72 



EGGS IN COLD STORAGE. 



Queries 

 relating- to 

 absorbents. 



Whitewash a 

 good wall 

 coating-. 



temperatures, and the improved systems of air cir- 

 culation now in use have rendered obsolete to a greater 

 or less extent. Mention is made of this system, not 

 as recommending- it, but to show the possibilities of 

 absorbents in drying- and purifying- egg rooms. 



The letter of inquiry sent out by the writer con- 

 tained three questions referring to absorbents, writ- 

 ten with an idea of ascertaining- the coating- used for 

 the walls of a storag-e to the greatest extent; what ab- 

 sorbent was the favorite, and in what manner applied. 

 The questions are as follows : 



I. Do you use an absorbent or purifier in your 

 egg rooms? 



II. In what way do you use or apply them? 



III. Do you paint or whitewash? What kind and 

 how often applied ? 



The most common wall coating in use for egg 

 rooms is plain every-day whitewash, in various pro- 

 portions of lime and salt. Several recommend one 

 part of lime and one of salt. This makes a very 

 good whitewash, giving a firm, hard surface, but un- 

 less some method of blowing warm, dry air through 

 the rooms is feasible, it will dry very slowly, which 

 is likely to cause it to have a mottled appearance 

 instead of the pure white which gives a storage room 

 such an attractive appearance. A better proportion 

 for ordinary cold storage work is two parts of lime 

 and one of salt. This mixture will dry faster, and 

 will give a white surface which will not easily rub or 

 flake off. There are many formulas for good white- 

 wash, some of them so complicated as to be impracti- 

 cable; but plain lime and salt, with perhaps the addi- 

 tion of a little Portland cement, will be good enough 

 for our purpose. 



This last formula would then be six parts white 

 lime, three parts salt, one part Portland cement. In 

 preparing this wash, proceed as follows: Slake the 

 quicklime by pouring on boiling water, stirring 



