.■'j72 COOLIXf; FACTUTFES FOR f 'RFAAfERIES 



and 14 feet long. These dimensions are given only as examples. 

 The height, width, and length mu}- need to be changed to con- 

 furm with local conditions. One thing should be kept in mind — 

 it is always better to ha\'e an icediouse a little too large rather 

 than too small. 



Filling the Ice-house. — The chief objects to be sought in 

 packing ice into an ice-h(juse alrearly properly constructed, 

 are: first, to exclude circulation of air through the mass of ice 

 and thus prevent melting; second, to pack it in such a manner 

 that it can easily be removed in whole blocks; third, to pack 

 it with material that will leave the ice as clean as is consistent 

 with other important objects sought. 



The packing material which is most commonly used in the 

 central western states is sawdust. This is very efficient in 

 excluding air, lasting, and usually cheap, but soils the ice 

 so that considerable water needs to be used to rinse it, and as a 

 consequence, considerable ice is wasted. Straw is used success- 

 fully. It leaves the ice much cleaner, but is not so effecti\'e in 

 preserving the ice. Shavings are good, but as a rule are too 

 expensive and not available. Somx- use n(j packing material 

 other than ice and snow. When the blocks of ice are put into 

 the ice-house, they are packed closely together. A man with a 

 hatchet chips the blocks of ice in such a way as to fit them 

 snugly together, and the small cracks are filled with line ice anc 

 snow. The experience of the authors is that, by this method, 

 the blocks of ice are likely to freeze solidly together, so that the 

 ice cannot be removed without breaking it up into irregular 

 pieces. This is hard work, and considerable ice is wasted. 



Another method of filling ice-houses in successful use is that 

 of running a shallow layer of water into the building and allowing 

 it to freeze. The doors in the ice-house are opened during a 

 protracted period of cold weather. The bottom of the ice- 

 house is covered with building-paper. Water is run on top of 

 this and allowed to freeze until a lajx-r of ice about a foot in 

 thickness has been obtained. Then another layer of paper is 

 made to cover the ice and more water flooded on and frozen. 

 This process is continued until the ice-house is filled. The i)apei 



