STORING AND PACKING APPLES. 



Fig. 1226.— Cross Section of Apple Hodse. 



these pages. The American Agricultur- 

 ist in a recent issue shows one in Grand 

 Isle Co., on Lake Champlain, Vermont, 

 and speaks of it as follows : — 



" One of the largest orchardists, Mr. 

 T. L. Kinney, has been very successful 

 in commercial orcharding. One of the 

 factors is an apple storage house shown 

 in the illustration, which enables him to 

 hold his fruit and put it on the market 

 whenever he wishes. The house is sim- 

 ple of construction, and cost him about 

 $1,500. The lumber bill amounted to 

 about $445, and undoubtedly the same 

 building could be constructed much 

 more cheaply at present. Mr. Kinney 

 says that he has ' practiced keeping 

 apples for several years and the venture 

 has always been successful. The fruit 

 must be well grown, free from fungous 

 diseases, and insect injuries, and must 

 be carefully handled. I prefer to sort 

 before putting into the house. The 

 market calls for standard Vermont stock 

 in winter, and this should not be sold 



at any other time. My method of stor- 

 ing is much cheaper than keeping the 

 fruit in large cities and is much better 

 for the fruit.' During the winter of 

 1896 97, Mr. Kinney's apples kept well 

 and sold in the New York city markets 

 during February and March, 1897, at 

 from $1.50 to $4 per barrel, thus giving 

 a handsome margin. 



" There is no question but that apple 

 culture in this section, with a private 

 storage house is a brilliant success. 

 (Vermont experiment station. Bulletin 

 55, F. A. Waugh). It will not be many 

 years, according to the present pros- 

 pects, before any man who attempts to 

 grow apples on a considerable scale will 

 have a private storage plant. 



" The low wagon used for handling 

 apples was made by one of Mr. Kinney's 

 men from the trucks of a threshing 

 machine horse power. It costs practi- 

 cally nothing, but is very useful in 

 handling apples in transferring them 

 from the orchard to the storage room. 

 It is much more convenient than the 

 stone boats which are commonly used 

 in the neighborhood for this purpose.' 



-Low Ari'LE \V, 



378 



