SOCIETY OF CENTRAL ILLINOIS. 257 



able to regulate the temperature of my apple cellar than to sort out 

 rotten apples. My apples are never sorted until I get ready to mar- 

 ket them, for the reason that a]iples will decay much faster after be- 

 ing disturl)ed, and it does not pay to handle twice. If they are not 

 keeping, sell them at once. 



President — I desire to ask why the fruit cellar should be dry? 



Mr. Dunlap — Mold is apt to be present where there is excess- 

 ive dami)ness. If we make cider on a clear day it will keep much 

 better than if made on a damp, humid day, though the temperature 

 may be the same. 



Mr. Hammond — I do not entirely agree with Mr. Dunlap. On 

 one occasion several inches of water stood all winter in one of my 

 cellars, in which a quantity of apples were stored, and they came 

 out in the spring sound, plump, and excellent in flavor. Moisture 

 need not be feai-ed if the temperature is low. 



Mr. Ames — In my cellar tiiere is nearly always water, or at 

 least dampness, and I have no trouble in keeping apples. I often 

 sprinkle lime in the cellar, which prevents mold. 



Mr. Dennis — A refiner of cider once told me that cider will 

 keep much better if made when the barometer is high. It is also 

 said that if corn is canned on such a day there will be a very small 

 per cent, of loss. 



Mr. Johnson — My idea is that the preservation of fruit de- 

 pends largely upon cold and darkness. I would not object to damp- 

 ness, in fact would like to have a living spring in the fruit cellar. 

 The colder it is kept the better, if it doesn't freeze. Mr. Dunlap has 

 told us of an apple put under a glass globe, in a light room, that 

 kept for a long time. This seems to spoil the theory of darkness 

 being necessary to the preservation of fruit. 



Prof. Burrill — If the air in the cellar is saturated with moist- 

 ure, cold will precipitate it upon the walls and bottom; but no harm 

 will come of it, as pure cold air contains no germs of decay. For 

 the same reason there is no objection to pure water in the cellar. 

 On a warm, damp day the air is full of these germs. It was i)rob- 

 ably on one of the high l)arometer days, Avhen there was no bacteria 

 iq the air, that Mr. Dunlap put the apple he has spoken of under 

 the globe. 

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