Theron L. Hiles

“ The Usefulness of Snow.—Snow, as it is well known, is a great impediment to the inroads of frost into anything enveloped by it. A covering of snow on an ice field is a great impediment to the escape of heat from the water, as well as protecting the ice from the direct action of the cold air, and greatly retards the growth of the ice. It is essential to remove this snow as early as practicable, as the ice harvester has always in view a possible thaw or rain, and endeavors to secure his crop at the earliest practicable moment. ”

“ All around are seen teams and horses drawing huge loads of snow to the distant shores, plows and markers, crossing11 and recrossing the cleared surface, and long lines of ice blocks, which are being floated along the channels to the incline, where the puffing engine imparts motion to swiftly gliding, endless chains, which catch up the waiting cakes and whisk them away up the incline and into the ice house, looking as though they were endowed with life-motion and were traveling of their own volition. ”

“ Only a man of known ability should be allowed, under any pretext, to dress the ice plows.
Any delay in plowing may involve the loss of part of the crop, and any detention of the work of those detaching the cakes from the field, from a lack of plowed surface to work upon, may prove to be the cause of an hour or more time lost or frittered away by nine-tenths of the entire force employed, both on the field and in the house. Nine-tenths of the entire wages, for an hour or more, is thus lost to the owner, and an incompetent workman is the apparent cause. ”

“ Good health is the best doctor, and the more generous living which cold storage brings within reach is a precursor of health. In sickness a supply of ice and cooled viands is often beyond price. The suffering its judicious use may alleviate, and the numerous instances in which recovery is impossible without it, commend a supply of so beneficent a commodity to all. Ice is a necessity to health and comfort,65 and, as it can be readily secured in nearly all communities within the frost belt, very few farmers should be without it. ”

“ Delays during harvesting greatly increase the cost of getting ice prepared for the market. Great care and much study have been devoted to perfecting the paraphernalia by which the ice crop is handled, as will appear as the reader follows the round of duties of the ice harvester. In some emergencies the crop is only saved from partial or complete loss by the despatch which modern development of tools and machinery has placed at the command of the enterprising ice dealer. The advent of warm weather during the harvest demands the utmost celerity in all departments, if the crop is secured. ”

“ Like a good general, the ice harvester takes note of the physical advantages of his position. If he can so lay out the field that the current and prevailing winds are in his favor and assist to float the ice toward the house, his strategy is not without reward. Room for refuse ice is needed where it will not impede the ice floating toward the house. The lay of the shore line must not be overlooked, on streams where the current is strong, in calculating for support for the shore ice. The best ice in the field will always be secured as a prime consideration. ”

“ The association of oysters and ice are so intimate that they are usually seen together. The trays of oysters and ice may be seen in every direction during the season, on their way from the oyster beds to delight the palates of their admirers who are found everywhere. ”

“ If it is deep it can be readily handled, by cutting holes through the ice, or tapping the ice field in a number of places; the water, being heavier than the ice, will sink and raise the ice, if it has opportunity of so doing. Tapping should have prompt attention, and the water removed without delay. Even if the water freezes on top, the ice is not of good quality and is not part of the ice below. It forms a layer which is attached to the old ice, but yet is not solidly a part of it, and gives trouble by splitting out in barring off. ”

“ The air is expelled from the water during freezing, if opportunity is found for it to do so. Unless this is done, the ice is cloudy. Agitation of the water assists the escape of the air; hence it is that ice from running streams is usually clearer and more brilliant than pond or lake ice. An outlet afforded to the land-locked ponds and lakes is often beneficial during ice-making weather. Too rapid a current, however, will retard growth, and a gentle motion diffused over the entire field produces the best results. ”

“ The ice cakes require assistance to keep them in motion on a crooked runway, and are constantly being jammed and spalled. On a direct run of proper pitch the cakes will travel without attention in freezing weather. On warm, sloppy days, when the ice is soft, it will require assistance. The platforms for winter shipments via rail come in for attention in placing the incline, which should be conveniently disposed for supplying them with ice cakes as fast as they can be handled. System and dispatch are the watchwords of the ice dealer while ice cutting is on. ”

“ This snow ice is white, being very porous and filled with air, and detracts from the quality of the crop, its thickness depending on the depth of snow on the field, amount of water, and the temperature. At the top of this snow ice, where it merges into the17 snow, will be found a stiff, crusty layer, more or less firmly united to the ice below, which adds to the difficulty of removing the snow on top. An inch or two of snow ice will lessen the loss by breakage of cakes, in stowing, and the ice also comes out of the house in better shape, and will stand shipping better. ”

“ Iced Coffee.—One quart of strong coffee, one quart of cream, one and three-fourths of a pint of granulated sugar. Freeze.
Iced Teas are now served to considerable extent during warm weather. They are used without milk, and the addition of sugar serves only to destroy the finer tea flavor. It may be prepared early in the day, taking care to make it stronger than when served hot. Place in refrigerator, and when ready to serve, have crushed ice in the tumblers, which are nicer for the purpose than cups, as the tea looks pretty poured through the ice. ”

