.nr a l Arriiitcrtitre. 
AN ICE-HOUSE. 
IIow to Construct n Cheap One. 
BY S. EDWARDS TODD. 
There are two or more important points 
to be observed in building an ice-house. 
Complete drainage, perfect ventilation of the 
building above the ice, and walls that will 
conduct little or no heat through to the ice. 
If an ice-house were so constructed that the 
walls were complete non-conductors, with 
perfect ventilation between the surface of t he 
ice and the roof of the building, and the floor 
were resting on the ground, the heat from the 
earth would soon melt the last, cake, long 
before the sultry days of July had passed. 
Again, if every part of the house were con¬ 
structed properly, and the roof were so leaky 
as to permit the rain to lull on the ice, a large 
mass would soon be melted. 
The Best Site for an Ice-llousc. 
If practicable, the north, or shady side of a 
steep hill should be chosen, rather than any 
other location. Then, if the ice-house can 
be shaded by large trees, another excellent 
point will lie gained. A dry,porous, gravelly 
or sandy knoll will he fir superior to a bank 
of earth composed of heavy, retentive clay, 
which is inclined to he wet. Let the fact be 
borne in mind that ice cannot be kept satis¬ 
factorily above wet ground, as such earth is 
a much better conductor of heat than dry 
ground. In case there is no more sat isfac¬ 
tory location, an ice-house might be con¬ 
structed close to the north side of a large 
barn, or dwelling-house, where one side 
would receive the benefit of the shade of the 
building. Ice-houses are frequently con¬ 
structed in the abutment of a large barn; and 
the ice is let down through an opening in 
the top of the arch that Covers the apartment. 
A Bill of Materials. ^ 
A superstructure, 10 by Vi feet square, 
will be sufficiently large to contain a supply 
of ice for several families during the entire 
year. The sides should he about twelve 
feet high; and the roof should project not 
less than two feet on every side. A good 
shingle roof, painted white, will be found 
cheaper and more satisfactory than a roof 
made of any other material. A white roof 
will reflect the heat of the sun much more 
than if the same root were of a darker color. 
Then, if there is economy in painting any 
part, of a building, the roof, surely, should be 
painted. It is proposed to erect a “ balloon” 
frame, as such a frame will be less expensive, 
in several respects, than one made of large 
timber with tenons and mortises; and the. 
superstructure will also be much stiller. 
Such a frame will require: 
Sq. feet. 
2 side silin. 2 by 8. hi foot long . 43 
2 end Mills. 2 by 8, 12 foot long. 32 
2 plates, 2 by I, bi feel long .. 22 
11 joists, hi inches apart, 2 by H, 12 feet long, 
for iluor 170 
72 guilts, 2 hy l, 12 feet Jong. . 570 
11 collar beams, Ph by 4,12 feet long, to be 
milled from the foot of one rafter to 
another. . 55 
23 rafters, 2 by 4, 10 feet long . 147 
Root boards, tloor amt lining, or sheeting 
boards. 1,700 
Amount of common lumber. 2,751 
Com pi i led at $2.50 per one hundred feet, 
the amount will lie.$08 87 
4,000 shingles, at $4 per thousand. hi 00 
20 pounds shingle nulls, at 5 rents. 100 
50 pounds of ten-penny nails . . 3 50 
15 pounds of eight-penny nails. 85 
1,000 feet <>r oin* iiuib Siding, planed on one 
side, nt 3 cents per fool . .. 30 00 
150 feet for doors, casings, verge boards, 
Corner boards, facia and ridge boards., i 50 
2 pairs of door hinges, ami two bundles, 
latches and screws. 50 
5 gallons of linseed oil. 5 50 
50 pounds of white lead, at 12';-e. per lb. . 0 25 
2# days' painting, at $3. . 7 50 
Joiner's work, li days, at *3 per day. 1H 00 
Helper, at $1,50 per day, six days. a 00 
2 barrels of cement, at $2.50 per bbl. 5 00 
Mason work und tender, half a day. 3 00 
Cash cost.. $178 47 
Preparing the Ponmlntion. 
