Show ICE PROPERLY STORED FARM horsepower horse power scraper for removing sn snow w from an lea ice field prepared by the united states department of agriculture ico ice Is a very perishable commodity and therefore certain important principles must be considered in the tha construction st or of a place to store it investigators vesti gators of the united states department part ment of 0 agriculture consider that there are four important things to he be CO considered in order to keep ice well these are as follows 1 the ic ice e must have a minimum of surface exposed to the air or to the packing material this Is most easily accomplished by piling the ice in the form of a cube A mass ot of ice 12 by 12 by br 12 feet exposes less surface than the same tonnage piled in any form less nearly that ot of a cube or ot of a globe 2 the keeping of good ice depends upon the completeness ot of its 1 a insulation whereby it Is protected from external influences such as heat and air 3 drainage Is important because the lack 0 it interferes with the insulation su 4 the ice itself must lo be packed so 80 as to prevent as completely as PO possible a the circulation of air through the mass the more nearly the tha mass of ice approaches that of a solid cube both in shape and texture the easier with good drainage and insulation will be the keeping problem the kepping keeping of lee ice then depends upon the shape of the mass its insulation its drainage and its solidity the ease and rapidity with which ice may be gathered depends upon the condition and location of the field its as well as upon the tools used for doing the work it if the ice fee field la Is covered with snow the formation of ice will be retarded as the snow acts as a blanket and raises the temperature thus retarding the ice formation it if the ice sheet Is sufficiently thick and snow falls upon it the snow must be removed before harvesting can proceed or if on the other hand it la Is desirable to increase the thickness of the ice atter after the snow enow falls the field may be flooded and the snow saturated with water which la Is allowed to freeze thus adding a layer of snow lee ice flooding on small fields may be accomplished in either of two ways by overflowing 0 wing which consists merely in conducting water to the field or by piercing the ice field hero here ind and there with a bar or auger to allow the water to force itself to the surface and gradually to saturate the snow snow may e removed vom tom small fields when necessary by means of shovels but upon large fields it will be economical to use horsepower horse power scrapers A simple plank scraper is shown in the accompanying figure A for the farm snow well packed will last as long as lee ice say those who have tried the experiment on farms where more snow than ice is available in the winter in a properly constructed the snow may be kept for a long time and used in the summer bummer tn the place of ice this plan say field agents of the united states department of agriculture has already given excellent results in practice and la Is especially recommended to farmers in virginia west virginia kentucky and maryland there Is however no reason why it would not be profitable to construct a snow bouse in any region where there is a likelihood of any considerable snowfall in the course of the ye year ar in virginia and maryland successful snow bouses houses have been made from a pit sheltered by a gable roof some tour four feet above the ground the dirt dug from the pit Is piled around the board sides of the house bouse and graded in order to drain the water away underground the pit should not be less than 16 feet in diameter and depth with a bottom from two to six feet smaller than the top this athla is to prevent the fori formation nation of ar spaces around the snow as it settles the pit should shoud be lined with planks two thick obviously the coolest place available should be selected and whenever possible shade from surrounding trees should be utilized to keep off the rays of the sun proper packing ot of the snow in the house la Is essential it should be tramped down with the feet and tamped camped with a block of wood after a few days when the first loads have settled the tha spaces between the snow and walls should be filled with more snow piled as aa high as possible the top should then be covered first with sacks and finally with two or more feet of sawdust or straw As ac fast as the snow molts melts around the sides the spaces thus left should be packed with straw in order to prevent air currents care should also alao be taken to fill 1111 the snow house before the snow becomes becom ss wet in the case of at att toy balls the me now should be sh sho oveil veliS 1 directly into the tha wagon from any clean spot as aa soon eoon as it ban baa settled to pack well where there la Is only a light fall the snow can be drawn into rows by bk means of a plank drag and then hauled in wagons to the pit well lvell packed snow stored in this thid way in a properly constructed snow house will bo be useful in the hot weather in u many ways it will cool milk dairy products and meat and the housewife can use it freely tor for freezing ice cream or in other ways that will add greatly to the comfort of tho the household the pit should of course be constructed in the summer time and be all ready for use when the first snow comes it Is also wall to remember that as long as the outside temperature remains below 33 32 degrees it Is advisable to leave the doors ot of the storehouse open au aa soon as the thermometer rises above freezing however the doors should be shut care should also be taken after removing snow to see that the covering of sacks and straw Is replaced |