IN OUR ORCHARDS 187 



problem of production. The people need full crops, 

 not only for home consumption, but to supply the 

 population that is congested in cities. 



For your own use an apple cellar is one of the 

 most important rooms in the house. A dugout un- 

 derneath your home, damp and nasty, with decaying 

 vegetables and mould, is a breeder of pestilence, and 

 you need not wonder that you have malaria and 

 fevers. All cellars should be as clean as parlors, 

 and the apple cellar should be a room by itself, sweet 

 to the smell and free from every possible taint. I 

 should prefer to have it an adjunct of the barn, pro- 

 vided it is entirely dissociated from the stables. Let 

 it be at least seven feet to the ceiling, better eight, 

 with very solid walls and plenty of windows. Ven- 

 tilate it thoroughly all summer, and after your fruit 

 has been placed in it for winter shut it up tightly and 

 keep the thermometer as nearly as possible at thirty- 

 three. 



My cellar is furnished with bins where the apples 

 can lie about eight inches thick. Apples as they are 

 removed from the trees are handled like eggs; then 

 instead of being poured from baskets they are laid 

 out gently. From the wagon they are carefully 

 sorted into firsts, seconds, and thirds. The firsts are 

 carefully laid into bins, or if sold, into barrels; the 

 seconds have their own bins and are as good as those 

 generally found in market as firsts. As for the 

 thirds, we can do nothing better with them than to 

 turn them into cider. 