In order to be certain that the drainage 
beneath and round about the ice-house is 
complete, let a tile drain he made entirely 
around the foundation, thirty inches in 
depth, having a complete outlet, so as to 
keep the earth satisfactorily dry during the 
entire year. The superstructure should rest 
on a stone or brick wall, the top of which 
should be about even with the surface of the 
earth, laid up with hydraulic mortar. Then 
let the space between the side and end walls 
be excavated and filled with loose stones or 
coarse gravel, flush with the top of the 
foundation walls. The chief object of the 
small stones and gravel is 1o prevent rats 
from burrowing and hauling earth up against 
the joists. If the stones be small, and the 
interstices he filled with dry gravel, rats 
cannot burrow there ; and a large space be¬ 
neath the floor will always be cool and very 
dry, which will lie found of great importance 
in constructing an ice-house. The outside 
should be hanked up tightly and even with 
the top, to prevent the air from finding a 
free passage beneath the ice. The object ot 
the cobble stones beneath the superstructure 
is to form a confined air chamber that will 
prevent the warmth of the earth from melt¬ 
ing the ice, and to convey away quickly all 
the drippings from the ice above. Without 
such a preparation of the foundation, one 
cannot reasonably expect that ice will keep 
through the summer and the first month of 
autumn. 
In many localities such materials as I have 
indicated may be purchased for less money 
than the foregoing computation. It will bo 
seen that a liberal margin has been made for 
every item, in order to be certain that there 
will be no lack of anything. With the aid 
of such a bill, it will be easy to compute the 
expense of a structure only one-half as large, 
which would cost only a trifle more than 
half the sum here indicated. Then, if it. 
were not desirable to paint the roof ami 
sides, another item of expense would be cut 
off. A farmer who has a large supply of 
•timber, by preparing it in the winter would 
be able to construct such an ice-house for 
less than half the cash cost where every arti¬ 
cle must he purchased at a high figure. I 
have allowed six days' work for a joiner 
and helper. But a faithful mechanic, who 
is not afraid of doing too much in one day, 
with a willing and active helper, would per¬ 
form everything that is to lie done in four 
days. The quantity of nails indicated is 
larger than is actually necessary. But as 
many mechanics me three nails where one 
would be sufficient, it was thought best to 
indicate a liberal quantity. 
The mason’s work laying the foundation 
will not exceed half a day, whether brick nr 
stone lie employed. The excavating und the 
draining will cost but a few dollars, as a 
team with a plow and scraper would scoop 
out all the earth that it would be desirable 
to remove in two working hours. A supply 
of stones can he gathered on almost any 
farm, costing only the labor of one or two 
days with a man and team. If bricks are 
used, a wall eight inches thick, and extend¬ 
ing one foot below the surface of the ground, 
will require about eight hundred bricks, 
which a mason will lay in half a day, us 
brick unisons frequently lay from two to 
three thousand bricks in ten hours. Of 
course, the expense of these foundation items 
will be so variable in different localities that 
one can compute the cost accordingly. 
Erecting the Bii ltorntruettire. 
After the foundation is completed, let the 
sills be halved together at the corners, and 
thoroughly smeared on every side, and in 
every joint, with a heavy coat of coal tar. 
Fasten the corners with eight-penny nails. 
Now put the floor joists in their places, with 
the ends resting entirely across the top of the 
sills. The ends of the joists should he sawed 
off square, just twelve feet long, and secured 
to the sills by “ toeing in” the nails, with the 
ends flush with the outer edge of the sills. 
