66 



Commercial Gardening 



1 ft. or 18 in. above or below each other, being supported at intervals by 

 strong upright posts and horizontal struts. As may be seen, the fruits 

 are packed into baskets when ready for market. The subjoined plan will 

 give one an idea of the dimensions of the fruit room at Foxbury Gardens, 

 Chiselhurst (fig. 336). 



The main point about a fruit room is to build it so as to secure an 

 equable temperature always, from 45 to 50 F. The walls are usually 

 built of matchboarding with a layer of reeds 7 to 8 in. thick outside. The 



reeds are kept in place by hori- 

 zontal strips of wood securely 

 nailed to the uprights. The roof 

 is thickly thatched, and a ven- 

 tilator covered with wire netting 

 is placed a.t each end at the apex 

 of the gable over the doorway. 

 The floor is generally cemented 

 over, so that too much moisture 

 shall not ascend from the soil. 



The advantage to the market 

 grower of having a good fruit 

 room available is that at times 

 of glut he can hold over his stock 



~ 



and then place it on the market 

 when better prices are ruling. 



Of course the fruit will re- 

 quire examination from time to 

 time, for no matter how care- 

 fully it has been picked and 

 handled, some specimens are sure 

 to show signs of decay. These 

 should be removed at the earliest 

 moment. 



Where it may be inconvenient 

 to fix up a fruit room proper, 



trays made of wooden battens might be used with advantage for storing 

 fruit. The illustration (fig. 337) shows how these trays are used, and 

 quite a large quantity of fruit can be stored away in single layers in a 

 comparatively small space, by placing one tray over the other, [j. w.] 



4. THE BEST VARIETIES OF APPLES 

 TO PLANT 



The varieties enumerated in a nurseryman's catalogue are bewildering 

 in their diversity. When the " doubles " of varieties, which are to all 

 intents and purposes synonymous in character, are eliminated the re- 

 mainder is a formidable enough array to face. 



Fig. 337. --Orr's Storing Trays for Apples, &c. 



