NOTES AND COMMENTS. 



447 



PROPER FRUIT STORAGE. 



ONE of the most important provisionii 

 for successful fruit growing is con- 

 venient cold storage. There is v.c 

 pear grown w^hich is a greater general favor- 

 ite than the Bartlett, but in its own season 

 there is a surplus of it, which is still greater 

 by reason of the imports from California ; 

 consequently low prices prevail for a time 

 until the market clears, when good and re- 

 munerative prices rule. 



The apple crop in Ontario is an important 

 one, but for want of safe storage the grower 

 is often at a sad disadvantage, for if he sells 

 to the speculator the fruit becomes over ripe 

 in the heaps while waiting, the packers : and. 

 if he packs it himself, he must hurry it oflf 

 before the approach of cold weather. Now a 

 good storage, which could be cooled in sum- 

 mer and kept just above the freezing point 

 in winter, would help in every way ; 

 apples waiting the packers could be stored 

 safely and packed dry ; Bartlett pears and 

 Crawford peaches could be held over until 

 the prices advanced ; while apples to be 

 packed by the owner could be stored as gath- 

 ered and packed at leisure during the winter 

 or spring and forwarded to the best mar- 

 kets when most in demand. 



There is no doubt at all that a reasonable 

 sum of money put in to such a storage as 

 would maintain an even temperature of 

 about 2,2^ degrees at any season of the year, 

 would be a paying investment for a com- 

 pany of fruit growers in any section, or for 

 the individual one whose orchard is exten- 

 sive. Chemical refrigeration might be too 

 expensive for ordinary circumstances, but 

 ice storage is economical and within the 

 reach of every one. 



SUCCESSFUL ICE STORAGE. 



The Illinois experiment station gives the 



following : 



An account of the construction of a cold storage 

 hous •. capable of holding 2,500 bbls. of fruit and 



of storing apples in cellars insula'ed for the pur 

 pose (E. S. R., 14, p. 356). During the season of 

 1901-2, 2,000 bbls of fruit were placed in the cold- 

 storage house October 5th, and 70 tons of ice put 

 in the refrigerator. The temperatuie of the stor- 

 age room fell rapidly afttr the ice was put in to 

 about 33" F., and this temperature, or a little 

 lower, was maintained throughout the experiment. 

 The cost of storage per barrel of fruit up to April 

 23 (about 7 months), was 19. i cents., or 30.9 cents 

 less tban the usual charge for apple storage. Based 

 upon these results it is estimated that the building, 

 if stored to its full capacity eaih year would pay 

 for itself in five years. 



The fruit in the building was examined from 

 time to time during storage. Without exception 

 the fruit kept well. "There was no scald, no 

 withering. The fruit remained plump and in per- 

 fect condition, and the percentage of rotten fruits 

 was very small." The results are believed to 

 plainly s-how the utility of buildings of this char- 

 acter CO led by ice. "Commercial growers of 

 apples can well afford to invest in similar houses 

 and thus add greatly to their profits. The experi- 

 ences in cellar storage show pretty clearly that 

 horticulturists can not afford to insulate a cellar 

 for storing fruit. The earth is too good a con- 

 ductor c f both heat and cold. Fruit stored in thef e 

 cellars was more or less wilted and the percentage 

 of n.t was quite high. 



Experiments were made with Ben Davis and 

 Wii esap apples in storing at temperatures of 31, 

 33, 35 and 37° F. The Ben Davis variety kept 

 better and scalded less at 31° than at any other 

 temperature. The difference was net so ^triking 

 with the Winesap variety, but was in favor of the 

 lower temperatures. 



Another problem investigated was the degree of 

 rraturity most suitable for picking apples to be 

 held in cold storage. The results obtained indi- 

 cate a gre.it superiority in the keeping qualities of 

 mature over immature fruit. The mature fruit in 

 storage showed a much smaller percentage of rot, 

 was less subject to scald, did not shrink as much, 

 had better color and better selling qualities when 

 re moved from sto: age. 



In this connection it is worth noticing that 

 the Ontario Department of Agriculture has 

 endeavored to encourage the building of 

 local cold storage houses for farmers' pro- 

 duce, by not only providing plans for their 

 erection, but by advancing a per cent, of the 

 cost. 



APPLES IN MIDDLESEX COUNTY. 



Mr. John M. McAinsh, Melburn, Ont., 



writes : 



The apple crop in this section is principally 

 Northern Spy and they are exceptionally good 

 quality, better than they have been tor years. 

 There is only one buyer around and he is only 

 offering one dollar a barrel, the farmer to pick the 

 apples, board the packing hands and draw the 



