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POPULAR GARDENING. 



November, 



Cold Storage Houses. Cheap and 

 Convenient. 



The cold storage house or room is now 

 considered to be an indispensable requisite 

 on every place deserving the name of "fruit 

 farm." Its possession gives to the owner 

 the advantage of a long marketing season. 

 Without it, the mature fruits must be dis- 

 posed of at once, whether the market is will- 

 ing or not, scantily supplied or overstocked 

 already. With it the grower can hold his 

 produce until such time as he deems most 

 propitious or convenient. 



At the north we can adopt a very simple 

 plan of cold storage, and one which does not 

 Involve the necessity of using ice. All we 

 need is the basement of some bam or other 

 building properly insulated from communi- 

 cation with the outside by means of dead 

 air spaces, or double walls filled in with 

 straw or sawdust, and a similar protection 

 above. Cold air is admitted at night, or 

 through a subterranean air-passage, and the 

 building kept closed when the outside tem- 

 perature is too high. 



For ice storage, the California Fruit Grow- 

 er describes the following, as an inexpen- 

 sive house. The room itself may be any size 

 most convenient. Erect a frame lined on the 

 inside with heavy paper and varnished with 

 shellac, then ceiled and floored with matched 

 stuff, % or % inch thick. Varnish the en- 

 tire inner surface. Before putting down tlie 

 paper lining and floor, fill in between the 

 framing dry sawdust and pulverized char- 

 coal mixed. Board up the outside with 

 tightly-matched boards, filling in as you 

 board up with the sawdust and charcoal, as 

 well as the top. The door for entrance to 

 the room must be made to shut against 

 broad jams and angular closures like an iron 

 safe, so that it cannot stick by swelling. It 

 should be made by framing and packing 

 with sawdust and charcoal, in the same 

 manner as the room which should be be- 

 tween the walls from \2 to l.i inches. 



In the ceiling of the cold room, frame an 

 opening large enough to let in a galvanized 

 sheet iron box of sufficient size to hold as 

 much ice as you may wish to store, or about 

 one-tenth of the capacity of the whole room. 

 The ice chamber should be fitted into the 

 opening tight, with a flange all around top. 

 It may be No. 18 or 20 galvanized sheet iron. 

 To the bottom attach a coil of galanized iron 

 or lead pipe, running two or three times 

 around the room, hanging on hooks or brack- 

 ets, just the level of the ice box. Pass the 

 end of the coil throvigh to the outside of the 

 room and terminate in an inverted siphon, 

 so as to retain the water within the coil up 

 to a level just below the bottom of the ice 

 box. This is for the purpose of economiz- 

 ing the cold from the waste water by circu- 

 lating it around the room. From the cross 

 beams of the ceiling, as bearing for the 

 weight of the ice, place two or three straps 

 of square iron, of a size sufficient for carry- 

 ing the weight of the ice you intend to put 

 in. Let them hang upon the inside of the 

 galvanized iron box to within an inch of the 

 bottom. Upon these straps lay a hardwood 

 grating. Make a galvanized iron cover to 

 fit tightly upon the ice chamber, and a wood- 

 en one to close over the iron one. 



To prevent the water that may be con- 

 densed upon the outside of tlie ice chamber 

 from dripping down upon the goods, make 

 the bottom of the ice chamber bulge a little 

 downward, so that the condensed drops will 

 run to the center, or one side, where a small 

 pan may be hung with a small pipe leading 

 to the outside of the cold room, and a siphon 

 attached to prevent ingress of air. The ice 

 chamber may now be charged to its full ca- 

 pacity with ice, and if a very cold room is 

 required, sprinkle a layer of salt between 

 each layer. This, however, is seldom done. 



The principle upon which this cold room 

 is constructed is that there shall be no com- 

 munication between the ice with its moist 

 vapor and the air of the cold room. Any 

 moisture made by the cooling of the air, and 

 which is precipitated upon the iron surface 

 of the ice chamber, is at once conveyed out 

 of the room by the drip pan and its pipe. 

 Hence there is no need of any special venti- 

 lation, more than what will naturally occur 

 by the use of the door and the small leakage 

 through its closing crevices. 



The ice chamber requires no ventilation, 

 hence economizing the ice to the best advan- 

 tage, while the water from the melting ice 

 is turned to the best account by circulating 

 around the room in tlie waste pipe. 



The best temperature for fruit is about 'M 

 degrees or any temperature Ijelo w 40 degrees 

 and above freezing, where this kind of stock 

 is often changing by sale. It stock is to lie 

 for a considerable time, 34 degrees should 

 be obtained If possible. 



Paclcing and Marketing Apples. 



The unusual scarcity of the Apple crop 

 this fall will make it all the more advisable 

 to exercise the utmost care in preparing tliem 

 for market. In the first place we can afford 

 to bestow more than the usual amount of 

 labor on this preparation of the fruit on ac- 

 count of its higher price; but at the same 

 time we cannot afford to lose any part of the 

 crop by careless packing, since we have no 

 overplus. Furthermore, we have it in our 

 hand to still increase the returns for our 

 fruit by care in putting up, even if we con- 

 cede that at a time of scarcity neither buyer 

 nor consumer are apt to be as discriminating 

 and exacting as in a time of abundant sup- 

 ply. For immediate effect as well as for the 

 benefits derived in the future we should put 

 up good fruit in best possible shape. 



