82 Means of making Ice by the Natives of Bengal. [Fus. 
when it is called by the natives solid ice (pakka baraf) ; when it com- 
mences to congeal between two or three o’clock in the morning, thinner 
ice is expected, called papert ; and when about four or five o’clock in 
the morning, the thinnest is obtained, called phul baraf. The freezing 
is frequently retarded in its formation during the night by the wind 
rising to a breeze about 11 or 12 p. m.,—by clouds, &c. and the ice in 
consequence does not begin to form until towards morning. 
In the most favourable nights, the dishes are generally found en- 
crusted with ice, both on their inner and outer sides, which adheres to 
the rough surface of the plate with such a degree of firmness as to 
require it tobe partially dissolved before it can be separated from the 
dish. I have often seen the natives wait until the sun was two hours 
and a half above the horizon, before they could remove it. 
Seven or eight persons, generally women, are allowed for each bed, 
who with semicircular blunt knives remove the ice and water into 
earthen vessels placed near them, which are moved along as they pro- 
ceed in their work. When these vessels are full, they are emptied by 
men employed for that purpose, into conical-shaped baskets placed upon 
the jars between the ice-beds which retain the ice, and allow the water 
to flow into the water-jars. When the baskets are filled, their contents are 
conveyed to temporary ice pits, which are about six feet deep, by four 
in diameter, and are lined with mats. The iceis covered with straw, and 
allowed to remain until evening, when it is again taken out and placed 
in large pits. These consist of circular holes in dry situations from 10 
to 12 feet deep, by 8 or 10 feet in diameter. These pits are well lined 
with mats, and when nearly filled, some more straw and a shed of the 
same material is placed over the ice. These non-conductors of caloric 
are not sufficient to prevent the influence of the neighbouring media, 
and a slow solution of the ice is the consequence, the water of which 
is conveyed by a small hole, below the level of the pits, to a well near 
it, from thence it is occasionally removed. 
During the colder months, the ice is conveyed in the evening, in bags 
of coarse country cloth, to boats in which it is putin bulk, and defended 
from damp and heat, and is sent to Calcutta during the night, the dis- 
tance being about 40 miles; but, as the wastage is very considerable at 
the beginning and towards the end of the season, when it is most required 
and bears the highest price, it is then conveyed thither in baskets lined 
with straw and mats, and arrives before sun-rise. 
The ice which is not immediately required remains in the pits while 
the ground is dry, where it slowly dissolves, especially along its sides ; 
but as soon as rain falls in any considerable quantit its high tempe- 
rature quickly dissolves what remains. 
