. The book of the garden. Gardening. ICE-HOUSES. 501 layer of charcoal 18 inches or 2 feet thick instead of the stones. The best plan of all would be to build the walls hollow, or to build two walls with an interval be- tween them, and to pack the space between with some non-conducting material. The only advantage of having ice-houses sunk under the ground-surface is the facility with which they can be filled from the top; but it is questionable if this convenience is not more than balanced by the diffi- culty of keeping such underground walls dry—and upon this much of the keeping properties o
. The book of the garden. Gardening. ICE-HOUSES. 501 layer of charcoal 18 inches or 2 feet thick instead of the stones. The best plan of all would be to build the walls hollow, or to build two walls with an interval be- tween them, and to pack the space between with some non-conducting material. The only advantage of having ice-houses sunk under the ground-surface is the facility with which they can be filled from the top; but it is questionable if this convenience is not more than balanced by the diffi- culty of keeping such underground walls dry—and upon this much of the keeping properties of ice depends. The entrance should be from the ground-level, and the passage furnished with three doors, ah c, fitted into the door-frames as closely as possible, the better to exclude the air. The innermost of these, c, need not be a full-sized door, as shown in the figure; and instead of its opening by hinges in the ordi- nary manner, it should consist of separate oaken planks made to fit into a groove at both sides, and so be lifted out and in when the ice is being taken out. A bet- ter construction for it still would be to form it of two plates of iron made to run on a small rail, and carried into a slit in the wall at both sides, fitted with a cast- iron frame to receive them—the iron plates to be flanged at the ends, so that, when shut, they may fit the frame so closely as to exclude the air. It will be seen also, from our figure, that it is filled through the passage, a case often ren- dered necessary from local circumstances, and where the more speedy mode of filling from the top may either be impossible or inconvenient. We may here remark that cast or wrought iron doors would be more desirable than wood in such situations, but they are more difficult to render air- tight. In regard to size, every ice-house should be made large, even for a small family ; as, if all is properly done, ice may be kept for two or three years. This is a point of much consequence in parts
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Keywords: ., bookcentury1800, bookdecade1850, booksubjectgardening, bookyear18
