PROCEEDINGS OF TPIE ANNUAL MEETING 99 



open above and Ix-low. T>.v closing the spaces in winiei' an additional 

 dead-air space is [)rovided. As thus constrncted, the walls are about thir- 

 teen inches thick, and contain one four-inch and five one-inch air-spaces, 

 and are formed of five thicknesses of lumber and eight of paper. 



The window sash should be doul)le, and outer wooden shutters should be 

 provided. The doors should also be double, and for winter use there should 

 be some sort of vestibule or ante-room. While doors made of two thick- 

 nesses of ceiling, with paper between, will be fairly warm, it will be bet- 

 ter if the outer and inner layers of ceiling are fastened to a framework of 

 2x4 scantling, and belter yet if the four-inch air-space thus formed is 

 divided by layers of building paper separated by thin furring strips. By 

 providing two or thi(H' shoulders u])on the sides of the door, and corre- 

 sponding ones u])on the jamb, the ojjening can l)e made air-tight. 



The lloor above the storage room should be made frost-proof by means of 

 one or more air-spaces and several thicknesses of paper. 



Ventilation can be provided in various ways. An air-shaft leading up 

 through a cnpola at the ridge is desirable, and air can be admitted through 

 the windows and doors, but it will be better to have some special i)rovision 

 for admitting the air. Chutes of tile or wood can be arranged to carry 

 air through openings in the foundation up through the floor, or a line of 

 eight to twelve-inch tile can be laid three or four feet underground to a 

 point eight or ten rods from the building. The temperature of the air will 

 thus be modified by that of the ground, being cooled in summer and 

 warmed in Aviuter. Whenever the air inside is warmer than the exterior 

 air, there will be a current ulj^^•ard through the ventilating tube, and cool 

 air will come in from below. B}- leaving the chutes open on cool nights 

 or on days when the house is warmer than the outside air, and closing 

 them when the outer air becomes warmer, a fairly even low temperature 

 can be secured. 



It often happens that one has a basement beneath a barn or other build- 

 ing that can be used for the storage of fruit, but even though the walls 

 are double, or so banked with earth that they are frost-proof, the best 

 results can not be obtained unless the walls are in some way insulated so 

 that the warmth from the ground can not affect the temperature of the 

 cellar. An inner wooden lining with one or two air-spaces and several 

 thicknesses of paper will cut off the ground heat from the sides, while a 

 wooden floor, or one of cement or brick covered with planing-mill shav- 

 ings, will lessen the amount from below. Even more attention should be 

 paid to the ventilation of a basement storage-room than of one above 

 ground, as at best some heat will be absorbed from the soil. 



During winter a properly ventilated house can be maintained at about 

 as low and as regular a temperature as when ice is used. 



As can be judged from the above, w^e do not believe that the ordinary 

 grower should go to large expense for an ice storage-house for fruit, but 

 it often happens that if some of the late summer and fall varieties of fruit 

 can be kept a few weeks, or sometimes a few days only, until a glut is 

 over, a greatly increased price can be obtained. As the use of ice is be- 

 coming quite common on the farm, it will often be an easy matter to 

 arrange a small room at one end of the ice-house for this purpose. Ordi- 

 narily it is best to have the room to be cooled below the level of the ice- 

 room, with openings so arranged that the cold air from the ice can drop 

 down into the fruit room, pushing up the warmer air, which will pass over 



