Ice-House and Refrigerator.
BY JOHN TAYLOR.
Houses built on this plan are lined throughout the inside with sheet iron. There is a layer of felt nailed to the sides, ceiling, and floor of the room, and on this is nailed the sheet iron. It is then painted with two heavy coats, it being the aim to fill up all joints and seams with the paint. But as the tin and felt do not render the room absolutely air-tight, I am of opinion that it can as well be dispensed with. It might save some ice if the seams were all soldered. The layer of cement, asphaltum or gas tar, which should cover the ground below the joists, is to protect the room from the moisture and warmth of the earth. Above this layer should be about 30 inches of dry sawdust or turners shavings, well packed up to the level of the top of the joists.
The drainage from the ice is carried off by a series of V-shaped tin or iron troughs, which run between the joists, all of which carry the water to one point, where it is carried outside by a trap-pipe. These troughs reach over to the center of the top of the joists, and are soldered together, so that no water will drip on the floor below. It will be seen that in this plan there is no sawdust or other preservative in contact with the ice, and that the air of the room circulates around and over the ice. As long as the temperature of the goods stored is above the temperature of the room there will be a gentle draught around the mass of ice, and of course all the moisture in the air, vapors, and odors from the goods will condense on the ice and pass off, so that you can keep milk, cream, butter, fruits, and meats all in the same chamber without danger of injuring the flavor of either. The atmosphere of the room is always dry, sweet, and pure.
The features of this plan can as well be carried out by arranging a room inside of another building.
I should have explained before that the ice does not rest directly on the joists; but there is a bed of oak lath, about 1 1/2 by 3 inches, laid across the joists, about 4 or 5 inches apart, on which the ice is laid. I would further suggest that another cold chamber can as well be had by making a cellar under the one shown, with a lattice floor between them. It would be necessary to finish the sides and bottom of this cellar in the most complete manner, as above described. At the entrance to the store-room there must be a vestibule, either inside or outside, as space or circumstances may direct. If outside the walls should be thick and the door very heavy. The doors, both inside and outside, should be fitted with rubber, so as to close perfectly tight, and both doors must never be opened at the same time. This vestibule should be large enough to contain a fair wagon load of goods, so that if you are receiving a load of stuff you are not required to stop until all is in the vestibule and ready to store. This house only needs filling once a year. The temperature will range from 34 deg. in winter to 36 deg. in summer, and will preserve fruit perfectly from season to season. The opening for putting in the ice, shown just under the pulley in the cut, has two doors with a space between; each door a foot thick. The window in the cold room has three sets of sash, well packed or cemented. The walls are 13 inches thick, lined with 17 inches of sawdust. Thirty-six inches of sawdust are put on the floor over the ice. The building shown is 25 feet square, inside measure, and 22 feet from floor of cold room to ceiling over the ice. The ice-room is 12 feet high, and the cold room 9 feet. Pillars are required under the center of the ice.—Country Gentleman.