ICE INDUSTRY. Though the use of natural and artificial ice as an article of com mercial value practically began only in the first part of the 19th century, yet the artificial pro duction of cold began long before the modern civilized era.
In Greece and Rome during the early ages snow was more commonly used, being placed in cone-shaped pits 45 feet in diameter, 50 feet deep and lined with straw and prunings of trees. The snow was packed down and covered with more straw and prunings, over all of which a thatched roof was placed; after the ice was formed it was cut and carried out through a door left in the side of the pit for the purpose. During the 16th century snow and ice were stored in cellars for the purpose of cooling drinks. This custom spread from Greece and Italy to western Europe and to France during the reign of Henry III in the 16th century, and by the end of the inh century the sale of snow and ice had become a profitable trade. From that time until the beginning of the 19th century the ice trade was practically at a standstill, no material ad vance being made in the direction of improving the methods of harvesting the ice supplied by nature; nor was any attempt of any importance made to produce artificial ice. For the purposes of description and comparison, ice may be di vided into two classes, natural and the arti ficial.
Natural Probably the first ice cut and shipped as an article of commercial value was sent, in 1799, from New York to Charleston, S. C. This cargo was cut from a pond near Canal street. While this shipment was the first recorded it was of little importance; the real beginning of the industry came in the year 1805 when Frederic Tudor of Boston, shipped a cargo of 130 tons to the West Indies. This re sulted in a loss of $4,500, and Tudor's second shipment, two years later, to Havana likewise was made at a loss enormous for those days. He stuck to the business, however, and finally; in 1812, was granted by Great Britain a mo nopoly of the trade with her colonies in the West Indies, and later, in 1815-16, Spain granted him the same concession to export to Havana. In 1817-18 the trade was extended to Charleston and Savannah; to New Orleans in 1820; to Cal cutta in 1833; and to Rio Janeiro in 1834. Thus a large and lucrative trade with southern countries and southern cities of the United States was built up; competitors began to conic into the field, the first of these to enter the ex port field being the firm of Gage, Hittinger and Company of Boston, who introduced American ice to the people of London. They were in
turn followed by a Salem merchant named Lan der, and others.
The harvest of natural ice is gathered on an enormous scale in the United States, the de mand for the article being due in a large meas ure to the growth of other industries to which ice was a necessity. Before Croton water was introduced into New York, and as far back as 1825, ice was cut on Sunfish pond, on the out skirts of the city, by some butchers who de sired to preserve their stock of meat. In 1826 ice was cut on Rockland Lake, and at first all the ice cut was stored in the ground, but later storehouses at Hubert street and Christopher street were built, and as the demand for ice gradually developed in all the larger Eastern cities, large storehouses were erected near the places where the ice was cut. The capacity of these houses ranges from 10,000 to 190,000 tons, and in size run from 100 to 150 feet in length by 30 to 50 feet in width. For gathering the ice there is an elaborate system of apparatus, but the usual methods employed are as follows: After the snow is cleared from the ice by means of scrapers or snow-plows, an ice-plow, either propelled by steam or drawn by horses — the lat ter means being more commonly used —cats deep grooves in the ice in one direction and then repeats the operation at right angles with the first, thus forming rectangular pieces, measur ing approximately 2 X 3V2 feet. As these grooves extend nearly through the ice, it is a simple matter to saw through the remaining thickness, pry the cakes loose with crowbars and float them to the icehouses through channels opened up as the work proceeds. Upon reach ing the icehouse the cakes are slid up an incline, with the aid of an endless chain apparatus, operated by horse or steam power; if the ice house be very close, the same engine that runs the elevator may be used. The hoist or elevator of an icehouse is so located that ice may be conveniently slid to any part of the building. By means of an automatic indicator and trips the elevator is stopped at the proper height and the blocks of ice stored in layers. The floor of the house is built a little lower in the centre than at the sides, so that the weight of the ice may not lean on the walls. The walls are double and insulated to preserve the cold tem perature inside.