Every part, should lie daubed with coal tar, 
a thick coat of which should be applied to 
the lower ends of tlio studs, and every piece 
of timber near the foundation. The very 
ends and every joint should he so heavily 
smeared as to exclude the water, which will 
I often drip down on the timbers, and hasten 
their decay, in a few years. But fifty cents’ 
worth of tar, properly applied, will keep 
every stick sound for an age. The spaces 
between the joists at the ends, bet ween the 
sills and the floor, should now he filled with 
bricks, or pieces of stone and mortar, even 
with the upper edge of the joists. It would 
be well, also, to support each joist at the 
middle, with a pier of brick, or stone, as the 
superincumbent pressure, when the building 
is full of ice, will be too great for the strength 
of such a system of joists as I have indicated. 
In case one has t imber of his own, sills may 
he scored and hewed, and heavy sleepers, 
flattened on the upper side, may he em¬ 
ployed in lieu of sawed joists. But to save 
work, let the ends of the sleepers lie flat¬ 
tened to four inches, and laid on the upper 
side of the sills, rather than in gains. Let 
the ends of the sleepers also be sawed off 
even with the outer edges of the side sills, 
and coated, heavily with coal tar. 
Now let the floor be laid, and sawed off 
even with the outer edge of the sills. Rough, 
unplaned and knotty boards w ill answer for 
a floor, as it is not necessary to have the 
edges well matched. Next, saw off the 
ends of twenty-two studs, two by four, 
making them exactly eleven feet and six 
inches long, for the outside course. Plumb 
one at each corner, and fasten each one 
with two stay laths. Let the intermediate 
studs be set up, on the surface of the floor, 
directly over the joists or sleepers and the 
lower ends secured by toeing in the nails. 
Now nail on the lining or shooting boards to 
the inside of the studs, and set up the end 
studs of the building, and cover the inside 
of these also with sheeting, making a door¬ 
way at the middle of one end of the build¬ 
ing. The inside sheeting may consist of 
“cull boards,” of variable widths. A space 
should be loft below the plate, on both sides 
of the building, six inches wide, for the pur¬ 
pose of complete ventilation. The studs at 
the two ends of the building should extend 
to the ratters Let. the plates now be nailed 
to the upper ends of the side studs, and lot 
the rafters be set up, The foot of each 
miter should rest on the plate directly over 
the stud beneath it. The collar beams should 
next be nailed firmly to the loot of the 
ratters, to keep the sides of the building 
from being thrust outward, and also for 
holding the upper ends of the inside course 
of studs, which are to be act up about, one 
foot from the outside course, nailed firmly 
at. the lower ends to the floor, and to the 
collar beams at the upper ends. The inside 
course of studs should be twelve feet long, in 
order to reach the collar beams. The space 
between the two ranges of studs, after both 
are lined, is to be filled with sawdust, turn¬ 
er’s chips, tan hark, fine charcoal, or wheat 
clmff, well trod down. The 
filling should he put in as 
the lining on the inside studs 
is nailed on. 
Skeleton of the Ico«Ilouse. 
The accompanying sketch 
will convey a fair idea of tlio 
proper construction of the 
frame of the superstructure, 
according to the balloon 
style of architecture. It will 
be seen that a portion of the 
outside range of studs is 
shown, nailed to the floor, 
and also a portion of the in ¬ 
side lining hoards. Also, 
one plate is represented as 
resting on the upper ends' 
of the studs. Two collar beams are also 
shown nailed to the rafters. Other por¬ 
tions will require no written explanation 
It will be perceived that there will be a 
space between the outside weather boards, 
and the lining on the inside of the outer 
studs, which should be filled with some kind 
of non conducting material, that may he 
put. in and pressed down tightly, as fast as 
the outside boards are nailed on. 
In case it were desirable to have the 
weather boards put on vertically, pieces of 
scantling should be nailed to the studs hori¬ 
zontally, as ril) strips, for receiving the nails 
with which the vertical boards are secured; 
arul the outside hoards should bo put on 
first, as it will be quite inconvenient filling 
the space with chaff, except as the boards 
are nailed on in a horizontal direction. 
Const ruction of flic Boors it ml Boor-way. 
