Science: Ice Well

Country dwellers who have a superfluity of cold in winter and a dearth of ice in summer can build themselves a year-round refrigerator. Last week North Dakota’s State Agricultural College reported its success with such a refrigerator constructed on plans of the Saskatchewan Department of Agriculture.

On a welldrained, convenient spot, dig a pit 8 ft. square by 9½ ft. deep. Board up the sides with cheap lumber. Dump a layer of coarse gravel on the bottom. Over the hole build a shack with a double plank floor insulated with building paper. When freezing weather arrives pour two to four gallons of water into the pit each day. By the time of spring thaw there will be a block of ice eight feet square by more than six feet thick, on which perishables may be preserved. The ice will not all melt before the autumn freezes come.