No. 4.] 



FARM ICE HOUSES. 



163 



In a shaded place on a gentle northern slope a rough floor of rails, 

 rough boards or logs is laid as nearly flat as the materials used will 

 permit. These floor materials should be laid parallel with the slope 

 so that the sjiaees and irregularities between them will provide 

 drainage down the slope. Over these rough boards should be placed 

 8 inches of sawdust or mill shavings, or 12 inches of wild hay. The 

 ice is then stacked up as squarely as the blocks will permit, and to a 

 height about equal to the rectangular dimensions of the pile if the 

 quantity to be stored is small, or to as great a height as can con- 

 veniently be handled in case the quantity is very large. The nearer 

 cubical the whole pile, up to a convenient height for handling, the 

 less the loss from melting will be. The whole pile must then be cov- 

 ered with sawdust, shavings or wild hay, and the top protected by a 

 cover which will turn the rain. Usually there is a sufficient supply 

 of used lumber about a farm for this purpose, but a canvas cover 

 can be used if desired. Fig. 2 shows one method of covering an ice 



Fig. 2. — Ice stack. A, capboards held together by wire and staples; 

 B, side boards standing on end and leaning against ice stack; C, wild 

 hay; D, rough flooring; E, surface drain. 



stack. Among the disadvantages in the use of the ice stack are the 

 great waste in ice which must accompany the poor character of the 

 insulation, and the difficulty of getting sufficient material to cover 

 the entire stack. This latter difficulty is sometimes met by planting 

 posts the height of the pile at its four corners at a distance of 8 to 10 

 inches from the corners of the stack, nailing on a few rough boards 

 and confining the insulating material to the space between the boards 

 and the ice. When this practice is followed, however, it will be 

 seen that one is approaching the true building, or ice house, and it is 

 practically a foregone conclusion that it would be much cheaper and 

 more satisfactory in the long run to build a permanent rather than a 

 temporary structure for the purpose. The ice stack is also likely to 

 be inconvenient in location. A satisfactory place for it may not be 

 available near the buildings. It is unsightly in appearance, and if 



