No. 4.] COLD STORAGE. 235 



market control them. The farmers, freed from the necessity 

 of rushing their produce into the market, can possibly ar- 

 range some way of getting clear of the commission merchant 

 and the wholesaler, thus coming a step nearer the consumer. 

 Everywhere in the land the manufacturer of cotton and 

 woollen goods, of boots and shoes, of machinery and imple- 

 ments, is dispensing with the jobber and wholesaler. That 

 is just what the farmer wants to do. He wants to stop sell- 

 ing his butter to those men who take it from him with one 

 hand at 14 or 15 cents, and pass it to the consumer with the 

 other hand, at an advance of 8 or 10 cents a pound. He 

 wants to cease selling his poultry for 12 or 14 cents a pound, 

 while the trader sells it the next minute for 20 to 23 cents a 

 pound ; and he wants to stop selling his cabbages at 50 cents 

 per hundred-weight to the man who passes them to the con- 

 sumer at 2 cents a pound, or an advance of 300 per cent. 

 Cold-storage and its possibilities will greatly help to this 

 end. Co-operation among farmers should be made the most 

 of, and this unity of action should comprehend the entire 

 farming community of the country. Cold-storage supplies 

 are now regarded by banks as good collateral security, and 

 by this means the farmer in need of read}^ money need not 

 make a forced sale of his products. Indeed, this is one of 

 the best features of the cold-storage system. Everybody in 

 business, farmers and all, at times require ready money. 

 In the case of farmers, to get this oftentimes requires a sale 

 at a sacrifice, but with the necessary proof of butter, eggs 

 and fruit in cold-storage, he can obtain a loan as easily as 

 can be done on regular securities. 



As to the building of cold-storage warehouses, locality 

 and conditions will determine their size and cost. It may 

 be well to state here that "on an average 40 culiic feet of 

 space is required for 2,000 pounds of ice. The window 

 cases for lio:hting the storage room should be fitted for three 

 or four sashes, and these should have air spaces between 

 them. A strong and well-insulated wall of wood may be 

 constructed by placing 2 by 6 inch studs, 24 inches apart. 

 In order to form the outside of the wall, nail on the studs 

 first a layer of one-inch matched boards, then a layer of two- 

 ply paper, and again a layer of one-inch matched boards. 



