CUTTING AND STORING ICE.
The Science of Ice Formation--Preparing the Ice Field for the
Harvest--Getting Rid of Snow--Sudden Thaws and How to Remedy
Their Damage--Tools and Implements Used--Thickness of Ice--Care
of Ice Tools--Filling the Ice House--Closing it up and Caring for
It--Shipping Ice from the Field.
With the advent of a sharp freeze, attention is directed to the ice
field, from which a harvest is hoped for at no distant day. The
purification of the water has been given attention before this time,
together with all preliminaries relating to the plant in its various
and complex features. The weather now determines the lot of the ice
dealer. As the cold breezes whistle over the water, stirring it into
ripples, and breaking its surface into waves, a wonderful change is
rapidly transforming its liquid pearls into flinty diamonds. Gradually
the heat in the water is radiated into the air. As fast as the surface
water is cooled, it is condensed, and sinks to the bottom, its place
being taken by the warmer and lighter water from beneath. Gradually
the entire mass reaches the point of maximum density, at 39½° F. Below
this temperature, until it reaches 31° F., water expands as it is
cooled. Now the surface water no longer sinks as it grows colder, being
rendered lighter by expansion than the water beneath. Upon reaching
32°, convection, or freezing, takes place, and the surface assumes the
solid form.
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. Motion in the water is necessary
to promote the growth of the ice, and, when the ice is sufficiently
heavy, traveling over the surface, or other jarring, is beneficial.
It has been found that where a roadway has been opened across an ice
field, and the travel over it considerable, the ice was thicker along
the roadway than at other places on the field.
On inclosed lakes or mill ponds, a gentle current induced in the water
promotes the growth of the ice materially. 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 growth should be carefully noted under different conditions,
attention being given to the atmospheric influences and other general
effects, and the regulation of the motion, based on ascertained results
at the locality where applied. As the ice thickens, its growth is
slower at the same, or even a lower, temperature than that which at
first made ice very rapidly. The earth at the bottom and sides of the
ice field radiate heat into the water. The heat rays of the sun pass
through the ice, if it is clear, into the water below, with very
little effect upon the ice itself. The ice, being a poor conductor of
heat, is, under these conditions, an obstacle to its own growth. It
shuts in the water from contact with the cooler air, prevents agitation
of its surface by passing breezes, and retards the escape of air and
heat.
On running streams, these conditions are much modified. In passing
over shallows or rapids, where the current is swift, the water remains
open and exposed to the air. At these points in its course it parts
with its accumulated air and heat very rapidly, a thin vapor or mist
being often perceptible in the air at such places, owing to the rapid
radiation. The tumbling and turning of the water at rapid shoals
materially assists the growth of ice at points below where the current
grows gentle. Streams of this character, whose beds are free from
accumulations of vegetable mold, or other sources which generate gases,
produce clear and sparkling ice of greater thickness than is found on
still ponds or lakes in the same vicinity, and exposed to the same
temperature.
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.
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. 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 the
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. It is not so brittle as clear
ice, and is homogeneous in its structure, not being readily split in
any direction.
REMOVAL OF SNOW.--Various methods and appliances are in use for the
expeditious and economical removal of snow. As soon as the field will
bear the weight of a horse, scrapers of various designs are placed at
work. If the ice is too thin to support a horse safely, flooding is
resorted to. At intervals of six feet, more or less, according to the
freedom with which the water rises through the openings, holes are cut
through the ice, and the water saturates the lower part of the snow.
[Illustration: FIG. 1. CLEARING OFF SCRAPER.]
This helps to thicken the ice rapidly, and, if the weather is cold, it
will very soon be heavy enough to support a horse. As soon as this is
the case, the scrapers are placed at work. The snow ice thus formed
is afterward gotten rid of by planing, if more than an inch or two in
thickness. If the snow is light, and not too deep, it is scraped into
windrows, by scrapers similar to those in Figs. 2, 3 and 4.
[Illustration: FIG. 2.]
[Illustration: FIG. 3.]
[Illustration: FIG. 4.
SNOW SCOOP SCRAPERS.]
These windrows are distributed over the field, not being made large
enough to sink the ice at any point. Scoop scrapers are now employed,
which gather up the windrows and carry the snow off to the shore, or
to a distance from where the ice is to be cut. If the field is very
large, and the snow deep, dumping points are selected on the field. The
weight of the snow will sink the ice at these points, and cracks will
soon loosen the dump from the main body of ice. A deep groove plowed
alongside of the dump will assist in loosening the dump, and keeps the
water off the field. Some of these scoop scrapers are constructed with
great care, and nicely adapted to the needs of the ice harvester.