A correspondent of the Country Gentle- 

 man, who has had much practical experi- 

 ence in the wholesale and retail fruit busi- 

 ness, offers the following sensible sugges- 

 tions which we hope every fruit grower will 

 put in practice. In the first place, he writes, 

 good barrels of uniform size should be used. 

 The standard flour barrel size is the best. 

 The fruit should be carefully picked, thor- 

 oughly assorted, and all small and imper- 

 fect specimens rejected and used for cider. 

 The fruit should be uniform through the 

 barrel clear to the bottom. 



Care must be taken in pressing the Ap- 

 ples, and also to see they do not shake in the 

 barrel; this fault will condemn the best of 

 fruit. Carefully adjust the head and nail the 

 hoops. With a neat stencil mark the name 

 on the faced head, and the packer's or ship- 

 per's name, but never the town, as whole- 

 sale dealers do not want that. Keep the bar- 

 rels as clean and neat as possible. Some 

 people think that anything will do for an 

 Apple barrel, but let me say that a nice bar- 

 rel, in good condition when it arrives at its 

 destination, helps to sell the fruit. Some 

 shippers think that writing the name with 

 pencil is just as good as a nice stencil, but 

 they are mistaken. When a dealer goes to 

 inspect a carload of Apples and finds poor 

 barrels, some heads out, hoops off, and the 

 name scratched on with pencil or chalk, he 

 does not feel inclined to buy except at a low 

 figure. On the other hand, if on opening the 

 car he finds nice clean packages, uniform in 

 size, with nameof fruit nicely stenciled, and 

 shipper's name on the same, he says he will 

 at once become a purchaser. Then when he 

 comes to open up the lot and finds it of uni- 

 form size, such as he would be willing to 

 turn out on the floor for his customers' in- 

 spection, he is delighted, and you will soon 

 find him writing to his shipper, saying, 

 "This fruit is all right; how many cars can 

 you furnish me that will come up to this 

 standard:' I will take one or two hundred 



cars if you can guarantee them to be as good 

 as this one." If the fruit had been such as 

 is usually shipped, he would have written 

 that the quality was so poor that he had to 

 take a very low price, and did not care for 

 further shipments. 



If fruit growers and shippers would go to 

 the other end of the route, stay through one 

 season, hear the language uttered over poor- 

 ly-packed Apples, and see the frauds prac- 

 ticed, they would see why prices seem low; 

 and yet they are always high enough for the 

 quality of the goods. In doing a large ship- 

 ping business the most careful person will 

 sometimes get imposed upon. A good way to 

 avoid this is to furnish each packer with a 

 small bill on which is printed, " This barrel 

 was packed by John Smith." Then if fraud 

 is discovered it can be traced to the one 

 guilty of it. There are packers who ship to 

 me, and as soon as I get their list I can say 

 to a customer, " Here is a car I can guaran- 

 tee without inspecting it." I sell it, ship in- 

 to the country, make a draft against it, 

 which is paid and no fault found. Soon 

 there comes an order from same customer: 

 " Send me another car; I want same man's 

 packing as the last." This is much better 

 than to have your draft returned with no- 

 tice that the fruit is so poor they cannot use 

 it, and it is subject to your order. 



Give us good, fair-sized Apples, uniform 

 through the barrel, in good barrels tightly 

 pressed, neatly and correctly stenciled, and 

 it will be found that far better prices will be 

 realized. 



Report on Pears. 



E. P. rOWELL, ONEIDA CO., N. Y. 



Each year adds its own special facts to 

 fruit culture; and one may think he fully 

 understands some variety, when, lo, a new 

 phase of weather, a unique season, will quite 

 upset his opinions. I began with a preju- 

 dice against the Onondaga Pear twenty 

 years ago; but now I consider it a very val- 

 uable sort always. So the Clapp's Favorite 

 won high esteem for a time; but now I 

 should reject it from a plantation of twenty 

 varieties. The Madeleine for a time blighted 

 so badly that I gave it up wholly, but now 

 will again plant it. 



The year 1889 has been remarkable for un- 

 seasonable weather from first to last. The 

 weather from October 1st, 1888, has run 

 to excesses, and just when we should nat- 

 urally expect heat we have had cold, and 

 for cold we have had heat. New York State 

 has also been continuously wet from the 

 flr.st of May, generally wet and cold. The 

 result has been pecviliar with all sorts of 

 crops. The Grapes are mildewed and rotted 

 after a very defective fertilization. The 

 Quinces after a superb bloom failed to set 

 fruit well. The Apples failed to fertilize 

 and set after a full blossom. But the Pears 

 have given us a very full crop, only in many 

 sorts tliere is a deal of rustiness. The skin 

 of Flemish Beauty in June was soft with 

 fungus, and this hardened into a black 

 cuticle that makes the Pear unsalable. 



Beginning with the earlier sorts, Blood- 

 good has done very prettily and ripened 

 well; but lacked its usual quality. This is 

 as good a Pear as one can select for opening 

 the season. 



Bartletthas borne in great abundance but 

 the fruit has inclined to be knotted. This 

 Pear will hold its own for many years yet. 



Clapp's Favorite must be picked before 

 Bartlett, and can be kept well along with 

 the same if picked very early. But if nearly 

 yellowed when gathered it melts away and 

 is gone in a mass of decay. It is showy, and 

 in some markets sells well, but is going out 

 of fashion and will soon be dropped by judic- 

 ious orchardists. 



Tyson should have been mentioned just 

 before Bartlett and is Incomparably the best 



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