1869.1 
AMERICAN AGRICULTURIST 
■447 
The lee Harvest. 
■ But few are aware of the importance of the 
ice harvest. It has been derisively said of Massa- 
the largest of which is the Knickerbocker Ice 
Co., which draws its supplies from Rockland 
Lake. This lake is about half a mile west of 
the Hudson River, and a short distance above 
ice-plow, which is a blade with coarse teeth, 
like a series of plane-irons placed one after 
another. This when drawn across the ice makes 
a deep groove or furrow. Attached to one side 
Fig. 1.— CLEARING THE ICE OF SNOW. 
Fig. 2.— MARKING AND CUTTING. 
chusetts that her principal productions were 
granite and ice. The first shipments of ice to 
India and other'tropical countries, were made 
from Boston, and the ice trade .has had much to 
the town of Nyack; its water is remarkably 
pure and clear, and it is so situated as to afford 
unusual facilities for gathering and shipping the 
ice. One of our artists visited this locality dur- 
of the plow is 'a guide which runs in one groove, 
and serves to mark the distance of the next one. 
When the ice is sufficiently grooved by the plow, 
it may be split up by the use of an iron bar 
Fig. 3.—SAWING AND BARRING OFF. 
ing the harvest of last year, and presents a se¬ 
ries of sketches which show the different steps 
in securing the crop. The ice is first cleared, 
if necessary, of fallen snow, as shown in figure 
terminated below by a heavy chisel. A saw 
with coarse teeth is also used for dividing the 
ice; it has a cross-handle, and is worked by one 
man. Figure 3 shows the operations of sawing 
Fig. 6.— PACKING AWAY THE ICE. 
do, directly and indirect^, with the prosperity 
of that city. The ice trade is by no means an 
important one to Boston only, but in New 
York and near eveiy considerable town and 
Fig. 5. —THE ELEVATORS. 
city there are large amounts invested in the ice 
business, and employment given to thousands 
of laborers. The immense demand of New 
York City for ice, is met by several associations, 
1.' V-shaped snow-plows and common road- 
scrapers are used. Figure 2 shows the process¬ 
es of marking and cutting. The cleared surface 
is marked by an iron point, as a guide for the 
and “barring off” large masses, which have 
already been marked by the plow. These are 
floated towards the ice-house by the aid of 
horses, as represented in figure 4. The houses, 
