Ice—to Make an Ice Stack. (Mrs. Buchanan, Auchtertorlie.)
Choose an airy spot but sheltered from sun and wind, and
under trees. Lay down sawdust about a foot deep. Choose
ice if possible at least 14 inches thick. Break it very small with
mallets or crooked sticks. Begin by laying it on the surface of
the ground on a space 21 or 22 feet in diameter, breaking it up
as small as possible, and watering it all the time. Build the
stack 12 feet high and in the shape of a sugar loaf.
Thatch it to the ground with barley straw (if this is not to
be had use oat straw). The thatch must be 15 inches thick
When the stack is finished cut a drain round it, rather more
than a foot deep, close to the bottom of the thatch to drain off
the water. This ice stack often answers when an ice house fails.