“ A tool room should be provided, of sufficient size to store all cutting tools, scoops, scrapers, and extras of all kinds that are liable to breakage or rapid wear. Space should be reserved for a filing bench, having a large north light, and a grindstone—driven by power when practicable—for sharpening bars, hooks, and tongs. Where the ice houses are large, and in isolated positions, the tool house, if well fitted up, is of great assistance, affording the means for making repairs of an urgent character. ”

“ Refrigeration in the commercial world is largely secured by mechanical means, and this method will receive notice in a later chapter. Cold storage, secured by ice, is in use all over this country, for domestic and trade purposes in preserving food products. The benefits of cold storage could be much more widely diffused, than at present, throughout all the farming communities, where ice forms naturally during the winter, adding materially to their profits and convenience, and an attempt is here made to show, in a practical way, how it can be secured. ”

“ All that have been broken, or damaged, should be bundled up and consigned to the manufacturer, to be put in thorough cutting order, and returned to the ice house, in the early fall. All other tools should be carefully cleaned, and all bright or polished steel coated with oil, to preserve from rust, cases strapped to plows and saws, and all neatly packed away in tool house, which should be dry. Snow scoops and scrapers are better for an occasional coat of paint, and, if stored in a dry, cool place, sheltered from the weather, will last much longer. ”

“ Where the ice house is placed at the edge of the water and there is no room in which to place an incline, the gigs are very convenient. When they are operated by means of a winding drum run by a reversing engine, and large enough to handle four cakes at a time, they are very efficient. Economy of power, simplicity and ease of management, are all in their favor. ”

“ In some cars, ventilation is so arranged that the air can be changed or not, as desired. The fans are run by motion taken from one of the car axles, and are arranged to be run by hand when the car is not in motion.
Icing Refrigerator Cars.—When a train is to be loaded with beef or mutton, it is set in on a track alongside of the icing platform. By means of double tracks on either side, as many as fifty cars can be iced at short notice. Ice cakes are delivered on a staging above the platform by elevator, suited to the location, and run into the hopper of a large power ice breaker. ”

“ Lakes Fed by Springs, and having clean beds, have naturally risen in value for ice cutting purposes. Running streams, especially those with a rapid current, purify their waters very rapidly. Exposure to light and air, the influence of oxygen, and the motion of the water, all assist in this good office. Foreign substances are expelled from the ice in the process of freezing, and streams of this character, not polluted12 by the presence of sewerage, waste products from factories, packing houses, gas works, etc., produce ice of great purity. ”

“ Snow, however, in the event of soft or warm weather, is an aid to the ice by protecting it from the direct heat of the sun, and the force of a rain is largely expended in melting the snow. The water and snow on the top of the ice freezes into snow ice as soon as the weather turns cold again. ”

“ Order and a thorough system should be carefully adapted to the work on the field and in the house, by every ice harvester. Details, fully worked out, and the plan once in force, it should be strictly observed by the proprietor, and exact compliance insisted upon from all employes. Unless discipline is maintained, especially on large fields, much loss of time and money will result, and life and limb be jeopardized. ”

“ An outfit of tools necessary to harvest, in good shape, one hundred tons of ice, will just as well harvest ten or fifteen times this quantity, and would really secure the larger quantity to better advantage than the smaller one. But, allowing that the labor in getting out one hundred tons of ice is the same per ton that it is for one thousand tons, the cost of the tools per ton of ice harvested is only one tenth as much in the latter case. The tools are durable, and will last many years. Ice plows which have been in use for fifteen or twenty years are still doing good service. ”

“ Air exposed to cold is condensed and made heavier; it will then gravitate to lower levels. The capacity of air for absorbing and retaining moisture varies with its temperature. Warm air will sustain a considerable amount of vapor, which will be condensed and precipitated if the air is cooled. As water is cooled and brought to the freezing point it expels a large part of the heat gathered at a higher temperature. As ice is melted to water this process is reversed, and heat and air are reabsorbed. ”

“ Several cakes are usually run up at one trip. A sharp lookout is necessary on the part of the jackman, and some experience is required to become an adept at handling the grapple. Serious accidents have resulted from careless or ignorant methods, and caution should be observed by all who are employed about the field, incline, or ice house. The construction of the water box varies with the depth of water and amount of ice run over it. ”

“ The work on the field is directed to secure a supply of ice cakes at the foot of the incline, in advance of the requirements of those whose duty is found in placing the cakes in position within the ice house. No more than will be run into the house, and also leave the channel full, with some floats near at hand at quitting time, should be detached from the field. ”

“ Care of the Ice Field.—From this time until the crop is stored in the ice house, the ice dealer devotes his energies to the care of the ice field. Special situations develop special duties and requirements, which the alert dealer studies with care. If the ice is on a running stream, the possible pollution of its higher levels will be carefully guarded against, and also all rubbish removed from the surface of the field. Sticks and stones bedded in the ice hinder the work and damage the keen edges of the cutting tools. ”