A SUDDEN THAW during the winter, while the ice crop is forming, is an
annoyance to the ice dealer, and, if accompanied by rain, the field
will often suffer by being flooded with water from the surrounding
hills. Sand and earth may be washed on to the ice, making it dirty and
injuring its quality. Water standing on top of the field will soon comb
and rot the ice. If only an inch or two of water is on the field and
the weather turns cold, it can be left to freeze and then be planed off.
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. Ice expels
the air while freezing principally toward the bottom, and as it has no
chance for escape through the ice beneath, the top layer will show a
white streak.
For tapping the field the auger and the tapping axe are used. If the
water is accumulating rapidly and despatch is wanted, the axe will
be found the more rapid-working tool. The auger, however, makes
neater work, and leaves the field in better shape--often an important
desideratum.
THE OUTFIT FOR HARVESTING.--Time is of great value in handling ice
in any of the various operations gone through with on the field or
in the house. 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.
[Illustration: FIG. 5. ICE AUGER.]
[Illustration: FIG. 6. MEASURE.]
[Illustration: FIG. 7. TAPPING AXE.]
More credit than is generally supposed to be warranted is due to the
splendid energy and managerial ability of the ice harvester, during
seasons when the home ice crop is a partial or entire failure. No one,
not practically familiar with the business, can readily understand
the extra strain and burden imposed on the ice dealer who succeeds in
securing supplies sufficient to meet the requirements of his customers,
by going to the far north for this most beneficent and useful product
of nature. Enterprise pays in this, as in any business.
Having removed the snow the field is carefully inspected, and quality
and thickness of the ice ascertained in all parts. The field is bored
with the ice auger, and the measure indicates the thickness. The auger
is withdrawn and the appearance of the ice noted before the auger
reaches the bottom and water fills the hole. If the snow ice is too
heavy it must be removed.
[Illustration: FIG. 8. FIELD PLANER.]
Two methods for doing this are available. It can be cut loose and
broken into chips with the snow ice planer on the field, the chips
being afterwards cleared with scrapers and scoops; or it can be left
on the ice and cut away by the elevator ice planer as the ice cakes
pass up the endless chain ice elevator incline, on their way into the
ice house. The first method is in use wherever the endless chain ice
elevator is not employed. When it is to be removed by the field planer,
the ice field is first laid out and plowed to the depth of the snow or
sap ice to be removed. The snow ice planer follows the plowed grooves,
cutting off the refuse ice.
THICKNESS OF ICE.--Generally speaking, the ice is desired at an average
thickness of fourteen inches; this being convenient for subsequent
handling. In practice, the thickness of the ice, as it is stored or
shipped from the water, varies with the exigencies of the season and
the average thickness formed at the locality.
In the latitude of Central and Southern Ohio six-inch ice is often
stored; in the vicinity of Chicago and Omaha, ten inch; in Maine,
sixteen inch, and in Minnesota, twenty inch. Ice, thirty inches thick,
has been cut and stored on Lake Superior, in Northern Wisconsin, where
ice forms equal in purity and brilliancy to any found in this country.
The ordinary printing on the pages of a Chicago newspaper has been
easily read through a block of Lake Superior ice twenty-nine inches
thick. At Winnipeg, Manitoba, ice is cut forty inches in thickness.
Such thick ice keeps the year through.
[Illustration: FIG. 9. MARKER, WITH SWING GUIDE.]
[Illustration: FIG. 10. FIELD PLOW.]
[Illustration: FIG. 11. SWING GUIDE PLOWS.]
LAYING OUT THE ICE FIELD.--As the ice field is inspected and mapped
out for plowing, all unsound places, air holes, or shallow places
where rocks or sand bars approach near to the surface, are marked for
avoidance. A convenient method is to bore holes at such places, and
plant pieces of brush in them. Thin ice, formed where the ice has been
removed during cutting, is also marked in this manner, to give warning
of the danger of venturing upon it.
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.
Quality should always be of the first importance, and, in these days
of close competition, pure ice is necessary for success in the ice
business. Ice, for any purpose, should never be cut from impure or
contaminated water. Too much care can not be given to securing clean,
pure, healthful ice for all uses, directly or remotely allied to
preserving or curing food products. Natural ice from pure crystal water
is one of nature’s purest productions.
