The Billings gazette. [volume] (Billings, Mont.) 1896-1919, 1899-09-22

COLD STORAGE.

An Apple Growers Satisfactory Plan
For n Small Farm Plant.
Every year more is heard Of the i'm
portance Of cold storage for the farm
er and fruit grower. It's practicability
has been clearly demonstrated in the
past few years. 1t is perfectly feast
bic for the mar who expects a large
crop Of apples this fall to hold them
Mt home In his own hands. Without
dilating upon the advantage of not be-
Ing obliged to market fruit whether
one will or not. as this Is the season
for considering the matter Of fruit
storage, the plan Of Mr.. T.. p. Vergnon.
originally presented before the Ohio
Horticultural society, for building a
small cold storage plant for the keep
ing of fruit Is here given. Mr.. Verg-
non says: a.a 4
l patterned after the retail butchers
refrigerator, but built it "a feet square,.
with a sorting and packing room II
feet broad on the north side, shed fash
Ion. The main building has a cellar
Under it three feet deep and four open
ings in the wall on the east and west
sides one foot wide, by four long. equal
distance apart, covered with heavy
wire screen. Batten doors on the side
Of the building car be closed at will.
The cellar is used only for ventila.
ton and heat for fruit chamber when
necessary. The balloon frame Is put
up with oak joist 1J feet long. 2 by II.
IN feet apart. and stills. double. patent
sliding and thoroughly packed with
8 wdust inside rs It Is lined up; pack
ing room same way; floor double and
filed same rs sides; the floor above IL
not double and Is placed 3h feet be-
low the top Of the square. This makes
room for the ice chamber above which
IL 16 feet square, Z feet high, made
with 2 by 6 scantling, lined and packed
with sawdust. The floor in the ice
chamber slopes a little to the north
for the drip and Is covered with best
galvanized iron.
An opening six inches wide in the
floor around the ice chamber let's the
cold descend. Flat. funnel shaped con-
ductors made Of galvanized iron, two
N each side. east and west, broad end
down. extend just through the floor
into the fruit chamber, to convey the
air from the ceiling below to center of
ice chamber above. The warm air
rises and the cold air descends. There
is a difference Of ~ degrees in temper
ature between the floor Of the fruit
chamber and the ceiling above. There
is a space Of about three and a half
feet around the ice chamber which ad-
mits Of a little stairway inside Of fruit
chamber on north side-small trapdoor
at top Of stairs, to reach the work
above. This floor Is covered with six
or eight inches Of sawdust.
All the doors are made double and
packed. The only door by which to
enter the fruit chamber opens into
packing room. One small door above,
in each gable end, just above the
square. The Ice is taken In through the
south one Of these. A rope Is attached
to these doors, opened and closed from
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wooden trough catches the drip from
the ice chamber, which runs into a con.
ductor and empties into any small YES
sel in the cellar, forming a trap. Roof,
one-third inch pine, with a neat little
ventilator on the middle Of the comb
and a little projection at the roof on
the south gable end to which to attach
xhn v,,01nr <0 oIox,o%o <hn inn
The entire structure should be strong
~ built and as nearly alright as posi-
BILE. The beams below and overhead
should be not less than 10 by IA inches,
best oak, with posts in center. The
cost Of the plant vas about 5000 and
has proved quite satisfactory. Do not
know that l could better it now for my
purpose except to have air chambers
in place Of the sawdust.
The cost of operating it is principally
the ice. We put in about 20 tons a few
days before the apple harvest COM
mences. This amount runs us until the
ice forms on the water. Then It Is fill
ed again; capacity 40 tons.
New Method In BlanchlnG Celery.
On my farm, where irrigation Is
practiced, l plant in alternate rows, 10
and Is inches apart. This plan makes
q double row for convenience in the
use Of boards for blanching the celery,
says w. III. Jenkins in an exchange.
When the plants have grown y inch
es high, blanching boards II to Is
inches wide are placed along the rows
20 the two rows that are 10 inches
apart are boarded together. The
boards are supported on both sides by
stakes and are. kept well apart until
the celery has grown above them.
The celery will begin to blanch as
soon as the boards r set up and the
space darkened, but when the plants
have grown above the boards the
boards should be crowded close to-
gether, which darkens the space be-
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