THE IDEAL STORAGE PLANT 247 



1. Low Temperature. — A satisfactory storage must be able 

 to give relatively low temperatures. Just what these shall be 

 depends on the kind and condition of fruit, but they must be 

 low. Usually fruit keeps best, or at least longest, when the 

 temperature approaches the freezing point. AVith apples it is 

 generally considered that the best temperature is from 30° to 

 32° F., but it is quite possible that this idea may be modified 

 with further experimentation, but in any case it is going to be a 

 low temperature that is desired. The low temperature prolongs 

 the keeping of the fruit for two reasons, first because it prevents 

 or retards the work of the organisms of decay and second because 

 it slows down the life processes of the fruit so that it lives a 

 slower life and therefore lasts longer. 



2. Little Variation. — The storage room should have as con- 

 stant a temperature as possible. Variations are always objection- 

 able and become more so as they are rapid and extreme. The 

 writer once had experience with a small storage room where the 

 insulation was very poor. The first winter he managed it 

 he attempted to get around the difficulty by putting a small 

 oil stove in the room. As this could not be left burning all night, 

 the temperature was run up to perhaps 60° during the day and 

 then fell to nearly freezing during the night. This was repeated 

 each day of the very cold weather. It is needless to say that the 

 fruit kept very poorly that winter, so much so that it was de- 

 cided that something would have to be done to improve matters. 

 The following year furring strips an inch thick were nailed 

 against the walls and then the room was lined with building 

 paper, thus giving an inch air space and the additional layer of 

 paper over the entire wall surface. The result was that the 

 following winter the temperature was very constant and the 

 fruit kept surprisingly well. 



3. Getting Fruit hi and Out. — The storage should be 

 arranged so that it is convenient to get fruit into it and out 

 again. Just what this arrangement will be will vary with 

 circumstances, but if it is at all possible to get a wagon into 

 the storage it will save tremendously in the cost of getting the 

 fruit in and out. An elevator and an outside bulk-head are two 

 common methods, but neither is as expeditious as the wagon 