Having gone over the field and determined the plan of operation,
the first task is to lay out the base lines from which the marking
and plowing are gauged. Stakes are planted at either end of the
line, and a heavy cord drawn taut between them. The hand plow is now
passed alongside the line, making a score in the ice from end to end.
Sometimes a long board with sights is used for laying out the first
line, and a line marker is a cheap substitute for the hand plow. The
teeth of the horse marker are now set in the hand plow groove; the
guide is unlatched and runs along on top of the ice. Care is taken to
keep the marker upright, by firmly supporting the handles. This cuts a
groove three inches deep. The blade of the guide is now placed in this
groove, and the marker cuts a new groove parallel with the first one.
[Illustration: FIG. 12. HAND PLOW.]
[Illustration: FIG. 13. PLOW ROPE.]
[Illustration: FIG. 14. LINE MARKER.]
This operation is continued until the field is grooved in parallel
lines over its surface in one direction. Plows are now started in the
marker grooves, and are run back and forth until the grooves have been
cut about two-thirds through the ice, care being taken to leave not
less than four inches of solid ice below the bottom of the groove.
Meanwhile the marker is at work scoring the field in lines at right
angles to those first laid out. A large wooden square with legs about
fifteen feet long is used to square from, and the field is marked and
plowed in both directions.
When the snow ice plane is to be used, the field is marked out in one
direction only. The depth cut is regulated by a planer gauge, attached
to the marker, to the thickness of the snow ice to be removed. The
runners of the plane set in the grooves and are guided by them.
CHANNELS AND CANALS.--The marking and plowing being well under way, the
channels and canals require attention. Where the current is gentle,
and on ponds and lakes, the opening of the channel and canals is not
attended with much difficulty. Where the current is swift, as on the
large rivers, practical skill is required in opening up the field. The
pressure of the current makes it difficult to open the channel and
canals, and the shore ice is in danger of giving way. Stays and braces
are sometimes employed to anchor the shore ice, and to prevent the
channels from closing.
In some instances it has been found advisable to have the channel
permanently fixed by piles driven into the bottom of the river on
either side. In others, braces are set in the ice, at short intervals,
before the channel is opened, as shown in the illustration. The posts
should be heavy, and the cross struts may be ten or twelve inches
square. The post holes, if cut oblong, will allow short boards to be
spiked to the sides of the posts at their lower ends. When inserted
through the ice, a quarter turn of the post will bring the projecting
ears under the ice, and no trouble will be given by the post raising
out of its place. The cross strut should just allow the ice to float
beneath, and be well secured to the posts, which require inclined
braces, joining the posts opposite the ends of the struts, with their
feet planted in recesses cut into the ice. Water should be poured
around the braces, and when the braces and posts are frozen in place a
very strong support is secured against the current, as the following
cut shows.
[Illustration: FIG. 15. BRACES FOR CHANNEL WITH SWIFT CURRENT.]
Where the current is not so strong, square frames may be employed. They
are placed in the channel where the ice cake will float through freely;
their sides should fill mortices in the sides of the channel, and not
project into the path of the cakes, as shown in Fig. 16.
Various methods of dealing with cracks in the ice have been tried.
A good one is to take long planks and extend them across the cracks
laying flat on the surface. By boring through the planks into the ice,
and inserting wooden pins, the loosened portion is firmly held, and the
cracks will freeze up. If the pins are inclined in opposite directions
a firm hold is secured on the ice.
When the channel has been located, if convenient, a deep groove is
plowed at either side, and the remaining ice is cut away with the pond
ice saws. Splitting chisels are now brought into play, and the ice in
the channel is split up into cakes, which are sunk and floated under
the ice. Canals through the plowed field are similarly opened. The
field is now in readiness to furnish a supply of ice cakes for stowing
in the house.
[Illustration: FIG. 16. BRACE FOR SLOW CURRENT.]
A section is selected, and the grooves carefully double calked
with chips, from the plowing, to prevent the water running in. For
this purpose a calking bar is used. Ice saws are now brought into
requisition, and the grooves at the ends of the section are sawed
through to the back. The groove at the back is now struck into at
several points with one or another of the barring off tools provided
for this work. A section called a float, and containing one hundred
to one thousand or more cakes, is readily split off. The tools used
for this work vary with the thickness of the ice and the size of the
floats. The fork bars are the most often used, the two-prong bar being
the favorite on heavy ice. If the first cuts with the saws are so made
that the ice cut away is a little wider on the bottom than on the top,
and the sides parallel, it will facilitate getting out the first float
cut away. By sinking the float a little all pinching or binding at the
sides is prevented.
