18 



of delicate texture, is mucli more difficult ; and it is to 

 these I jDarticularly refer. 



Having heard of the great success of Mr. Schooley, of 

 Cincinnati, Ohio, by his celebrated discovery for the pre- 

 servation of meats, I opened a correspondence with him 

 with respect to the application of the same process to the 

 preservation of fruits. He subsequently visited me at 

 Boston, and advised as to the construction of a fruit-room 

 upon his principle. This I have found, during the last 

 winter and the present summer, to operate in accordance 

 with his statement, as illustrated by Professor Locke, in 

 his " Monograph upon the Preservation of Organic Sub- 

 stances," By his plan, the temperature and moisture of 

 the fruit-room, and consequently the ripening of the fruit, 

 may be perfectly controlled. One gentleman informs me 

 that he kept strawberries in a. fruit-room constructed on 

 this plan from June 1st to the 20th, in perfect condition 

 for the table ; and he entertains no doubt of its complete 

 success in the preservation of apples and pears indefi- 

 nitely. Mr. Schooley writes me that, in the month of 

 June, he received several barrels of Bellflower apples, 

 which had been kept for eight months, that were sold in 

 that market at two dollars and twenty-five cents per 

 bushel. The remainder out of eight hundred bushels 

 was sold at home at three dollars per bushel. These 

 apples were purchased at random from the strolling 

 wagons passing through the streets of Dayton, and were 

 more or less bruised by careless picking and transporta- 

 tion. My own experience corresponds with these state- 

 ments. 4 



The construction of these rooms is simple. All that is 

 required are walls made of non-conducting materials, Avith 

 an apartment for the ice above the fruit-room, and with 

 Mr. Schooley's descending flues for the cold air, so as to 

 preserve an equable temperature and moisture, and to 