There should he two doors fitted to the 
lower door way, hung on hinges, and both 
opening outward. The inner door, of course, 
must swing against, the jamb casing. The 
height of the tloor should be not less than 
six feet in the clear. The lintel over the 
lower door-way should be made strong, as it, 
will bo subjected to rough usage, when largo 
cakes of ice are being hauled through it,. 
The outside upper door should be hung with 
hinges, and it may be merely a batten door. 
Pieces of loose boards may bo placed hori¬ 
zontally across the inside of the upper door¬ 
way as the building is filled with ice; and 
the space Should be filled with chaff or tan- 
bark between the jamb casings as soon as 
the last, load of ice is secured. Then, when 
it. is desirable to get ice, both, the lower doors 
can be opened, even when the house is full, 
so that a person can walk directly up to the 
ice and cut. out a desired quantity without 
removing the covering on the surface. 
For the sake of convenience, both doors of 
the lower door-way should be box doors, 
which are made by first, making an ordinaiy 
batten dour, say for the outer side of the 
door-way, and hanging It in its place. Now 
dress out a stile for each side, and a bar for 
the top and bottom, all one inch by six, and 
nail them to the edges of the inside of the 
door that is hung, by driving nails through 
the door into the edges of the stiles and bars. 
Now nail boards horizontally to the inner 
edge of the stiles and bars, and fill the space 
in the hollow hox door with chaff or tan- 
bark. The jamb casings should be made 
beveling, a trifle, so that pieces of- list, or 
thick cloth may be nailed to both the door 
and the casing, for the purpose of securing 
an air-tight fit to both doors on every edge, 
llow to Fill nn Ice-House. 
The floor should he first, covered not less 
than one foot in depth with clean shavings, 
clean cut straw, wheat chaff, or tan bark. 
There is nothing superior to clean wheat, 
chaff, as the glumes are concave, and will 
inclose more air than any other material, 
which is a desirable consideration, when con¬ 
structing a non-conducting wall, for either a 
fruit-preserving house, or an ice-house. The 
chaff of oaf 3 and rye will not subserve the 
purpose, so satisfactorily, as wheat chaff. 
Wheat chaff is almost valueless for any 
other purpose. A space about six Inches 
wide should be left between the wall of Ice 
and the inside studs, which should be filled 
with chaff, or other material, as fast as the 
ice is taken in. 
The most convenient and expeditious way 
to transfer ice from the sleigh to the place of 
deposit in the house is to saw tin; cakes into 
square blocks ot about one hundred pounds 
each. It will be found an excellent practice 
to mark off the surface of the ice before it is 
sawed, into checks one foot square, so that 
the interstices to he chinked in the ice-house 
will be few and small Cakes that will weigh 
about one hundred pounds can lie easily 
handled by one man. The house can bo 
filled to nearly tho top of the door by carry¬ 
ing. the blocks by hand through the door¬ 
way. Then an inclined plane of smooth 
boards may be erected to the upper door-way, 
and one laborer can haul the cakes up to 
him with a small rope, which will require 
less force than to lift the cakes with tackles. 
To prevent the air from circulating between 
the cakes, and thus wasting the ice, they 
should he placed closely together, and the 
interstices filled with fragments. Let the 
surface of the ice be covered with clean 
straw or shavings two feel deep, and kept 
pressed down with narrow pieces of boards 
or poles. If a house be constructed accord¬ 
ing to the foregoing details, and the icc be 
put in as directed, the supply will never 
waste by melting in the ioc-liousc. 
Uonwstic (froncumi. 
CONDUCTED BY MARY A. E. WAGER. 
HOME AGAIN. 
We bav’nt, said much during our five 
months’ absence, about house and home mat¬ 
ters, but we have kepi our eyes open nil 
the same, and now that, we are again in the 
“bosom of our family,” we shall leisurely 
make use of our vacation accumulations. 