[Illustration: FIG. 17. BEST CAST STEEL ICE SAWS.]
[Illustration: FIG. 18. TWO-PRONG FORK BAR.]
[Illustration: FIG. 19. THREE-PRONG FORK BAR.]
[Illustration: FIG. 20. FOUR-PRONG FORK BAR.]
[Illustration: FIG. 21. CALKING BAR.]
[Illustration: FIG. 22. BREAKING BAR.]
The floats are split into rows of single or double cakes, as they are
floated near to the channel leading to the incline. As the long rows
are moved into the channel, a man, standing on a bridge a few inches
above the ice, strikes a needle or splitting chisel into the plowed
grooves as they are passed beneath his feet. One or two dexterous
thrusts will cleave the ice to the bottom. In frosty weather, with the
ice hard, it can be split true and square, in most instances. Cakes not
smoothly split must be trimmed before they reach the incline, and the
bunches removed.
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.
Ice floats left too long before being broken up into single cakes, are
in danger of having the grooves flooded, and wholly or partially frozen
up. In this condition they are either worthless or split up with much
labor and great irregularity. The single cakes left in the channel over
night serve to prevent it being closed with ice in the morning, and the
delay incident to opening it up is avoided.
Some early work, however, is always needed on the channels. The single
cakes will have a connecting web of new ice, which must be broken up
and trimmed from the sides of the channel and the cakes. The broken
ice and damaged cakes which are not wanted must be kept clear of the
channel at all times. The larger pieces may be sunk under the ice,
and the smaller ones be removed by the scoop nets or sieve shovels. A
snowstorm during the harvest is attended with much discomfort to the
ice harvesters. The channels are filled with slush, which packs around
the floats and cakes, making their progress slow and laborious. It
eludes the scoop net and is very hard to deal with. The field is soon
buried out of sight, and must be cleared and scraped with as little
delay as practicable.
HOUSING THE ICE.--There is room for large latitude for variations in
the methods employed on the ice field. The situations are so different
that the dealer is called upon to exercise judgment and ingenuity,
in determining what is best to be done. On swift running streams the
ice, after first forming, may be broken by storms, and with a return
of settled weather, will freeze in rough and confused masses of broken
ice in places. At other points no floating ice has found lodgment, and
the second freezing is regular and of good quality. In order to secure
the ice from these favored spots, the harvester may be obliged to open
a channel several miles in length, and float the ice down to where his
storage houses are located.
At the foot of the incline at which the ice cakes are taken from
the water, and along the channel directly leading to it, the ice is
subject to much wear. The work necessarily done on the cakes as they
are floated through this channel, requires the presence of a number of
trimmers and bar men at this point, as well as those who are feeding
the cakes into the elevator, or placing them in position for the
grapple. The tools used at the foot of the incline and near by channel
are illustrated on Pages 00–00.
[Illustration: FIG. 23. ICE HOOKS.]
[Illustration: FIG. 24. ELEVATOR FEEDING FORK.]
[Illustration: FIG. 25. CHAIN SCOOP NET.]
[Illustration: FIG. 26. SIEVE SHOVEL.]
[Illustration: FIG. 27. RING HANDLE SPLITTING CHISEL.]
[Illustration: FIG. 28. CHANNEL HOOK CHISEL.]
[Illustration: FIG. 29. NEEDLE BAR.]
There is often an accumulation of refuse ice taken from the channel
and thrown on the ice not far away. Ice cakes sometimes slip from the
grapples on their way up the incline, and slide down, striking with
great force at the foot of the incline. All these, and other sources of
wear, on the ice, make it important to provide some protection to the
sides of the channel, and, as the edges soon dip below the surface of
the water, a footing or walk for the channel men. Where elevating by
means of grapples, it will be found a convenience, and often the means
of avoiding delays, to have a water box or trough sunk in the channel,
at a depth to admit the cakes passing freely on to the lower end, and
yet near enough the surface to prevent the cakes ducking, or dodging
under, when pressed forward from the rear. The jackman, as the slack
is taken out of the line and the pull is felt, bears a firm grip on
the handle of his grapple, and, at the same time, bears down heavily,
and ducks the heel of the cake, engaged by the grapple, under the
water. The men who are placing the cakes for the jacks, if the ice is
heavy, bear down on the cake with their pike poles at the same time,
to prevent the last cake from being ended over. The water box is
necessary, at these times, to steady the cake below, and prevent it
sinking too deep. 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. Usually it is of a temporary
character, and renewed each year. 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.
