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

336 CORK INSULATION
of the surrounding atmosphere followed upon the use of thick ;
masonry walls underground and of walls of heavy timbers '
or planks in structures above ground. Following the same i
development, and true to tradition,* the ice chest in time
became an ice-box, smaller in length, made of oak, chestnut '
or other hard wood, with hollow walls lined inside with sheet [
zinc, standing upon raised feet formed from prolongations
of the side posts, a hole in the bottom for the water to drain
FIG. 156.—SLIDING-TOP HOUSEHOLD ICE CHEST.
away, with perhaps a shallow pan underneath to catch the
drip. The very first of these ice-boxes had wood pieces laid
in the bottom to keep the ice and food from contacting with
the metal lining, but there was no provision for the separa-
tion of the food from the ice. The lid, usually of double layer
boards with no air space between, was at first hinged, and;
later, in some instances, built in two sections and made to
slide. As time passed, these convenient household ice-boxes
were provided with a vertical division across the box at the
*The box, whatever its shape or purpose or the materials of which it is fashioned,
is the direct descendent of the chest, one of the most ancient articles of domestic
furnishings.
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