1730 



STORAGE 



STORAGE 



April 20, showed losses as follows: Open shelves, 5.364 

 grams; in sealed cans, .602 grams; or a difference of 

 4.762 grams in favor of the sealed cans. This at 

 least suggests the possibility of checking loss in weight 

 toy the use of non-porous storage receptacles. Barrels 

 do not have any marked effect in checking this loss, 

 as fruits stored in headed and open barrels differed 

 only one-half pound in ainount of loss during a period 

 of 147 days, the total loss being 4% pounds on a barrel 

 of 139% pounds weight when placed in storage. 



The efficiency of a cold storage house depends more 

 upon the construction of the walls than any other single 

 feature. Perfect insulation is the ideal mark at which 

 to aim. The more perfect the house in this respect, the 

 less wear upon the machinery when refrigerating appa- 

 ratus is used, and the greater the economy in ice when 

 ice is used. To accomplish this, non-conductors of heat 



2408. Plan of a home-built iced storehouse. 

 First floor in upper cut; basement in lower cut. 



should be used as far as possible in the details of con- 

 struction. For this purpose brick is superior to stone, 

 and wood is a better non-conductor than either. For 

 permanence, however, efficiency in this respect must be 

 sacrificed. But as confined air may be better than an arti- 

 ficial substance, by multiplying the layers or partitions 

 in a wall "dead-ait spaces" can be increased and nearly 

 perfect insulation secured. For the practical orchardist, 

 however, cost must be considered, and if wood and pa- 

 per can be made to take the place of brick at a suffi- 

 ciently less cost, permanence may be overlooked. This 

 can be done, and with these cheap materials very satis- 

 factory results obtained. After proper insulation comes 

 ventilation. With ice-cooled houses advantage should 

 be taken of all assistance which nature can lend. With 

 proper ventilating shafts for carrying off heat and mois- 

 ture and ample subterranean pipes arranged to admit 

 chilled air from naturally cool places such as ravines, 

 the temperature of the house can be greatly lowered 

 during frosty nights, and the store of ice husbanded to 

 that extent. During the winter months outside cold can 

 be admitted and housed up to maintain a low tempera- 

 ture far into the summer. The cold storage of apples 

 has now grown to be such an important factor in the 

 markets that reports are made from time to time to give 

 an idea of the quantity of fruit available, and to be used 

 as rational basis for fixing tne selling price of apples at 

 any given season, 



The following figures, as reported by the National 

 Apple Shippers' Association, will serve to show, not 

 only the method, but the magnitude of the storage busi- 

 ness as well: 



Common storage. Cold storage. 



Year. Barrels. Barrels. 



December 1, 1898 .'... 400,000 800,000 



December 1, 1899 634,500 1,518,750 



December 1, 1900 792,000 1,225,000 



The following table, which gives the range of prices 

 paid for apples from the end of the picking season to 

 the end of the storage season for the years 1896 to 1900, 

 inclusive, is compiled from the weekly market reports 

 on the Baldwin apple for New York city as published in 

 the American Agriculturist: 



Month. 1896-7. 



Nov. 1 $1.00 



Dec. 1 85 to $1.00 



Jan. 1 1.00 to 1.12 



Feb. 1 1.00 to 1.50 



March 1 1.25 to 1.50 



April 1 1 25 to 1.50 



May 1 1.50 to 2.50 



-Season of 



1897-8. 1898-9. 



$1.50 to $2.00 $2.50 to $2.75 



2.50 to 3.00 3.00 to 4.00 



2.00 to 3.50 3.00 to 3.50 



2.50 to 3.75 4.00 to 4.50 



2.50 to 3.50 2.50 to 4.50 



2.50 to 3.50 4.00 to 4.50 



2.75 to 3.75 3.75 to 4.50 



Season of > 



Month. 1899-00. 1900-01. 



Nov. 1 $1.25 to $2.00 $1.25 to $1.50 



Dec. 1 1.25 to 2.25 2.00 to 2.50 



Jan. 1 2.00 to 2.75 2.75 to 3.00 



Feb. 1 3.00 to 3.50 1.75 to 3.25 



March 1 2.50 to 3.50 2.25 to 3.50 



April 1 3.50 to 4.25 



May 1 4.00 to 4.75 



Ben Davis ranged higher at the close of the storage 

 season, but as it was difficult to secure consecutive re- 

 ports of that apple the Baldwin was chosen instead. 



This indicates the margin of profit there is for the 

 producer in holding his fruit in cold storage. The aver- 

 age is $2.37% per barrel, which gives the aggregate of 

 $2,899,875 on the apples in cold storage during the year 

 1900. 



The apple, grape and pear are important cold storage 

 fruits in eastern United States. The great profit of 

 cold storage to the grower has come through enabling 

 him to withhold high-grade fruits, and even varieties 

 which keep poorly in common storage, from the market 

 at harvest time. Desirable sorts which are normally 

 out of market by Thanksgiving time can be held much 

 longer in cold storage and the profit from them greatly 

 increased. The idea that summer sorts can be made to 

 do duty as winter sorts through the agency of cold 

 storage cannot be realized. For the best results only 

 the choicest specimens of the winter sorts should be 

 allowed to go into storage outside the farm warehouse. 



Besides the great revolution and 

 development in apple growing ^ 



which has resulted from the addi- 

 tion of cold storage to the trade, 

 a corresponding growth and spread 

 of the peach, strawberry, cherry r 

 and plum industry have resulted /"li 

 from the development of the re- C , | 

 frigerator car service. As early as 

 1865 attempts were made to carry 

 perishable products such as 

 peaches, raspberries and strawber- 

 ries long distances in refrigerating 

 boxes and artificially cooled cars. 

 While these early experiments must 

 be counted as failures, they led up 

 to the present extensive fruit-trans- 

 portation business, which is con- 

 ducted on the same idea as the 

 Pullman sleeping car that is, of 

 providing refrigerating cars, which 

 run over certain roads, gathering 

 the fruit from areas having a large 

 output, re-icing the cars at given 

 points, and carrying the product 

 for many days in good order. The 



2409. Detail of wall 

 of storehouse. 



a. Flooring; b, fur- 

 c, paper ; 

 , 18 -inch 



development of this industry was r j ng s t r i p ; 

 due to the skill of Mr. F. A. Thomas, a, 2x4; 'e 

 of Chicago, in cooperation with stone wall. 

 Parker Earle, then of Cobden, 111. 



With the application of refrigeration to the storage 

 room of ocean liners, Australia, Tasmania and New 

 South Wales become our competitors in the apple and 

 orange markets of the world. This business has long 



