Fruit Brevities. ■ 411 



The fouiidalioii walls are 24 inches thick, and the cellar is pro- 

 vided with ample means of ventilation by outside windows, and 

 also by means of a chimney which runs from near the middle of 

 the cellar np through the roof. The floor is of dirt. By means 

 of careful attention to ventilation, this cellar can be kept to 50 

 degrees or below during September and October, and is frost- 

 proof during the winter. The windows are provided with close- 

 fitting screens to keep out rats and squirrels. This cellar will 

 easily hold fifty tons of grapes in the picking trays. The first 

 floor is divided into two rooms, the front one being a packing- 

 room 25 feet square, and the back room being a storage and 

 shipping department 25x35 feet. This packing-room is provided 

 with heat and is lighted by seven large windows. The floor 

 above the cellar is double and made of 1| inch matched pine, 

 with an abundant air space between the two layers. This, there- 

 fore, protects the cellar from sudden fluctuations of temperature. 

 The building is also shaded, especially from the afternoon sun, 

 by large trees. This building can be erected for about |1,200. 

 It has 18 foot posts, a tin roof, the tw^o rooms in the first floor 

 ceiled with pine, but the top floor not ceiled. 



The requisites for keeping grapes during the winter are given 

 as follows by Mr. Snow in the Rural New Yorker for Feb. 1, 189G: 

 '' Any good building in which the temperature can be held even 

 at about 35 degrees, with ventilation as may be required, this to 

 be determined by noting how the fruit is keeping, will be fouinY 

 available for grapes. No positive rules can be laid down. A 

 cooling room, in which the fruit can be first cooled, is a necessity; 

 be determined by noting how the fruit is keeping, will be found 

 to be raised rapidly by placing a quantity of warm fruit in the 

 room. As even a temperature as possible is much the best. 

 Grapes should not be packed in baskets for shipping before be- 

 ing stored. They should be ripe, as grapes do not mature after 

 picking. Niagara or any other variety can be held only for a 

 limited time, some varieties longer than others. 



The Chautauqua type of pa-cking-house is admirably illus- 

 trated by Figures 124 and 125, which are pictures of the house 



