The Somerset reporter., 1904-07-28
COLD STORAGE HOUSES.
The Practicability of Storing Apples
and Other Fruit on the Farm.

The PRacticab tlitE oil storing Apples
and other Fruit ON the Farm.
The large colo storage houses in the
cities are usually cooled by mechanical
refrigeration. This method Is too ex-
pensiye for use OH small scale In the
country. lee and the natural tempera-
ture must be relied upon. The Illinois
experiment station has reported the
details Of building Il storage house ca
pable Of holding ice for controlling the
temperature. This house was built a>
cheaply as possible and for the most
part by unskllled labor. 1t cost when
completed So 100. 10.
During the season 1000 barrels of ap-
pies were plnced in it by Oct and
seventy tons Of ice put in the refriger-
ator. The temperature of the storage
room fell rapidly after the ice was put
in TO about 80 degrees f, and this tenn
perature or a little lower, was main
taIned throughout the experiment. The
cost Of storage per barrel of fruit in
this building up to April 49, or about
seven months. was 1911 cents. or 800
cents less than the usual charge for ap-
Die storage Based upon these results
II is estimated that the building If
stored to its full capacity each year
would pay for itself In five years.
The fruit in the building WAS ex-
amined from time to time during stor-
age. Without exception it kept well.
There was no scald, no whitening The
fruit remained plump and in perfect
condition, and the percentage of rotten
fruits was very small. The results are
believed to plainly show the utility of
buildings of this character cooled by
ice. Commercial growers of apples
might afford 10 invest In similar houses
and thus add greatly to their profits.
Underground Rooms.
Another problem studied by the same
station was whether the small grower
of fruit could afford TO insulate n Gel
lar and cool il with ice during the early
part OF the season and later depend
upon the natural temperature. The
conclusions arrived at from this work
are to the effect that II Is not econom-
ical to buih a cold storage room In the
ground In Illinois. The earth Is too
good q conductor OF both heat and cold.
The amount of ice required In the early
part of the season was excessive and
could not be relied upon to reduce the
temperature of the cellar to sufficient
" low figure Later, when the admis-
sion of outside temperature was relied
upon. fluctuations that were detri-
mental could not be avoided. As a
consequence Of fiuctuating and com
monty too high temperatures the fruit
did not keep well. The percentage OF
rot was quite high. But possibly
worse feature was that the sound fruit
was more or less wilted
In Fruit Growing Communities.
The results of the work at the ILL
nois station would seem to show that
commercial fruit growers or communi-
ties in which considera bic quantities OF
fruit are grown might profitably erect
cold storage houses cooled with Ice
rather than pay the usual charges of
80 cents per barrel for cold storage In
commercial warehouses and, further
that insulated cellars do not make sat
isfactory cold storage rooms in Illinois
The temperature can be more easily
controlled In buildings above the
ground than those built in the ground.