CARE OF ICE TOOLS.--Provision for preserving the cutting qualities of
tools is of great importance. An inferior tool, or one out of repair,
will detract from the efficiency of the labor employed to use it. The
amount depends on the particular kind of work under consideration, and
the comparative condition of the tool with which it is done. Attention
to this matter is often neglected, from a failure to properly estimate
its importance, or from a mistaken idea of the ease with which an
incompetent or ignorant man can spoil the best implement which can be
made. Ice saws, of the best type, will, when new, cut rapidly and true;
one or two dressings, done in the wrong way, will detract from their
cutting efficiency one-fourth or more, and it will be impossible to cut
true with them.
[Illustration: FIG. 30. TOOTHED TRIMMER BARS, IRON HANDLE.]
[Illustration: FIG. 31. TOOTHED TRIMMER BARS, _D_ HANDLE.]
[Illustration: FIG. 32. JACK GRAPPLE.]
[Illustration: FIG. 33. HANDLE GRAPPLE.]
[Illustration: FIG. 34. CHANNEL GRAPPLE.]
One man should be trained to correctly dress the saws, and then be held
responsible for their work. When the teeth are worn short, or the saws
are sprung, send them to the ice tool manufacturer, to have the teeth
gummed out to their correct size and shape, and the blades straightened
and stiffened. Ice plows are frequently rendered useless by improper
dressing or careless handling. The range and proportion of the teeth,
as they are when new, must be kept up, and the cutting points sharp
and keen. The heels and bottoms must be dressed down regularly with
the points,--no more, no less. 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. The lack of management and
system is, more likely, the source of this waste.
Plows which have been worn so they cut hard, need gumming out, or
reforging, or both. Plows and markers are the chief cutting implements
of the ice harvester. Too much care cannot be taken to make a proper
selection, originally. The best plows are now made with steel beams and
steel bolts. They are superior to the old style iron plows. The guides
used on plows and markers should have no lost motion, at any point,
when the guide handle is latched in place. The latest improvements are
in the trussed form of guide, which is perfectly rigid, and the double
hinge and swivel method of securing the handle to the guide, combined
with the pin and mortice latch. This construction produces a plow and
guide which has no looseness in any joint, and is so braced that the
plow cannot depart from a vertical position unless the guide is raised
out of its groove.
All ice cutters who have had their fields marked in curved, instead
of straight, lines, with the resulting wrenching or breaking of plow
teeth, will appreciate and welcome this improvement. Bars, tongs,
and hooks should be kept sharp, and, when out of repair, sent to the
maker, to be brought back to a condition of efficiency. The close of
the cutting season is the best time to select and ship to the ice-tool
maker all implements which require overhauling.
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. A good set of millwright tools,
together with a well-chosen supply of seasoned timber, of such sizes as
are used in the various runs and connections, will often repay their
cost in a single season. Large boarding houses are often found included
in the ice harvester’s inventory. This is a necessity where the storage
houses are situated any distance from towns or cities. Several hundred
men are sometimes thus accommodated.
FILLING THE HOUSE.--Ice should be housed during freezing weather, if
possible, as the cakes will then enter the ice house dry and hard. In
soft weather the ice is soft, and contains some water; the cakes, being
chilled in the house, are frozen together, causing an increase of labor
and breakage in getting the ice out for shipment during the summer.
When the ice is heavy, of best quality, and stowed, during freezing
weather, in a well-constructed ice house, it can be kept for two or
three seasons, and then be taken out in good condition, with but little
extra loss by breakage. It should have attention at all times, however,
and be kept in perfect order.
The various methods which are in use for elevating the ice cake from
the water into the ice house, or on to the platform, will be noticed in
detail, under a special chapter devoted to this important branch of the
mechanics of the natural ice trade.
[Illustration: FIG. 35. WOODEN SKID. NO. 1.]
[Illustration: FIG. 36. WOODEN SKID. NO. 2.]
[Illustration: FIG. 37. WAGON AND LOADING TONGS.]
