Rensselaer Union, Volume 7, Number 4, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 15 October 1874 — Ice in India. [ARTICLE]

Ice in India.

What possible connection can there be between Lake Ontario and India? The one lies between the United States and Canada, where the winter cold- seizes upon the rolling waves and binds them tight and fast. The other, thousands of miles away, burns and dries under a tropical sun. But it is this very contrast that brings them together. Lake Ontario cools and refreshes the people living on the East Indian coast. And this is the way the good work is brought about: Lake Ontario is so situated that in winter it freezes over a great part of its surface, forming ice several feet in thickness, fine grained, compact, and of beautiful transparency. As soon as the ice is fairly formed the ice companies set a small army of men at work to take it away, and they are kept busy all the season. Some are on the lake cutting out the ice in huge cubic blocks; others stow them away in the wagons which are to convey them to the ice-houses near the lake, where they are deposited temporarily.; some are at work at these houses receiving the ice and putting it in the buildings; others, again, are taking out the ice that has been waiting for transportation, and loading with it the cars in which it is to be conveyed to the different cities in the United States. The scene is a lively and busy one, and this ice business gives employment to a great number of men. The ice intended for India is sent to Boston, and is there shipped as soon as possible. A good many vessels are employed; in this service. The holds of these ships must be made very cold before the ice can be packed into them with safety, and this is done by letting down blocks of ice, and as soon as these melt, the water is drawn off’ and others are put in. The second blocks do not melt quite so soon as the first, and then others are let down; and the process is continued until the temperature is so low that the ice does not melt at all : -J The hold is now ready to be filled for the long voyage: X thick bed of“ sawdust is laid on the bottom and upon this blocks of ice are carefully and closelyplaced, forming a smooth, icy floor. This is Covered with a light layer of sawdust. Upon this blocks of ice are packed as before; then another layer of sawdust; another stratum of ice blocks; and so on until the hold is filled. This packing has to be done quickly or the ice would soften somewhat while exposed to the air. Great cranes moved by steam lift the enormous blocks of ice from the storehouse or wharf, swing them over the vessel and lower them into the hold, where the men stow them away. Steam works rapidly and the labor goes on day and night. When the hold is filled the hatches are fastened down -and. calked and the precious freight is safely shut up in the cold and darkness, and" title ship starts off as soon as possible on her long voyage. These vessels are built for fast sailers; but, at the best, it takes a very longtime to reach India. During part of the voyage the tropical sun pours its heat upon the decks; but when the ship gains her port and the hatches are opened and the work of unloading commences the blocks of ice taken out are as perfect as when they were put in! The unloading once begun, it is carried on without intermission until the hold is emptied, the workmen relieving each other; but it cannot be done quite a» rapidly as the loading. Some of the sailors, dressed in their warmest winter clothing, are down in the hold cutting apart the blocks w-hich have become frozen, together, placing the ropes around them, and fastening them to the cable that passes over the pulley. Other sailors and native East Indians are on the deck, where it is so hot that they are glad to dress very lightly. They are pulling at the ropes and'in this way hauling the ice out of the hold. Others are conveying it to the depots on the shore, where it is stored away in vast quantities. Near these may be seen groups of natives waiting to be served with ice, which is to be carried to the hotels and other houses. Some of these natives have already been served, and have started Upon their journey into the city, six or eight of them bearing a framework of bamboo sticks and cords, in which is suspended a monstrous block of ice as beautiful and transparent, as rock crystal. ■ And, after all the labor at Lake Ontario, after the transportation to Boston, the loading and unloading of the vessels, the sums of money that must be paid to so many workmen, and the voyage of several thousand miles, ice can be bought in the cities of India, in ordinary seasons, at three cents a pound!— From, “ Ice in India," in St. Nicholas for October.