Of course we are glad to gel, home again and 
as usual, found the “ house” topsy-turvy, and 
looking as if house-cleaning had been post¬ 
poned, lit e a German washday. Newspa¬ 
per offices are generally I he dirtiest, places in 
the world, but wasn’t the Rural office an 
exception V It was when we went away, 
and every office we visited during our west 
ern tour (with two exceptions) made ns 
prouder than ever of our own. But a change 
has conic over the carpets and chairs and 
passageways. If there was a single solitary 
bachelor about the establishment, things 
would look better 1 know, for bachelors, 
generally, arc neat. But let a small army of 
married men loose, with never a woman 
around, arid if their quarters have not a pe¬ 
culiar fascination for odds and ends and be¬ 
ginnings and middlings, then I don’t see 
clearly. 
“ The first thing I remember my mother’s 
teaching me,” I heard a bachelor say not 
long since, “ was never to ask anybody to 
do a thing for me that I could do for myself, 
and above all tilings learn to wail, on my 
self” It was a humanitarian gospel to in¬ 
culcate. It is just as much a mother’s duty 
to teach her boys to hang up their hats, put 
their boots away, brush -their coals, and 
wait upon themselves as much as possible, 
as it is to teach them the “ Lord’s Prayer,” 
or “ Now 1 lay me down to sleep.” 
When we entered upon the duties of con¬ 
ducting ” Domestic Economy,” we had a 
comprehensive idea of it, for did not home 
constitute everythin!/ in life? Home is the 
heart of life, if not its brain and body. But, 
dear me! don't, most of your readers think 
domestic economy means the art of making 
cake, or pickles, or curing haras? Whole¬ 
some and nutritious cookery is one very im¬ 
portant branch of the house and home 
arrangements. But it, is not all by any pos¬ 
sible means. J have been in homes where 
the cookery was uneceptionable; where 
every article of food could be eaten with 
conscientious and healthful approval, us 
well as being most palateable. But the 
home, the house, the social atmosphere of 
it, the comfort and coziness of it, was any¬ 
thing rather than homelike. 
Human beings have heads and hearts, as 
well as stomachs. And only those who 
have had the experience can know how al¬ 
most impossible it is for an individual to out¬ 
grow, to get rid of, early home influences. 
And such monstrous perversities of fathers 
and mothers as there are, no more tit to be 
entrusted with children than a drove of swine 
with a basket of camellias 1 
Winter is upon ils again, and shall homes 
be made bright and pleasant and attractive ? 
Or shall saloons and public dance rooms, or 
other places, perhaps worse, win the society 
of sons and daughters, or even fathers, away 
from the home fin ides? It is undoubtedly 
wicked and wrong and foolish for many men 
and boys to do as they do; but it is a folly 
we can understand and appreciate, when we 
know what sort of a “ time ” they would 
have if they spent their evenings at home. 
For ourselves, we should go to the bad, and 
have done with it, or run away, or commit 
suicide, rather than to live as some people 
do. Continual fault-finding on the part of 
parents is one of the most, outrageous things 
in the world. And how common it is, too! 
But we have more to say about this, when 
we have the time. 
What we want from our readers is pictures 
of home life,—bad pictures as well as good 
ones; for bad things preach a gospel by dis¬ 
gusting us and bolding the “ mirror up.” We 
want accounts of evening entertainments,— 
especially uniquely pleasant and original 
ones. Tell us about charades, and tableaux, 
and representations. What may be familiar 
to you may prove novel to others. A house 
that, is always staid, and pn®aic, and funere¬ 
al ought to have a train of cars run through 
it A “ shaking up ” is as essential to people 
as to a feather lied, which is a nuisance we 
hope will soon he entirely done away with. 
Next week we shall have our say about The 
Woodpile, and if any man, or woman, or 
human being whatever, differs from our do¬ 
mestic faith, we shall be glad to have them 
show their colors and “ pitch in.” 
Mary A. E. Waoer. 
- ♦♦♦ - 
CLEANING PORK BARRELS. 