[Illustration: FIG. 38. PACKING CHISEL.]
[Illustration: FIG. 39. PACKING CHISEL.]
The ice cake, as it enters the ice house, does so on a skid, or run,
which is placed at an inclination, the end nearest the entrance higher
than the end leading in toward the center of the room. At its lower end
the skid is connected with another having the same general inclination,
and thus a continuous line of runs is formed, extending from the
entrance to the farther part of the room. The inclination of these runs
is determined by the distance the ice is to travel on them, and the
height of the galleries on the front of the ice house.
The runs are usually arranged with a rapid descent near the entrance,
and the further end, on a level with the intermediate portion,
graduated between these extremes. When the inclination imparts too high
a speed to the cakes, a break is set into the runs. It usually consists
of a board, in which a number of large nails are driven, with their
heads left projecting above the surface. This board is set in the line
of the runs, or attached to one of them, so the under surface of the
ice scratches on the nail heads. The number of nails and the depth of
the scratches is easily varied to suit the velocity required.
As the ice cakes are run into the ice house, they are stored at the
farther end first, and are gradually filled in toward the front.
Through the back and center of the room, stowing is most rapidly
performed. Filling the front end, and under the runs, require more time
and care. The ice cakes are moved into place with ice hooks and tongs.
As the cakes pass along the runs, they are caught with the ice hook and
guided off the run, at either side, as desired. The runs are made flat,
with no projecting sides or rails. Two lines of the V-shaped run iron
are placed on the runs, and the ice will follow them, but is readily
slipped off when wanted. The accompanying cuts show the common patterns
of runs, and the tools used in the house during packing.
The hooks, tongs, and runs are used in directing the cakes to their
final positions. The bars, chisels, and adze are used to trim any
inequalities off from the cakes, and, in some cases, to level off each
layer of ice as it is stored. This is not so often done, when ice is
stored for shipment from the house, as in cooling rooms, when it is
desired to pack as much ice as possible.
[Illustration: FIG. 40. HOISTING TONGS.]
[Illustration: FIG. 41. DRAG TONGS.]
[Illustration: FIG. 42. EDGING TONGS.]
[Illustration: FIG. 43. ICE ADZE.]
PACKING ICE IN THE HOUSE.--The method employed in arranging the ice
cakes varies in different parts of the country. The important thing
to keep in mind is the amount of good, merchantable ice possible to
be gotten out of the house, as it is shipped away during the warm
season. This does not depend upon how much can be crowded in, but upon
the packing and arranging of the cakes. Two things are to be observed
in this, prevention of waste by melting, and ease in loosening or
detaching the cakes, as they are taken out. The following method may be
taken as an example, and varied as good cause is found for so doing.
If the ice is thin, place the two first courses on edge, and pack as
closely together as practicable. The succeeding courses place in flat,
or in the same position they occupy on the water. Arrange the cakes one
directly above the other, and leave a space of two inches on all four
sides or edges. In every five or six courses, joints are broken. The
last four or five courses on top are placed, each one, to break joints,
and closely placed at edges. The reasons for this arrangement are, that
the ice on the floor of the house wastes rapidly, and, by placing the
cakes on edge, the minimum loss is obtained, and the succeeding cakes,
placed one above the other, and free on the edges, having only the top
and bottom surfaces in contact, the minimum breakage and labor, in
loosening cakes, is obtained; also, by breaking the joints every few
courses, the circulation of air currents, which is very destructive to
the ice, is shut off, and, finally, the top courses close in the mass
thoroughly, and prevent the top covering from sifting down into the
body of the ice.
The chapters on loss of ice by wastage in the house, and the
construction of ice houses, will present more fully some of the
considerations bearing upon the methods of stowing the ice.
In some localities the ice cakes are all placed upon edge. Among the
advantages claimed for this method are, ease in loosening and taking
out the cakes, and the closer packing secures more ice, where storage
room is limited. There is a risk of damage to the ice house, by the
pressure of the ice against the side walls, when packed in this manner.
The edges, being uneven, tend to throw the ice out of plumb, or to give
the whole mass an inclination in one direction. In stowing, care is
required to keep the spaces between the cakes free from chips or broken
ice.
No more trimming than is necessary should be done in the house, and the
crowding of cakes together on the runs, and in sliding them to their
places, should be avoided. Broken cakes should not be allowed to come
into the house, and, if cakes are broken in placing, they should be
thrown out of the house.
