FRUIT STORAGE 113 



Where lime is used it is the freshly burned lime or 

 calcium oxide. This is taken into the storage rooms 

 and placed around over the floor in small, open re- 

 ceptacles. It absorbs moisture from the surrounding 

 atmosphere and gradually slakes down, changing to the 

 hydrated form of calcium. This must be carefully 

 watched or its action will be unsteady, and a too radical 

 change produced. 



A better way is to use the calcium chloride. A few 

 lumps of the raw material are placed on a frame in the 

 upper part of the storage room they absorb the mois- 

 ture from the air. Often water will drop from the 

 material in which case it can be caught on a drip-board 

 in the lower part of the support. Wlien this material 

 has absorbed all the moisture it will, it can by simply 

 heating expell the moisture and be used over again. 

 While the raw material is much more expensive than 

 lime it is enough more efficient to make it well worth 

 the extra price. 



On the other hand, if the humidity runs too low, it is 

 easy to add moisture by simply setting pails of water 

 in the room or by sprinkling it on the floor. On the 

 whole, storages that are above the level of the ground 

 are more likely to have too little than too much moisture. 



Cost of Cold Storage. There are several different 

 methods in use by cold storage companies for the storage 

 of fruit. Most of the eastern companies offer a double 

 rate system, one by the month and the other by the 

 season. The season storage is, of course, cheaper when 

 time is considered than by the month. Most storage 

 companies run the season from November 1st to May 

 1st. Some of them make a distinction between boxed 



