^|i^! oao EDITOR'S TABLE. 



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Fiu'iT Rooms. — In reply to severiU iii<iulrios in ropiird to fruit rooms, wc will say that a 

 dry, cool, c-letm collar answers a pood luiriiose. At this nioiiK-nt (May iDtii) Ave have 

 twelve or fifteen varieties of winter a]>iiks and half a dozen of winter ]Hars in fine condi- 

 tion, in a dry, cool cellar, under a portion of the house seldom heated during wintfr. Tho 

 Uoor is laid with plank, and shelves of whitewood are fitted up around the walls. The 

 pears have mostly been kejit on these shelves ; some in boxes between layers of rye straw. 

 Tiie apples have been kept in barrels. 



A fruit room shoiUd not bo occujfied otherwise, as the frequent oponins and shutting of 

 doors produces sensible changes in the temperature unfavorable to tlie fruit. Cleanliness is 

 a great point ; the removal frequently of all decaying fruits, and of everything that can 



possibly taint the atmosphere. 



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Fruft Room. — For a number of years pasf a portiou of my time and attention has been directed 

 to the pleasing task of collecting and rearing of many of the choicest kinds of fruits and 

 fruit trees, selected from the various catalogues and nurseries within a reasonable reach of this 

 place ; and however excellent or desrable the rich products of such a plantation or fruit garden 

 may be to those whose hands have planted and daily watched them, with the pleasing prospect of 

 an approaching harvest, until we are enabled to partake of the choicest fruits of the vine, still we 

 find some of these, from the common mode of gathering and preserving them, of short and limited 

 duration, and more especially in regard to the pear, the peach, and the grape. Henco, I have 

 come to the conclusion to furnish myself with a fruit room for Uiat particular purpose, and wish 

 to make some inquiries in relation to the same. I wish, if convenient, you Avoidd answer the 

 following queries in a coming number, or give us an article thereon. 



I shall first give a description of my plan. My cellar is of a dry and gravelly substance. The 

 surface of the ground at tho west end is even with the bottom of the cellar. I propose having the 

 fruit room partly in the north-west corner of the cellar, taking in four or five feet further west, 

 and having a half roof sloping upwards to the west end of the house. This projecting part is 

 guarded on the north by a wood-house extending several feet further west, and shaded on the 

 south and west with a thick foliage of Maple and Locust. The entrance door is from a hall in 

 the cellar. 



Will such a location be a suitable one, economy and expediency taken into account ? And if 

 so, what would be the best materials for the inside wall, lath and plastering or matched boards ? 

 Also, what would be most suitable for filling in the same, dry saw-dust or tan-bark ? Will boards 

 or cement be best for the floor of tho room ? 



Any further information would be interesting and desirable. In regard to the ventilators, how 

 many would be necessary? IIow constructed and regulated? — and such other information as 

 may be deemed necessary. Daniel E. Gerard. — Haviland Hollow, N. Y. 



We should think the position a very good one. For filling up the hollow wall we should 

 prefer coarse saw dust or shavings from the planing mill, and dry, well seasoned boards to 

 lath and j)lastcr — one and a half or two-inch plank will be better than inch boards. Cement 

 will make the better floor, as it will keep out vermin. 



The Bi-tje Asn. — A correspondent in Chillicothe, Ills., writes thus : 



" One word as to the prettiest lawn or street tree that grows indigenous in this section. I think 

 the Blue Afih, as it is called here, is, on the whole, ahead of any other tree. Ita foliage being of 

 a very dark green with a shade of blue, and having a fine globular head, renders it an object to 

 attract the attention of the most careless observer. It somewhat resembles the White Ash, but 

 the foliage is more dense, the tree more symmetrical, and the wood far more durable." 