Experience and practice, in the handling of runs and managing the
progress of the stowing of the ice cakes, attest the value of system
in this department. To do the necessary work with as much despatch as
possible requires close attention to details, and watchfulness, that
the labor and efforts of the men are properly directed and distributed.
The runs outside the house are permanent, and arranged in galleries,
about five feet apart, with connecting runs from each gallery to
the incline. The top run is placed well up to the plate. At each
intersection of the incline and runs to the galleries, there is a gate,
which may be removed from the face of the incline, thus affording
access from the incline to the runs. The gate at the lower run being
open, the ice cakes all pass on to the first run, and enter the house
at this height. When the house has been filled with ice to the height
of the first run, or one or two courses higher, the level of the house
is then too high to handle the ice over the lower run. The incline gate
is now placed in position, shutting off the first run, and the ice is
raised upon the incline to the height of the second run, and passes
into the house at this level.
It is now necessary to rearrange the runs within the ice house. They
must be uncoupled from the first gallery, and raised up and secured
at the height of the second gallery. The under blocking and bracing
is removed, and the runs set to one side. Before they are disturbed,
a number of ice cakes are run in, and left near the entrance, to be
stowed in the space the runs and staging occupied, directly in front
of the entrance. Unless care is taken, this filling in will be done
with irregularity, and more or less broken ice will be left among the
good cakes, causing loss by wastage and breakage, when the house is
opened up. This filling in under the runs suspends the ordinary work of
stowing, and is attended with some loss of time.
After the cakes are all in place, the house runs are raised up, blocked
and braced in position, the connecting runs coupled on, and a new line
of runs conducts the ice from the second gallery to the further part of
the room.
A system of winding drums, placed in the roof timbers, with ropes
attached to the runs, at either end, saves time and labor, in adjusting
the house runs to the levels of the different galleries; also, in
shifting them, as they are raised to the level of the courses, as the
cakes are placed.
CLOSING AND CARING FOR THE HOUSE.--When the room has been filled to
the level of the wall plate, the ice is covered with dry planing-mill
shavings or sawdust, ten or twelve inches deep. The entrance opening is
closed, and filled in with sawdust, or other packing.
The harvest being secured, the ice house carefully closed, and all
chance for circulation prevented by a top dressing, it requires regular
attendance once a day, to trim the top covering, if any part of it
should sink into the crevices between the ice cakes.
As the warmer days and spring rains set in, the proper ventilation of
the ice house is important. All steam or vapor arising from the ice
should be gotten rid of as soon as possible. The various plans which
are in use to attain this end, will be found in the chapter on wastage
and care of ice in the house.
As soon as the tools for harvesting are no longer required for use,
they should be promptly gathered together, and inspected. 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. It is a good plan to
have all the tools inventoried directly after the cutting season, and
they should be marked with the owner’s name or initials.
The elevator machinery should also be inspected, and any defects noted,
for early repair, the apron raised from the water, and the water shaft
and fittings cleaned, and thoroughly oiled. The ice chain, if given a
coat of slushing oil, will take no harm. All machinery which is exposed
to the weather should be thoroughly coated with slushing oil. The
engine should have attention, and all working parts be preserved from
rust. All the brass trimmings on engines or boiler should be taken
down, boxed, and stored in a secure place.
SHIPPING ICE FROM THE FIELD.--While the ice house is being filled,
winter shipments of ice may be made to points where supply stations
are maintained distant from any cutting privilege. Large shipments are
often made to points south of the frost line, or where the crop is
deficient. To accommodate this traffic, loading platforms are built
with connecting runs from the lower incline run. A switch is arranged
by which the ice cakes can be directed, either on to the loading
platform or into the ice house. Long trains of cars can be filled
daily. At a single platform, ten to fifteen cars are loaded at one
time, while a double platform will accommodate double the number.
If the side tracks are placed at both sides of the platform, no time
will be lost while cars are being switched, a train loaded on one track
being switched out, and the track filled with empty cars, while loading
proceeds in the cars on the other track. Diagrams of these platforms
are shown at Fig. 52. Endless chains, with bars at short spaces, pass
along the top of the platform, and carry a cake, at a regular speed,
before each bar. (See Fig. 51.) A short doorway slide is placed between
the car and platform, and a man, stationed at the car door with an ice
hook, slides the cakes into the car as fast as the stowers can place
them.