80 Means of making Ice by the Natives of Bengal. (Fes. 
VI.—An Experimental Inquiry into the Means employed by the Natives of 
Bengal for making Ice. By 'T. A. Wise, Esq. M. D. 
(Read 3rd October, 1832.) 
A large quantity of ice is used during the cold season in Bengal, for 
purposes of luxury, which is supplied by natives at a comparatively 
cheap rate, from their employing a process by which they can make a 
large supply at a moderate expence. As very imperfect accounts have 
hitherto been given of the means they employ, and as most erroneous 
opinions are generally received regarding the causes by which the re- 
quired degree of cold is produced, I hope a short account of the princi- 
pal ice-manufactory in Bengal will not be considered unworthy the 
notice of the Society. 
A particular field in the neighbourhood of the town of Hooghly has 
been many years in requisition as the place for making ice, and is said 
by the natives to be the only one in this part of the country in which 
it can be produced in any considerable quantity: this seems the more 
reasonable, as the trials to make ice at Serampore, Calcutta, &c. may 
be considered to have failed when the quantity is compared with that 
obtained at Hooghly. This peculiarity may be owing to the elevation, 
exposure, and distance of the latter from the sea. The soil of the field 
in which the ice is made is a black loam upon a substratum of sand: it 
is more elevated than the surrounding country, is liable to partial in- 
undations in heavy rains, and is skirted on the south, east, and north 
by trees, and on the western and northern directions has an open plain 
for some extent. 
The manufacturing commences towards the end of November, and 
generally continues until some time in February. These periods vary 
in different years, owing to such circumstances as the quantity of water 
upon the ground at the close of the rains, the early or late cold season, 
its length, &c. 
The best months for making ice are the latter part of December and 
the whole of January ; and during November and February, there are 
generally only a few nights in which ice is made in any quantity. 
The natives commence their preparations for making ice by marking 
out a rectangular piece of ground, about 120 feet long, by 20 broad, in 
an easterly and westerly direction, from which the soil is removed to 
the depth of two feet. This hollow is smoothed and allowed to remain 
exposed to the sun for some time to dry, when rice. straw in small sheaves 
is laid in an oblique direction in the excavation, with loose straw upon 
the top, to the depth of a foot and a half, leaving its surface half a foot 
