A History of Inventions, Discoveries, and Origins, Volume 2 (of 2)Beckmann, Johann
History
A History of Inventions, Discoveries, and Origins, Volume 2 (of 2)
Beckmann, Johann
Inventions -- History
the same thickness obtained from shallow water; and even when an equal
surface is exposed, melts more slowly. In this country, the collection
of ice, even by those largely engaged in the trade, is an occasional
and fitful undertaking; depending, both as to time and quantity, upon
the accidental occurrence of severe frost; and when the process of
collection is carried on, it is with very few artificial aids. In
America, on the other hand, this labour can be regularly carried on
through the whole winter; while the adjuncts of machinery for cutting
and storing, and of steam for transporting it, are brought extensively
into action.
The details connected with this trade, as carried on in America, are so
novel and so interesting, that we lay them before our readers with the
confident belief that the result of our labours will prove attractive
to them. Wenham Lake, whence a large proportion of the ice now
imported to this country is obtained, is eighteen miles from Boston, in
the State of Massachusets; it occupies a very elevated position, and
lies embosomed in hills of majestic height and bold rugged character.
The lake has no inlet whatever, but is fed solely by the springs which
issue from the rocks at its bottom, a depth of 200 feet from its
surface. The ice-house, which is capable of storing 20,000 tons of ice,
is built of wood, with double walls, two feet apart, all around; the
space between which is filled with sawdust; thus interposing a medium,
that is a non-conductor of heat, between the ice and the external air;
the consequence of which is, that the ice is scarcely affected by
any condition or temperature of the external atmosphere, and can be
preserved without waste for an indefinite time.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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