Figure 1 from the 1893 volume The Ice Crop: How to Harvest, Store, Ship and Use Ice depicting a scraper used to remove snow from the surface of a lake or river prior to the harvesting of ice. Historically, ice harvesting or cutting was a winter task of collecting surface ice from lakes and rivers for storage in ice houses and use or sale as a cooling method.

The Ice Crop: How to Harvest, Store, Ship and Use Ice is a comprehensive book on the ice industry with content and illustrations on the harvesting, cutting and storing of ice; ice house construction; handling, transport and marketing of ice; the use of ice in refrigeration; ice cellars and houses as well as recipes for iced foods and beverages.