AMERICAN INSTITUTE. 289 



to pack iee in. I should prefer to have a very heavy coat of straw on 

 the ice, and then I don't care about the ventilation above. I will say, 

 however, that my neighbors, in houses that have no upper floor, and are a 

 good deal open at the top, do keep the ice well. 



Solon Robinson. — There is a misunderstanding about this term ventila- 

 tion. As one of the advocates of it for an ice-house, as well as all other 

 houses, I do not mean open exposure, but simply to allow an escape of the 

 heated air that will accumulate in the space between the straw and the roof. 

 Make it as tight all around the body of the ice as possible, by using non- 

 conducting substances from the exterior, and cover the top of the ice as 

 closely as you please with saw dust or straw, but don't make the upper 

 part too close. At least, leave the cracks in the gable ends open. As for 

 the sides, the best of all substances to fill with is fine charcoal ; the next 

 best, sawdust ; next, tan bark, straw, leaves from the forest, or salt hay, 

 or any other fibrous substance. It is not necessary to have a double wall 

 if your ice is sufiiciently packed around with any of the above substances. 

 The air, at any rate, must not come in contact with the ice, nor with a 

 board that touches it. And a stone on the ground will melt ice much 

 quicker than wood. What I have been most anxious for in bringing up this 

 discussion upon ice-houses, is to divert the subject of all scientific nonsense 

 about making buildings to keep ice of so expensive a character that no 

 common farmer would undertake it. Yet there are thousands of men who 

 might enjoy the comforts of a full supply of ice, and some of them would 

 do it if they only knew that they could build a house at almost no cost. 

 A log cabin, as described by Mr. Pell, or a cellar lined with fence rails, 

 and a board roof, with plenty of saw-dust, leaves, or straw, will keep it 

 longer than a stone or brick building, put up at a cost of $500. I want 

 to encourage people to build cheap ice-houses. 



Prof. Nash. — We are too much inclined to be innovators in all our build- 

 ings, and in ice-houses particularly. We must look at the true philosophy 

 of keeping ice, or we shall fail ; for the philosophy of it is to put it as 

 much away from the air as possible, and that is why we pack it in straw 

 or saw-dust, &c. As to giving some ventilation to the loft, or space over 

 the ice, it may be of service. 



Wm. S. Carpenter. — Some of my neighbors think the ice keeps the best 

 if the cakes are set on edge. 



Mr. Bergen. — The great ice-packers I have seen put in their cakes flat, 

 and very compact. 



Mr. Pell. — The great Hudson River ice-houses are very large, and 

 always built above ground, with double walls, filled with saw-dust. The 

 ice is packed close, and broken ice filled into all the cracks. Some single 

 ice-houses hold 3,000 tons ; and most of the ice used in the city is cut upon 

 the river, and not upon lakes. 



Mr. Quinn. — I noticed that some of these ice-houses use salt hay. The 

 roofs and sides are double, and the best of them are filled with fine char- 

 oal, making the walls eighteen inches thick; I know one person who had 

 [Am. Inst.J 19 



