ICE 



er ; but a circular form is most proper 

 for the well in which the ice is to be pre- 

 served ; which should be of a size and 

 depth proportionable to the quantity to 

 be kept ; for it is proper to have it large 

 enough to "contain ice for two years 

 consumption, so that if a mild winter 

 should happen, in which little or no ice 

 is to be had, there may be a stock to sup- 

 ply the want. At the bottom of the well 

 there should be a space of about two 

 feet deep left, to receive any moisture 

 that may drain from the ice , over this 

 space should be placed a strong wooden 

 grate, and from thence a small drain 

 should be laid under ground to carry off 

 the wet. The sides of the well should 

 be built with brick, at least two bricks 

 thick; for the thicker it is, the less dan- 

 gerthere will be of the well being affect- 

 ed by any external cause. When the well 

 is brought up within three feet of the 

 surface, there should be another outer 

 arch or wall begun, which should be car- 

 ried up to the height of the intended 

 arch of the well ; and if there be a se- 

 cond arch turned over this wall, it will add 

 to the goodness of the house : the roof 

 must be high enough above the inner 

 arch to admit of a door- way to get out the 

 ice. If the building is to be covered with 

 slates or tiles, reeds should be laid consi- 

 derably thick under them, to keep out 

 the sun and external air; and if these 

 reeds are laid the thickness of six or eight 

 inches, and plastered over with lime and 

 hair, there will be no danger of the heat 

 getting through them. The external wall 

 may be built in what form the proprietor 

 pleases; and as these ice-houses are 

 placed in gardens, they are sometimes so 

 contrived as to have a handsome alcove 

 seat in front, with a small door behind it, 

 through which a person might enter to 

 take out the ice ; and a large door oa the 

 other side, fronting the north, with a 

 porch wide enough for a small cart to 

 back in, in order to shoot down the ice 

 near the mouth of the well, which need 

 not be more than two feet in diameter, 

 and a stone so contrived as to shut it up 

 in the exactest manner; all the vacant 

 space above and between this and the 

 large door should be filled up with straw. 

 The building, thus finished, should have 

 time" to dry before the ice is put into it. 



It is to be observed, that upon the 

 wooden grate, at the bottom of the well, 

 there should be laid some small faggots, 

 and if upon these a layer of reeds is 

 placed smooth for the ice to lie upon, it 

 will be better than straw, which is com- 

 monly used. As to the choice of the ice, the 



g 

 d 



ICH 



thinner it is, the easier it may be broken 

 into powder; for the smaller it is broken, 

 the better it will unite, when put into the 

 well. In putting it in, care must be 

 taken to ram it as close as possible ; and 

 also to allow a vacancy of about two inch- 

 es, all round, next the side of the well, 

 to give passage to any moisture occa- 

 sioned by the melting of some of the ice. 

 When the ice is put into the well, if a 

 little saltpetre be mixed with it at every 

 ten inches or a foot in thickness, it will 

 cause it to unite more closely into a solid 

 mass. 



ICH DIEN, the motto of the Prince 

 of Wales's arms, signifying, in the high 

 Dutch, ' I serve." it was first used by 

 Edward the Black Prince, to shew his 

 subjection to his father king Edward 

 III. 



ICHNEUMON, in natural history, a 

 enus of insects of the Hymenoptera or- 

 er : mouth with a straight horny mem- 

 branaceous bifid jaw, the tip rounded and 

 ciliate ; mandibles curved sharp ; lip cy- 

 lindrical, membranaceous at the tip, and 

 emarginate ; feelers four, unequal, fili- 

 form, seated in the middle of the lip ; an- 

 tennae setaceous, of more than thirty arti- 

 culations; sting exserted, inclosed in a 

 cylindrical sheath, composed of two,. 

 valves, and "not very pungent. There are 

 more than five hundred species enume- 

 rated by different authors. These are se- 

 parated into two families. A. scutel, white 

 or yellow ; antennae annulate with white. 

 B. scutel, white or yellow ; antennae en- 

 tirely black. C. scutel, the colour of the 

 thorax ; antennae annulate. D. scutel, the 

 colour of the thorax ; antennae black. E. 

 antennae yellow. F. minute ; antennae fili- 

 form; abdomen sessile, ovate. 



The whole of this singular genus have 

 been denominated parasitical, on account 

 of the very extraordinary manner in 

 which they provide for the future sup- 

 port of their offspring. The fly feeds on 

 the honey of flowers, and when about to 

 lay her eggs, perforates the body of some 

 other insect, or its larva, with its sting or 

 instrument, at the end of the abdomen, 

 and there deposits them. These eggs in 

 a few days hatch ; and the young larva, 

 which resemble minute white maggots, 

 nourish themselves with the juices of 

 their foster parent, which however con- 

 tinues to move about and feed till near the 

 time of its change to a chrysalis, when the 

 larva of the ichneumon creep out, by per- 

 forating the skin in various places, and 

 each spinning itself up in a small oval 

 silken case, changes into a chrysalis, and 



