ICE. 



ICE-HOUSE. 



The seeds maybe inserted broadcast, or pre- 1 such cordial to the spirits as ice, or a draught 

 ferably in drills, six inches apart, in either case I of iced water. Its cold braces the stomach, and 

 not being buried deeper than half an inch. It gives a new tone to the fibres. I knew an En? 



is the usual practice, when the seedlings have 

 attained the growth of six weeks, to prick them 

 out 12 inches apart; but it is by much the best 

 practice to raise them where they are to remain. 



The slips and offsets are best planted at first 

 in a shady or north border ; they are generally 

 firmly rooted in two months. 



In September or October they are all fit for 

 removal to their final stations. After every 

 removal, whether of planting, pricking, &c., 

 they must be watered plentifully and regularly 

 until established. Hyssop possesses some ex- 

 citant and tonic powers, but is now rarely em- 

 ployed in medicine. 



I. 



ICE (Sax. ir; Dutch, eyse). Water in a state 

 of congelation. Ice is about one-eighth part 

 lighter than fresh water; hence it swims in 

 that element; and, owing to this property, the 

 icebergs and ice-islands are floated down to 

 southern latitudes from the arctic circle. Wa- 

 ter, which freezes at 32 of Fahrenheit, sud- 

 denly expands, and consequently, when it is 

 interposed in crevices and clefts of rocks, it 

 separates these, and often precipitates immense 

 masses from the tops of mountains into the 

 adjoining valleys. This is a principle which 

 should be kept in remembrance by the farmer 

 in making mounds or walls of earth, for if the 

 smallest clefts be left, the walls may be broken 

 down and crumbled to pieces even by mode- 

 rate frosts. 



ICE-HOUSE. A house or vault for the 

 preservation of ice in summer, should not be 

 regarded as merely administering to purposes 

 of luxury, since ice contributes so much to the 

 convenience, comfort, and even health, as to 

 make it almost an indispensable article of do- 

 mestic economy. The effects of the excessive 

 heat which commonly prevails in the sum- 

 mers of the United States, are greatly obviated 

 by the use of ice, which not only serves for the 

 preservation of fresh meats, butter, &c. ; but in 

 addition to these advantages and its grateful 

 employment for assuaging common thirst, it 

 is a powerful agent in tranquillizing the irrita- 

 bility of the stomach in bilious fevers and dys- 

 enteries, and relieving the pain and burning 

 heat often attendant upon inflammations and 

 fevers. Thus, by soothing the stomach, and 

 removing excessive heat, iced drinks and ap- 

 plications restore the deranged functions of the 

 nervous and muscular systems of the sick, 

 whilst they refresh and invigorate persons in 

 health so as to render them capable of enduring 

 exercise and exertion even under circum- 

 stances calculated to produce great oppression 

 and inconvenience. 



An interesting writer, has left the following 

 testimony in favour of ice, as a restorative and 

 remedy in fevers, which has been abundantly 

 corroborated by subsequent experience. "I 

 never," says he, "was in better spirits than 

 here in this hot country (Sicily). I believe the 

 quantities of ice we eat, in ices, contribute to 

 it; for I find, in a very violent heat there is no 

 652 



lish lady, at Nice, soon cured of a threatening 

 consumption, by a free indulgence in the use 

 of ices. It is the common practice here, Sicily, 

 to give quantities of ice-water to drink in in- 

 flammatory fevers." (Brydone.') 



"The custom in Sicily and Italy," says an- 

 other author, "of taking ice, is considered as 

 a powerful remedy in many diseases. The 

 physicians of these countries do not give many 

 medicines ; but frequently prescribe a severe 

 regimen; and prevent the baneful effects of 

 various diseases, by suffering the sick, for se- 

 veral days, to take nothing but water cooled by 

 ice, sweet oranges, and iced fruits." (SMtxrg.) 



One of the greatest advantages afforded by 

 ice houses, is that of enabling families to pre- 

 serve their butter, meat, fish, poultry, game, 

 &c., in states of the weather which would, 

 otherwise, quickly induce them to spoil. In no 

 part of the world are ice-houses more essential 

 to comfort, convenience, and health, than in the 

 United States, and in all the northern and Mid- 

 dle States the winters are sufficiently cold to 

 furnish ice of sufficient thickness to lay by for 

 preservation. The cities of the Southern States 

 are now regularly supplied with thick blocks 

 of ice from New England, which not only afford 

 a regular article of export to the West Indies, 

 but also to Calcutta ! 



Considering the small expense and trouble 

 at which ice houses or vaults may' be .con- 

 structed, and the many advantages to be de- 

 rived from them, it is surprising that any re- 

 spectable country establishment should be 

 without one. 



It is considered that the simplest, and most 

 scientific form for an ice-house, is a double 

 cone, that is to say, two cones joined base to 

 base, the one sunk into the earth with its point 

 downwards, into which the ice is rammed, 

 the other being a conical roof, generally of 

 wood-work, covered with thatch and pointed at 

 top. The entrance should be placed always 

 on the north side, and provided with two doors 

 some distance apart, and the spot screened 

 from the sun by trees, shrubbery, a hill, cliff, 

 or other barrier. The lower part may be dug 

 about 16 feet in diameter, terminating below 

 like the point of a sugar-loaf. Its ordinary 

 depth, for a moderate family, may be about 24 

 feet. The larger the dimensions, the longer 

 will it preserve the ice, provided it be filled. 

 In digging, the workmen should slope the 

 ground progressively towards the axis of'the 

 cone, to prevent the earth falling in. This 

 conical slope should be faced with brick or 

 stone work about one foot thick, and jointed 

 with Roman cement, so as to be air and water 

 tight. A well is to be excavated at the bottom, 

 two feet wide and four deep, covered at top 

 with an iron grating for supporting the ice, 

 and letting the water drain away. 



The upper cone may likewise be built of' 

 brick-work, and covered with thatch ; such a ; 

 roof would prove the most durable. Whatever 

 kind of roof be preferred, there must be left in 

 it an oblong passage into the interior. This 

 porch should face the north, and be at least 8 



