STORAGE 



3255 



There is a widespread notion that common-stored 

 fruits are better than cold-stored. It is difficult to 

 understand how this opinion has become so fixed in the 

 minds of many persons. It is probable that one reason 

 is the fact that a comparison of fruit from common 

 storage and from cold storage is really a comparison 

 of fruits held under different conditions. The common- 

 stored fruit is usually withdrawn after a shorter period 

 and, therefore, may be in good condition. The cold- 

 stored fruits are usually held for a long period and 

 frequently the period is too long for the best condition 

 of the product. Many carefully planned experiments 

 show conclusively that cold-stored fruit remains in 

 better condition during a longer period and, when care- 

 fully handled, remains in better condition after with- 

 drawal than common-stored fruit. If the fruit is 

 promptly and rapidly cooled at the beginning of the 

 storage period, its life activities will be retarded to 

 such an extent that the life span will be very materially 

 increased. If this can be done under common storage, 

 there is no reason why the fruit cannot be held in good 

 condition. Frequently the fruit is placed in common 

 storage during the fall and early winter; frequently 

 also the common-storage room where the fruit is held 

 is only a makeshift. After being held in this unsatis- 

 factory condition for a time, the fruit is placed in cold 

 storage later in the season when market conditions 

 have not been favorable. This is the wrong way to 

 store fruit. The time when cold storage is most urgently 

 needed is at the beginning of the storage period, in 

 order that the fruit may be promptly cooled. It would 

 be more reasonable to remove the fruit from cold to 

 common storage later in the season, because common- 

 storage rooms may then be held in a satisfactory con- 

 dition and the fruit would be in a much better condi- 

 tion for holding. 



It has been suggested that a combination of cold and 

 common storage is really the solution of many of the 

 problems of successfully holding the fruit in the dis- 

 trict where it is produced. Where ice can be obtained 

 at a reasonable price, it can be used at the early part 

 of the storage season to cool the fruit promptly and 

 quickly. After weather conditions are such that cool 

 nights prevail, the place can be operated as an ordinary 

 common-storage plant for the remainder of the season. 



Common-storage buildings. 



The earliest form of common-storage buildings for 

 fruits was caves or pits. These were used for the stor- 

 age of fruits under the impression that the earth is 

 cool and also to protect the fruit from freezing in extreme 

 winter weather. The earth is cooler than the outside 

 air in summer; in winter it is warmer, under ordinary 

 conditions. Ordinarily, the temperatures of the ground 

 range from 50 to 60 and this temperature remains 

 fairly uniform below the frost line which, of course, 

 varies materially under different climatic conditions. 

 The protection against freezing in winter, therefore, is 

 ideal, but unless some artificial method of cooling the 

 room is at hand, the temperature of the earth itself is 

 too high for best storage conditions. In the later 

 development of the cave storage, ice was used to cool 

 the chambers; this was naturally not satisfactory, due 

 to the dampness and to the difficulty of ventilating. 



Cellars have been a favorite place for common stor- 

 age. They are open to the same objection as caves. 

 Unless specially constructed and special means be pro- 

 vided for ventilation, the cellar is not an efficient fruit- 

 storage chamber, except for short periods of tune and 

 for the protection of the products against freezing in 

 winter. Cellars are difficult to ventilate unless special 

 appliances are used. They may be ventilated by means 

 of flues but the efficiency of such conduits is dependent 

 upon differences in temperature, otherwise there will 

 not be any appreciable movement of the air. Wind 

 flues may be used; these are flues which have a funnel- 



like arrangement at the top, so designed that the mouth 

 of the funnel is kept to the wind by means of a vane. 

 The pressure of the wind entering the funnel creates a 

 circulation of air through the cellar. In some instances 

 these wind flues are found to work the reverse way dur- 

 ing periods when the wind does not blow. In ventilat- 

 ing a cellar, there must be an outlet opening corre- 

 sponding to the inlet opening. This is to allow the 

 escape of the warm or foul air from the room. If it is 

 possible to provide openings on all sides of the cellar, 

 a current of air can be easily circulated through the 

 room, especially if there is a breeze. The intake flues 

 should open near the floor of the cellar. Fig. 3703 

 shows the proper placing of the inlets and outlets 

 designed to ventilate cellar rooms. There should be a 

 large number of openings to facilitate the ventilation 

 of the cellar as rapidly as possible. Cellars are useful 

 only for relatively high-temperature storage, and the 

 necessity for insulating the walls of them is not suffi- 

 ciently appreciated. The insulation must be sufficient 

 to protect the cellar against the comparatively high 

 temperature of the earth; otherwise, the temperature 



3705. Diagram showing common-storage bouse with false floor 

 and false ceiling, and exhaust fan for forced ventilation. 



of the storage room cannot be held materially below 

 the earth temperature. 



Common-storage rooms are frequently very cheaply 

 constructed. The idea is prevalent that any old shea 

 can be made to serve the purposes of a common-stor- 

 age room for fruits or other products. The insulation 

 is poor and, as a consequence, there is great fluctua- 

 tion in the temperature. Proper insulation in the con- 

 struction of a common-storage room is really more 

 important than that for cold storage because there is 

 no means of regulating the temperature except by ven- 

 tilation or change of air, while the cold-storage room 

 has artificial or mechanical means, the capacity of 

 which can be increased to offset the heat leakage. To 

 be effective, all common-storage plants must "conserve 

 cold," and the necessity to provide efficiently against 

 heat leakage through the walls, therefore, becomes 

 doubly urgent. 



The insulation for a common-storage room or build- 

 ing may be of the commercial kinds, which have been 

 described, or use can be made of some of the cheaper 

 common materials, such as straw, chaff, dry leaves, 

 sawdust, and mill shavings. The principles of construct- 

 ing the walls and using the insulation are all applicable 

 to common-storage buildings and should be followed 

 carefully if one expects to secure the best results. In 

 addition to the insulation of the walls, an outer ventilat- 



