72 VERMONT AGRICULTURAL REPORT. 



ble in keeping" good apples in [good storage till March. In 

 some cases apples are stored in cellars ; and though these are 

 fairly satisfactory if the temperature can be regulated to suit, 

 they are not so good as separate storage rooms or houses. It 

 is necessary to have a room with some ventilation and one 

 which is approximately frost proof. But the main question 

 is the one of temperature. The temperature of the storage 

 room must be just as near the freezing point as possible, and 

 mttst be kept there. High temperatures or fluctuating temper- 

 atures are fatal to success. A temperature of 33 to 35 degrees 

 Fahrenheit is the best. It is better to go below this occa- 

 sionally than to go above it. Apples in storage will stand a 

 good deal of freezing, even ; and it requires a temperature of 

 30 degrees for a considerable time to freeze 500 barrels of 

 apples. 



The subject of storage is a large one, so that we can not 

 treat of it in full in a short article like this. The man who 

 is going into the apple business on a scale large enough to 

 demand storage for 1,000 barrels of apples ought to have a 

 good storage house; and it will pay him to look the matter up 

 in detail before building. 



MARKETING. 



Small quantities of apples are sold in the local markets 

 almost everywhere ; and there are a few towns in Vermont 

 which absorb fairly large quantities of fruit at fair prices. 

 But in general it has been found that the commercial grower 

 in this state has to depend on the city markets for his outlet. 

 Probably the largest share goes to New York ; and we think 

 this is generally the best market for late winter fruit. Bos- 

 ton takes some apples and is occasionally a profitable market, 

 especially earlier in the fall. Sometimes apples are sent to 

 Philadelphia with fair success; and once in a great while con- 

 signments are made to Buffalo, Cleveland, Chicago, Pitts- 

 burg, Washington or other points. Everything is regulated 

 by the New York market, however. 



In shipping apples to New York most persons are obliged 

 to consign them to a commission house ; and this introduces 

 an element of uncertainty so great as to keep many farmers 

 out of the business. There are undoubtedly a good many dis- 

 honest men in the commission business, and the opportunities 

 for swindling the consignors of fruit are so great that it is 

 not surprising that complaints of fraud are altogether com- 

 mon. Still there are some honest commission men. There 

 are some who have handled Vermont fruit for years and who 

 are personally known to the present writers and to other Ver- 

 monters as honest and reliable business men. Unless one has 



