The Caledonian. [volume] (St. Johnsbury, Vt.) 1837-1867, 1860-10-12
L II + CALIFORNIAN
farm, Garaeu aud Hltfhen.
Written for The Caledonian.
Fruit Rooms.

nearly every portion VI tne country. renders
knowledge of the best method of keeping
it in perfection especially desirable. The per-
feet and late keeping Of fruit is worthy of
being sought fer, both by those who have it
to sell and those who have it to buy. The
produce: can choose his own time to market
his fruit if he have the proper conveniencies,
and can offer it for sale in its prime, as re-
CARDS ripeness, and whenever it will COM
mand the largest prices. The consumer, on
the other hand, by the use of similar means.
may purchase his fruit whenever it is cheap
est, ard allow il to ripcn, retardins or has
tening that process, according 70 his pleas
ure. \ suitable place for the keeping of
fruit is, therefore, most desirable accessory
to every householder.
1t has been found by experiment, and b,
philosophical reasoning, that fruitery all
swers its purposes according as it fulhs tn,
following conditions:
l. A d,yiA atmoxyAeye.constuny mihin
the limits ofjfom 46 10 % deyrees Fuhrc.-
hei. Damrness ard changes Of Temperature
act unfavorably on the juices of fruit, and
tend to produce termination and decay
Kept too dry. fruits shrivel and never prop
erly ripen. Fruit rooms. however, are very
little liable to be too dry.
=. Compiete ercIusion IF Hyit. Til.
chemical action Of light facilitates maturation
and decay. Fruits which it is desirable 10
ripen at once should of course be exposed to
the sunlight, but under glass, if possible
and in confined space.
3. Non-rentlatioa. Retaining all the
carbonic acid thrown off by the fruits, the at
mosphere of the fruitery should contain no
more oxygen than what the safety of the
persons entering The room may require. Ok
ygen promotes ripening, and hence Gecompo
sition, while carbonic acid operates quite ia
vorabIy to the contrary. Not only this. bur
fruits, like wine, lose their best favor by eA-
pOsure to a free circulation of air.
4. Such IN arrangement Of Me fruits that
they MaU press as little as possible one upon
another. The delicate cellules of fruits art
easily ruptured by blow or continued pres
sure, and decomposition ensues at once.
Bearing in mind these conditions let US
proceed to specify precisely how good fruit
room may be constructed.
The location should be in the second story
of some building where there will be no fire
underneath it, nor contiguous to il. Some
building which has /. to,erab.y free circulation
Of air through the first story, as p carrias.
house, granary, workshop, or barn. is an ex
cellent location for such room. Select the
North side of the building, and make the
size of the room correspond with the amount
Of fruit TO be stored. \ room eight by twelve
feet inside, will accommodate some four OF
five thousand specimens of ordinary sized ap
pies, arranged On shelves against the walls.
This would make not far from fifteen t.
twenty bushels. There woul,! also be spac,
for some barrels OF fruit, although for gooc
keeping it is not advisable to nave one spec-
men press upon another.
The floor, walls and ceiling Of the room
should all be double, and made of matched
boards, or by plastering against the outsil,
wall, whether it be Of brick or wood Til,
space left between the inner and outer walls
floors, ETC., ought to be about foot for the
interior walls III some situations siX or eight
inches would answer tolerubly, bat in OIL
latitude eighteen inches would be much BET
ter, all around. This space should be flied
in during construction with dry tanner,
bark or saw-dust; dry charcoal, powdered
would be still better. The door should be
doubiy fastened one on each side of tie
partition, swinging in opposite ways, AND
having the fall thickness of the wall brtwec,
them. There should be only one window
having outside blinds ala shutters, and als'
tight shutters On the inside.
The shelving should be arranged agaas
the walls from floor to ceiling. from nine
inches to one 100. apart. and twelve to eight
cen inches vide. They may be INCLINED
little downward, to facilitate inspection Of tn,
fruit, and vii! need ledge upon the lower
side 10 prevent the fruit from rolling off. \
table in the middle of the room, and movable
steps will be con, enitnt accessories.
Such room as we have described vii
protect its contents against frost when tn.
air outside is several degrees below zero. Or
very cold nj shts provision should be made
for creating just sufficient heat to keep thu
fruit from freezing. \ pan Of live Goals ote:
may be enough.
One OF the chief difficulties in the manage
ment Of fruitery-th that Of keeping the at
mosphere dry without recourse to ventilation
has been overcome by Prot. DuBreul, d
French experImeI.ter, who attained his oblect
by means OF the chloride of calcium. Thi,
substance has the property of absorbing
nearly double its weight Of moisture |; i,
very cheap, and only requires to be spreac
on little table. with groove around it.
edge. 1t readily absorbs the moisture Of tn,
room, and as fast as it does SO and liqufe.
it flows off through spout into vesse
placed to catch it. The supply of chloride
must be kept up as long as there is fruit I,