COLD STORAGE OF FRUITS. 



309 



pected that it will resist deterioration so well 

 as if fresh. 



Careful handling after removal from cold 

 storage will lengthen the life of the fruit. 

 In the apple experiment two basketfuls of 

 sound apples were selected from the same 

 lot after examination. At the time of se- 

 lection, the apples having been examined in 

 a warm room, they were quite wet, owing to 

 deposition of moisture from the warm air of 

 the room upon the cold apples. They were 

 " wets," as they are termed in the old coun- 

 try markets. One basketful of these wets 

 was allowed to remain in the basket as they 

 were. The other basketful of these wets 

 was removed from the basket and spread 

 out thinly over the table. The former lot 

 remained wet for some time, the latter dried 

 off quickly. Next day they were removed 

 to the cellar and left there in the same way 

 as described. After ten days they were 

 again examined, with the following results : 



First lot (left in basket) — Sound, 70 per 

 cent; discolored, 30 per cent. (12 per cent, 

 rotten). 



Second lot (spread out thinly) — Sound, 

 89 per cent; discolored, 11 per cent. (5 per 

 cent, rotten). 



The difference in these two lots was sim- 

 ply one of drying off quickly or remaining 

 wet. It would have been better, of course, 

 if they had not been allowed to become wet 

 at all. To this end, the fruit should be 

 warmed gradually, moisture not being al- 

 lowed to form on its surface ; or the warm 

 air should be kept from contact with the 

 fruit, by a covering or an air-tight package, 

 until the fruit has attained the temperature 

 of the surrounding air. 



COLD STORAGE FROM THE FRUIT GROWEr'S 

 POINT OF VIEW. 



The foregoing account shows that certain 

 results may be reached by cold storage. It 

 remains to be considered (i) whether or not 



such storage can be made commercially pro- 

 fitable, and (2) if so, how storage facilities 

 may be obtained by the grower. 



Considered Commercially. In consid- 

 ering the commercial side of the question, 

 we must remember that the plan of storage 

 recommended above as securing best results 

 involves two items of additional expendi- 

 ture : first, the extra cost of packing ; and sec- 

 ondly, the cost of storage. Th6 extra cogt 

 of packing, Mr. A. W. Peart, Burlington, 

 Ont., who has packed a good deal of fruit 

 in this way, estimates as follows : 



" Extra labor in wrapping, four cents per 

 box. 



" Wrapping paper and excelsior, seven to 

 eight cents per box. 



" Total extra cost, seven to eight cents per 

 box. 



" As against this, however, it must be 

 borne in mind that four boxes of bare pears 

 will make about five boxes of wrapped 

 ones." 



There is also to be added on the credit 

 side the saving of fruit from bruising and 

 decay by the superior method of packing; 

 and this, for the fruit grower who looks to 

 the future, means, besides the actual saving 

 of fruit, the possibility of establishing a repu- 

 tation for furnishing an article of first-class 

 quality. 



As to the cost of storage, the wisdom or 

 unwisdom of incurring the expense will de- 

 pend entirely upon the state of the market 

 when the fruit is harvested, the probable dif- 

 ference between present rates and rates a 

 month or three or six months hence, or the 

 difference between local prices and prices in 

 the foreign markets (for storage implies 

 storage in transit as well as in the ware- 

 house). In fact, this being a commercial 

 question, is solved as all commercial ques- 

 tions are, by taking the risk, and depending 

 upon increase in prices to repay cost of hold- 

 ing and shipping. As to the probability of 

 profit from such a venture we quote the fol- 



