=123. Filling and Care of the Ice Box.= The housewife must open the doors of the ice box as seldom as possible, and close them quickly. Do not cut off the circulation of air from the ice by wrapping it in a blanket or newspapers. It cannot do its work then. The ice box is kept cold by the gradual melting of the ice. The ice melts fastest as the temperature of the ice box rises. Covering the ice may keep it from melting, but it will also allow the refrigerator to get warm, and so, whatever is gained in saving ice at first, will be lost at the higher temperature and in cooling the box again. Steady melting does the most good. The shelves and drain pipe should be removable, and these and the refrigerator should be washed and thoroly scalded once in every two weeks. There is a saving in planning to open the refrigerator as little as possible. The filling of the ice box with a large piece of ice two or three times a week, rather than with a small piece every day, is more economical. CHAPTER XVII ICELESS REFRIGERATORS; WATER COOLERS =124. Comparative Efficiency of Iceless Refrigerators.= In some localities, where it is difficult to get ice often enough to pay for having a refrigerator, other devices have to be depended upon for keeping food cool. Except when cold running water can be used in coolers, they do not take the place of refrigerators, because they cannot maintain the low temperature of a good refrigerator. As a rule, the best of the makeshifts are about on a par with the poorer refrigerators. They are very useful in emergencies. [Illustration: FIG. 58. Iceless refrigerator.] =125. Iceless Refrigerator.= One of these devices is called the iceless refrigerator (Fig. 58). It depends upon the evaporation of water to make it cool. Water will evaporate sufficiently fast to cool a refrigerator enough to be of value only in a dry, hot, breezy place. Under the most ideal condition, an iceless refrigerator may hold as low a temperature as 65 degrees Fahrenheit, when the thermometer is registering above 90 degrees. This refrigerator consists of a cloth-covered frame and a device for keeping the cloth moistened with fresh water. Since wind or a good circulation of air helps in the evaporation of water, the iceless refrigerator must be placed where breezes may reach it, and it should be anchored so that it will not blow away.