Cork insulation; a complete illustrated textbook on cork insulation ...

CORKBOARD INSULATED REFRIGERATOR 233
that the mid-day sun often beat down upon the low, flat lid
of the box with telling effect on the perishable foodstuffs just
underneath, and at night the lid was sometimes disturbed
and the food stolen by prowling marauders of the field and
forest. So here, as elsewhere, necessity being the mother of
invention, the next step in the development of the present
household refrigerator was the construction of a rude shelter
over the box to protect the food from the elements and from
unwelcome guests. This shelter was made of logs, as a min-
iature log cabin, and was usually spoken of as the "milk
house," or the ''spring house."
'^mMa^}^^
-THE SPRING HOUSI-: A RUDE SHELTER BUILT OVER SPRl-NG
OR STREAM TO PROTECT THE FOOD STORED.
Long before cellars were excavated under dwellings, some
provision had to be made for the storing of fruits and, more
particularly, vegetables in a uniformly cool atmosphere suffi-
ciently dry to preserve the stores as far into the next season
as possible. Natural caves were occasionally available, but
I more often artificial caves were dug out of the side of a hill,
lined with timbers and equipped with shelves, bins and a
strong door. Again, where a hillside was not conveniently
'
I
near, a low, log room was constructed, similarly equipped,
and <strong>complete</strong>ly surrounded and covered with earth thrown up
in the form of a mound. The mound was then tamped and
i
covered with thick sod, which made a suitable storage con-
veniently nearby and which was commonly spoken of as the