290 AMERICAN POMOLOGY. 



of their packages, will soon establish a reputation that 

 will be of great value to them in their future offerings. 



FKUIT-BOOMS. For those who wish to reap the highest 

 rewards and the greatest profits from a near and conveni- 

 ent market, as well as those who desire to preserve their 

 fruits, prolong their enjoyment of them, and to bring 

 them to the highest perfection, the fruit-room or fruit- 

 house becomes indispensable. These should be so con- 

 structed as to meet the required conditions of an equable 

 and cool temperature, with darkness, and a sufficient 

 amount of dryness to insure freedom from mold and damp. 

 To avoid the precipitation of atmospheric moisture, the 

 apartment should be tight, and seldom opened, parti- 

 cularly in damp weather. To absorb the exhalations from 

 the fruit itself, and that emitted from the burning candle 

 or the breathing of the visitor, the introduction of certain 

 chemical absorbents has been suggested; among these, 

 freshly burned lime has been recommended and used, but 

 Mr. Du Breuil advises the introduction of dry chloride of 

 calcium, which has so great an affinity for moisture as to 

 absorb it completely from the atmosphere. This is tlie 

 material used by B. M. Nyce, of Cleveland, Ohio, in his 

 patent fruit preserving establishments ; and this mode of 

 preserving a dry atmosphere is a leading, and indeed, the 

 chief feature and element of his success. 



In the construction of fruit-houses, the fluctuations of 

 the outer atmospheric temperature must be guarded 

 against by making double walls, and by filling the spaces 

 with non-conducting materials. The floors and the ceiling 

 should be similarly arranged unless where the cooling is 

 effected by a layer of ice above the fruit-room, when the 



