one end of the outside box should 

 also stand an inch or more above the other. — 

 Then put as much dry sifted ashes, or rather 



NEW ENGLA ND FARMER, 



charcoal dust if it can be had, into the large box 

 as will cover the bottom an inch deep ; set the 

 small box within the large one, leaving the space 

 equal on all sides. Then prepare a lid, which 

 may rest on the top of the inside box, alter thin 

 strips are nailed on the upper edges thereof in or- 

 der to cover the spaces left between the boxes ; 

 the edges of the lid confined by a ledge nailed to 

 the outside box, or by a groove, and made to slide 

 endwise ; cut a hole of a convenient size near the 

 middle of the lid lor the ])urpose of putting in the 

 ice, and connect a door to it by a hinge. The ice 

 vessel must then be fastened to the lid : this 

 should be made of tin or sheet iron, about two 

 feet long, eighteen inches wide, and four inches 

 deep, having a convenient opening at one corner 

 to draw off the water, which may be sto]iped with 

 a cork ; the side and end plates of the ice vessel 

 must be five inches wide, one inch of which must 

 have a square turn outwards to admit of its being 

 nailed up to the lid, which will form the top of the 

 vessel. This being done it will be necessary to 

 cut away one end of both boxes so as to admit 



Feb. 13, 1829. 



which divided by 30, (|Uotes 4| ; 30 pounds of 

 ice multiplied by 4^ jiroduces 140 pounds of the 

 article to be cooled : if we stiike ofi" the fraction 

 §, which will be just ^ of the ice on account of 

 that portion of external heat which will find its 

 way in while the articles are cooling, we shall 

 then have 120 lbs. This is much more than al- 

 most any private family would have occasion to 

 put in daily, for the use of the family only. There 

 are, however, some deductions to make for the 

 heat, which would be admitted by frequently 

 opening, and also continually passing through the 

 sides and bottom of the boxes. 



But it is impossible to calculate with certainty 

 on the subject without more accurate experiments 

 than I have yet maile. I am, however of the 

 opinion, that the average quantity of 20 lbs. of ice 

 per day, will be sufficient in such a refrigerator as 

 has been last described, to answer the purposes 

 of a large family ; even adiiiitting, that with other 

 things, the milk of two or three cows should ba 

 ke|it therein ; when the weather is very warm, 

 the necessary quantity will probably be greater. 



To be concluded next week. 



From Luudou's Gardeuei's Magazine. 



The Dahlia may be advantageously forced by 

 potting the roots in Februarj', and letting them re- 

 main in frames till June, when they will begin to 

 flower, and may be turned out into the open bor- 

 der. — Matthicis Syhaticus, October 10, 1827. 



Traiisplaniing Turnips. — For many years I 

 have sown tmnip seed on any little vacant spot, 

 and, when the plants had two or three leaves, 

 pUmted them out, by a line in regular rows. — 

 Xoihing can succeed better, or produce finer roots : 

 hardly one in twentj' dies. — Rusticus in Urbe. 



the lid with the ice vessel nailed to its under side ! and proportionably less when cooler 

 to draw out. Then fill the sjiace between the 

 boxes at the sides and ends, with the same ma- 

 terial used between their bottoms ; nail on the 

 strips to confine it in, and the wood-work will be 

 finished. The whole may then be covered with 

 coarse blanketing, duffie, or the cloth called lion- 

 skin ; so cut as to admit of the lid being drawn 

 out, and to cover all the joints when shut : at the 

 end cut down, to give room for the ice vessel, it 

 will be necessary to have a flap of several thick- 

 nesses of cloth, attached either to the end of the 

 lid or box in such a manner as efTectually to close 

 the opening when the lid is pushed in. 



An easier method of fixing the lid (and perhaps 

 in most cases ought to be adopted) would be to 

 let the top of both boxes be of equal height and 

 fasten the iid thereon, having an opening in the 

 middle a little larger than the ice vessel, through 

 which it may hang down, suspended by the edges 

 of its wooden top to which it should be nailed as 

 befiire directed, the joints to be all closed by the 

 woollen covering. The only inconvenience that' 



would attend this mode would he an increased tt,;-, r m 7 • f j t> .-^.i „. _ 



,.,.,. , . , . Ulditij or Toads tn Gardens. — rractical men 



ditncu ty in opeiimg, on account of its having to , 11 .1 „. . i„ i- „„i,;„fl„„„:„ 



, ,.,,„., 5,, ^ . , ,. ■ , • have been long aw are that toads five clueHy on in- 

 be fitted ofi when full of ice but this "''gl't n. | _,;_.|^. ^^^j,^^ . ^^,,^^ ,,„^.^ ^^,^„ ,^,^jg 



some measure be remedied by having suitable | .^ ^ .^^ ^^ ^^^^ j,^^,^ ^^ ^^^^.^ hot-beds, for the 



handles, and for those that are to be stationary a ; ' „/., , .„„,., j i:,.„ „„..,.,•,„=. j!.„ a 



' ■' I purpose of destroying wood-hcc, earwigs, &ic. A 



small pulley. .,,.,, I correspondent, Mr Reeve, who has long employed 



Such an ice vessel as has been described, will 1^^^^ ^ guardians of his melon and\-uciimber 

 probably contain about 30 lbs. of ice m lumps ;, ^^ f,^],^, corroborates aU that has been said 



and IS capable of coohng more than 120 lbs. of ^j •„,^.i,. ^^efulness in such situations, and 



any kind of provision or liquids put m the average j.^ ^^ attemive to them, that, when thev have clear- 

 summer temperature, down to 6 or 8° below the i^^ j^j^ 5,^^^ ^j. -^^^^^^^^ ^j j,^ (j^,^^ j,,^^^ ^„g^^y 

 coldest spring water. 1 have not consulted any , .^^ jj^^j^. ponfi„e,„e„,_ j.^ actually feeds them, in or- 

 meteorological tables on the subject ; but believe j^^j. ^^ ^^^^^ jj^^^^ ^j^^^^ h„ ^^^^^ ,,,p„, ,1^^ ^f. 



I am safe in stating Uie mean temperature of tliis|fgrent insects which are considered noxious in gar- 

 climate, from the middle of the fifth month,* to 1 

 the middle of the ninth nionthf (which is about | 



A Strawberry was gathered, on the 20th of June, 

 from the garden of Wr Xorris, Brentford End, 

 which measured ISJ inches in circumference, and 

 weighed upwards of three ounces. — Morning Her- 

 ald. 



tlie time ice is useful) rather below SO^. It will 

 then require any article at that temperature to be 

 cooled 30° to bring it to what was proposed. As 

 it requires 146° or thereabouts of heat to convert 

 ice to water ; then, as many thirties as are con- 

 tained in 146, so many pounds of the thing in- 

 tended to be cooled, will each poiimi of ice cool 

 to the degree required, admitting the ice to re- 

 ceive no other accession of heat. For the sake of 

 round numbers, insiead of 146, we will say 140, 



" Afay. t Seplember. 



dens, all of which they devour ; even slugs are 

 eaten by them (though tliis is denied by another 

 correspondent ;) and if so, this despised reptile • 

 must be a beneficial assistant to the" gardener at 

 times, and in a way he is at present but little ac- 

 quainted with. — J. M.for Cond. 



Apples may be kept all the year round, by being 

 immersed in corn, which receives no injury from 

 their contact. If the American apples were pack- 

 ed among grain, they would arrive here in much 

 finer condition. In Portugal it is customary to 

 have a small ledge in every apartment (inunediate- 



