In New York the daily consumption of ice in the summer months amounts to upwards of 10,000 tons. At the proper hour you may walk down a street and see upon every door-step a lump of ice varying in size from a foot square upwards. In fact, ice is as much an article of necessity with Americans as milk.

Home Made Ice

To make ice at home, says La Science en Famille, take a cylindrical earthen vessel and pour three and one-third ounces of commercial sulphuric acid and one and three-fourths ounces of water into it, and then add 1 ounce of powdered sulphate of soda. In the centre of this mixture place a smaller vessel containing the water to be frozen; then cover the vessel and, if possible, revolve the whole with a gentle motion. In a few minutes the water in the small vessel will be converted into ice. The same mixture can be used a second or third time for making a block of ice. The operation should, if possible, be performed in a cool place - in a cellar, for example.

Ice Ornamentally Used

At a princely entertainment there were 19 tables arranged about a lofty central crystal fountain 9 feet high and 5 1/2 feet in diameter, from which the water trickled down through trailing plants, amidst which stood aquatic birds of gay plumage. The fountain was surrounded by a gravel path with rock-work. Huge blocks of ice were raised on buffets 7 feet high in various parts of the room; into these were thrown different shades of color, thus giving a striking effect.

Ice Window Ornament

A dome of ice hollow and with a light inside makes an attractive window show for a res-staurant or ice-cream house. It is made by setting a round-bottomed copper candy kettle full of water, plain or colored, in a tub of ice and salt freezing mixture. When frozen an inch or two thick, turned out, a hole bored in the bottom with a hot iron, used bottom side up, with a lamp or gas inside.

Ice Stands For Ices

Colored water frozen solid in moulds, turned out on a napkin, to serve as stands for moulded ice-creams, frozen puddings, etc. Different colors.

Ice Blocks For Strawberries

There is no more tempting way of serving strawberries, on a hot morning, than from a block of clear ice. Chip a well in its centre and drop the berries into it. A cluster of yellow roses, or other flowers, or even ferns alone, will prove appropriate decoration. •