272 



EtTRAL AEOHITECT0RB. 



man's 6stabliabment solely. But in this country, the ice-house forms 

 part of the cOniforts of every substantial farmer.. It is not for the sake 

 of iee-creains and cooling liquors, that it has its great value in his eyes, 

 but as a means of preserving and keeping in, the ;finest condition, 

 during the sumtoer, his* meat, his butter, his delicate friiit, and, in 

 short, his whole perishable Stock of provisions. Half a dozen cor- 

 respondents, lately, have asked us fiw some advice on the construc- 

 tion of an ice-house, and we now cheerfully offer all the infprinar 

 tion in our possession. 



To |)uild_an ice-house in sandy or gravelly soils, is one of the 

 easiest things in the world. The drainage there is perfect, the dry and 

 porous soil is of itself 'a sufficiently good- nore-coretiMoior. All that it 

 is necessary to dd, is to. 



dig a pit, twelve' fei 

 square, and as many 

 deep, line it with logs 

 or joists . faced with 

 boauds, cover it with a 

 simple roof on a level 

 with the ground, and 

 fill it with ice. Such 

 ice-house^ built with 

 trifling cost, and en- 

 tirely answering the 

 purpose of affording 

 %mple supply for a 

 large family, are com- 



Flg..3. The common Ice-honse bel6w gtonndiv. 



mbn in various parts of the country. 



But it often happeiis that'pne's residence is upon a strong loamy 

 or clayey soil, based upon clay or slate, or, at least, rocky in its sub- 

 stratum. Such! a soil is retentive of moisture, and even though it 

 be well drained, the common ioe-house,juSt described, will not pre- 

 serve ice half through the summer in a locality of that kind. The 

 clayey or rocky soil is. always damp — ^it is always an excellent con- 

 ductor, and the icp' melts in it in spite''of ■ all tlie, usual preoautions. ; 



Something more than the dommon ice-house is therefore needed 



