FRUIT STORAGE; ; 101 



for the most part cooled down by the use of natural ice. 



The Use of Ice. To give the early history of the cold 

 storage industry would be simply to recall the trying 

 out of a great many different methods of using ice. 

 The entire business of cold storage is not over 60 years 

 old and hence its evolution has been very rapid. The 

 first attempt to cool down fruit or vegetables by means 

 of ice, was to place the ice upon the floor of the storage 

 room. It was soon discovered that this method would 

 not be practicable because of the undue amount of 

 moisture in the air resulting from the melting of the 

 ice. Later, various ways were tried, such as placing the 

 ice at the side or above the room to be cooled allowing 

 the air to be first cooled down by flowing over the ice 

 and later circulating through the storage room. 



This same principle is still employed in the small re- 

 frigerators so commonly used in residences for keeping 

 foods. The ice being placed in the top of the refrigerat- 

 ing box, the air as it flows over it becomes cool and 

 settles to the bottom. The warmed air rising again 

 passes over the ice at the opposite side. This method is 

 not practical for stored fruit or, in fact, is any method 

 applicable where the air is cooled by coming directly 

 into contact with the ice and then distributed through 

 the storage room; the reasons for the failure of this 

 method being due to the fact that the humidity cannot 

 be controlled. 



Ice Brine System. The method used almost exclu- 

 sively at the present time is what is known as the "lee 

 Brine System." In this arrangement, the air does not 

 come in contact with the ice nor with the fruit; but 

 coils of pipes in which liquids circulate are first cooled 



