DEVOTED TO AGRICULTURE AND ITS KINDRED iiRTS AND SCIENCE 



VOL. III. 



SATURDAY, JANUARY 18, 1851. 



NO. 2. 



RAYNOLDS k NOURSE, 

 Proprietors. 



OFFICE, QUINCY HALL, BOSTON. 



S. W. COLE, Editor. 



ICE HOUSES. 



There are many modes of building ice houses. — 

 Some make them below the ground, in the manner 

 of a cellar; but the dealers in ice in this vicinity, 

 who have large fabrics for this purpose, or many of 

 moderate size, build them all above ground. A 

 small ice house, to furnish one or two families with 

 ice, may be made conveniently below ground. The 

 walls may be made in a rude or nice nuinner, ol 

 course in a very cheap or more expensive \v;i.y, an 

 suits the taste of the owner. 



Some lay the ice against the walls, but it will 

 not melt so soon, if a row of poles or joists be ])laced 

 along against them, and the ice laid against the poles. 

 This mode of construction is very cheap, and the 

 house will be durable, needing but little repairs. 



The soil must be porous, so that the water from 

 melted ice will readily disappear in the earth, else 

 there must be a drain to conduct off the water. In 

 the bottom, place small blocks of wood more than a 

 foot deep, level them, and place a layer of shavings 

 over them. Over these lay a plank floor. The 

 layers of blocks and shavings retard the melting ol 

 the ice. 



At the top of the ice room, lay across beams, on 

 which place a floor. On this floor put a layer of tan 

 or saw-dust, one or two feet thick; the latter is the 

 better. Or make a layer of fine shavings or straw, 

 two or three feet thick. Make a roof that is toler- 

 ably steep, then there will be less heat at the top 

 from the sim. At the ends of the roof have venti- 

 lators to conduct off the heat, which will accumu- 

 late in it on a hot sunny day. In preparing an en- 

 trance for the purpose of filling the house within, 

 and taking it out, when necessary, it is better to 

 have two doors, in order to exclude the heat more 

 effectually. 



In making an ice house above -ground, there 

 sliould be on all sides two rows of posts, set in the 

 gTOund,of stout joists, or large poles, with one side 

 hewed straight. These rows should be about two 

 or two-aiid-a half feat apart, with the hewed sides 

 facing the othsr row. On 1.11033 fair sides of the- 



post, boards should be nailed. Then the outer row 

 of posts will be outside the building, and the inside 

 row, on the inside, so that the filling between the 

 two board walls, will press the boards against the 

 posts. The space between the board walls should 

 be filled with tan, saw dust, or charcoal dust. Fine 

 shavings, straw, chaff, husks, leaves, and other light 

 substances will answer, but they are not so good, 

 and when they are used, they should be packed iu 

 close, and trodden down as firm as possible; and it 

 would bs well lo make the space wider, if light ma- 

 terials are to be used. 



I\Iake the foundation, the upper floor, and roof, 

 the same as when the house is under ground, and 

 observe the same caution about double doors at the 

 entrance. The beams at top will go on to the posts, 

 and keep them in their place, at the sides; and at 

 the ends, the posts must be fastened together, that 

 they may not spread with the weight of materials 

 between the boards. 



The expense of an ice house is small, and the an- 

 nual cost of filling it is but a trifle, yet the advanta- 

 ges from a good supply of ice are great. It is a 

 luxury in hot weather, in rendering drinks more 

 palatable, and if used judiciously it is not only free 

 from injury, but actually conducive to health. Ice 

 water, in time of drought, is far better for health 

 than the low and often filthy drainings from springs 

 and wells, that often cause various diseases, so com- 

 mon in hot, dry seasons. 



In the preservation of transient fruits and fresh 

 provisions, and in keeping various articles of food 

 in a sweet and palatable condition, ice is very im- 

 portant — a necessary of life to those who have be- 

 come accustomed to its use. In a dairy it is high- 

 ly valuable both as a matter of convenience, and of 

 decided profit. As we need heat in the severe cold 

 of winter, so we need ice to temper the effects of 

 the scorching heat of summer. Generally our cold 

 winters furnish a large crop of ic/3, and the numer- 

 ous natural ponds, the advantages for artificial ponds, 

 and the rivers, afford great convienience for obtain- 

 ing this article in a very cheap manner 