A lady writing from Ontario, N. Y., says 
she wants " to tell that Ypsilanti, Mich., man 
how to fix the pork barrel“ We think if 
you would look closely you would find small 
brown eggs on the hoops mid in rough places 
around tire barrel. After turning off the 
brine and taking oil the top layer of meat, 
spread a cloth over the rest, and with strong, 
hot suds wash tbe Inside, rinse and rub dry, 
solving the cover and outside of the barrel 
in the same way. Use a broom outside, as 
the water can be used hotter. Now wash 
the mea t taken off, plat c back in the barrel 
with more suit, sprinkled between the pieces, 
scald and skim the brine, (bill not in a tin 
boiler,) add more water and salt, put on a 
weight, mul lie sure and keep the meat under 
the brine. Do not turn the cover over to 
cut meat, on, or allow any bits which have 
been cut oft to go back in the barrel. Keep 
the cover on closely. If necessary, repeat 
the process, biit it will hardly be, 
“ 1 would like to Say to some other house¬ 
keepers, pick all the scraps out of the barrel, 
if not rusty or spoilt by corning- in contact 
with the air, cut in small bits, fry brown, 
then turn off the fat and break eggs in, and 
Stir, when it. is ready for the table. Bits of 
boiled pork may be used in this way.” 
—---♦♦♦--- 
CONTRIBUTED RECIPES. 
To Make Corn. Bread. —I notice an inquiry 
in the Rural of Nov. 6, how to make com 
bread, and would like to give mine, as we 
all think it first-rate. 1 use what we call 
salt yeast, which is made in this way: 
When the tea-kettle boils in the morning 
take a tencupful of hot and one-half cup of 
cold water; add saleratus the size of a pea, 
a teaspoonful of salt., and Hour enough to 
stir quite thick; then set it in a kettle of 
warm water to rise; keep quite warm, but 
iio careful not to scald. When the yeast is 
nearly light enough, get ready three pints of 
corn meal and one of flour (1 prefer Cancll,) 
pour enough boiling water on this to scald, 
stirring at the time, so that all the meal shall 
be wet, but not soft; let it. cool a little, so as 
not to scald the yeast; add more flour, a 
teucupful of yeast, one-tlurd cup of molas¬ 
ses, a teaspoonful of salt, and nearly a tea¬ 
spoonful of saleratus; mix with the hand, 
and set it where quite warm, to rise, from 
one-half to three quarters of an hour; then 
knead again, adding flour enough to make a 
stiff (lough. Fine flour is the best for the 
last mixing. Knead well, but quickly, so 
that it shall not get cold ; wet the hands in 
water and smooth over the top of the loaf 
after putting in a tin pan, iron basin, or any 
convenient dish for baking. Do not allow it 
to get too light, as it will crumble. When 
you think it is light enough, wet over tbe 
top again, and bake in a moderate oven 
about two hours, wetting the lop once or 
twice, as it keeps the crust from getting 
bard. Those who prefer hop yeast can use 
that, but it will take the bread longer to rise, 
and also to bake ; therefore the meal is lia¬ 
ble to become sour, and thu bread is not so 
good—at least, to my taste. 
Fried Calces. —One teacup sour cream; one 
teacup buttermilk ; one teac-upful of sugar; 
three eggs; one teaspoonful cream tartar.— 
Mrs. A. M , Burlington , N. •/. 
Milking Pails should always he washed 
with a cloth and wiped dry with the cloth 
wrung out of hot water. Lay them on the 
side to dry If turned bottom up, the steam 
cannot escape, and they will get yellow and 
sour, which will taint the butler. If they 
get yellow, scour with clear water and sand. 
Never wipe them with a dry towel which is 
used for other dishes, as it will give it a 
smell of the pails.— Rural Reader. 
- 4 -*-*- 
To Patch Rubber Boots.— MICHAEL K. asks 
some one to tell him how to patch rubber boots. '1 
