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Show DIFFERENT TYPES OF DAIRY ICEHOUSES , ? - J ;V- -'' I " ' Farmer's Icehouse With Milk Room. (Prepared by the United States Department Depart-ment of Agriculture.) The dairy division of the United States department of agriculture has been investigating the different types of icehouses in iu:e by dairymen, and has studied the advantages of each type. Only a small number of the icehouses examined by the department's depart-ment's specialists were built of new lumber. In many instances ice was .stored in the cellar under the house or barn, or in the corner of some building, such as a woodshed, corncrib, or barn, or under the driveway leading to the barn, and occasionally it was simply stacked outdoors with no roof for protection. pro-tection. Where the ice was stored in cellars, open sheds or in stacks, the loss from melting was comparatively large, depending on the ventilation, drainage and care in packing. Where the cost of harvesting ice is a small item, dairymen often say that it is less expensive to store in such places than to go to the expense of building an up-to-date icehouse. Where ice is stacked outdoors and covered with some form of insulation, it is necessary neces-sary to put up from 30 to 50 per cent more than the amount previously allowed, al-lowed, so as to provide for the heavy shrinkage. The ice should be stored as near the milkhouse as possible, in order to save labor in removing it to the milk tank. A great many dairymen find it an advantage to have the milk room in one end of the icehouse. In this way the cost of a separate tankhouse is eliminated. The small amount of time and labor required to transfer the ice to the cooling tank generally acts as an added incentive for the free use of ice. It is highly important impor-tant that the milk room, whether combined com-bined with the icehouse or standing alone, be located so that objectionable objection-able odors will be avoided. In comparing the different methods of storing ice, it was found that where the cost of ice was comparatively high it was advisable to spend enough money in building and insulating the icehouse to protect the ice from melting melt-ing as much as possible, but in cases where the cost of the ice was small it appeared that the owners were often justified in building a cheaper storage stor-age with a relatively high loss of ice from meltage. The dairyman therefore there-fore should consider both the cost of construction and the cost of the ice in selecting the type most suitable suita-ble for his requirements. Some farmers store their ice in roughly constructed bins. One of this sort was seen, made by placing large posts of irregular sizes three feet in the ground and about four feet apart, and upon these were nailed a miscellaneous miscella-neous lot of boards; no roof was provided. pro-vided. The shrinkage was reported from 30 to 50 per cent. Ice might be stored in this manner for some purposes, pur-poses, but this method is not recommended recom-mended for a dairy farm. Further- more a bin of this sort is very unsightly un-sightly and is an Indication of slack methods in farming. Where Ice Is cheap and building material high, it might be permissible as a temporary arrangement; but it is not so ecor nomical a method as may appear at first sight, for the cost of the ice lost in the shrinkage would generally amount to more than the interest on the cost of constructing a serviceable icehouse. An instance was observed in which a corner of a woodshed, about twelve feet square and ten feet high, had been converted into an ice shed. This corner of the woodshed had been roughly boarded up and about 14 inches of sawdust placed around the ice on all sides, top, and bottom. The cost of the building was very little., and the shrinkage was reported at about 20 per cent. The owner stated that softwood sawdust is a much bet tor insulation than hardwood sawdust. saw-dust. The icehouse in the illustration measures 15 by 20 feet on the outside out-side and 8 feet high. At the front or south end a room 15 by 6 feet is partitioned off and used for a milk room. The remaining 6pace, lo by 14 feet by 8 feet high, after allowing for 6 inches of wall, 12 inches of sawdust on the sides, 12 inches on the bottom, and 18 inches on the top, will provide space for about 17 tons of Ice. This house is built on high, sloping ground, where the soil is porous, consequently the drainage is satisfactory. The foundation founda-tion is made of concrete (mixture I to b), 1 feet wide at the bottom and sloping gradually until the top measures meas-ures 8 inches. The sills which rest on the foundation are 6 by 6 Inches, upon which are erected 2 by 6 inch studding with 24-inch centers. On the top of the studding rests a 2 by G inch plate, auJ. the studs are sheathed inride and outside with rough boarding. The outside is then covered with weatiierboarding. The roof has a two-thirds pitch and Is constructed con-structed of 2 by 4 inch rafters, 24-inch 24-inch centers, boarded and covered with shingles. In each gable is located a slat ventile'or, 2V by 1 2 feet, which wth the high pitch of the roof allows for an abundance of free circulation of air over the Ice. The milk room is provided with two glass windows 3i by 2 feet, one In each end. The milk room is provided only with a movable ice-water tank, 314 by 4 by 3 feet, in which are placed the cream cans. A rope and pulley which are fastened to the ceiling are used in transferring the ice from the icehouse up and over the wall and lowering it into the tank. The material mate-rial and labor for constructing this combination milk- and Icehouse amounted to $125. The shrinkage on the 100 cakes in -orage was estimated esti-mated at about 15 to 20 per cent. The ice in this house cost 2 cents a cake exclusive of hauling and storing |