162 



BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. [Pub. Doc. 



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 will 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 



Trap Door 



SurFace Drain 





Fig. 1. — Ice pit. 



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 

 type of ice pit, showing how it is provided with artificial drainage 

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

 the loss of ice. 



Of comparatively recent introduction, but of almost equal primi- 

 tiveness in construction, is the use of the ice stack. This method of 

 storing ice is extremely simple and may be explained in a few words. 



