author
Theron L. Hiles
A practical writer from the late 19th century, best known for explaining the now-vanished trade of cutting, storing, and shipping natural ice. His work opens a vivid window onto everyday technology before modern refrigeration changed everything.
1 Audiobook
The Ice Crop: How to Harvest, Store, Ship and Use Ice
by Theron L. Hiles
About the author
Little biographical information about Theron L. Hiles is readily confirmed from reliable public sources, but he is clearly identified as the author of The Ice Crop: How to Harvest, Store, Ship and Use Ice, published by Orange Judd Company in 1893.
That book was written as a hands-on guide for farmers, dairymen, ice dealers, produce shippers, meat packers, and cold-storage workers. It covers the practical side of the natural ice business in unusual detail, from harvesting and storage to shipping and household use, and even includes recipes for iced dishes and beverages.
Today, Hiles is remembered mainly through this surviving work, which gives modern readers a clear picture of how important ice once was to health, food preservation, and daily life before electric refrigeration became common.