No. 133. 1 307 . 



vaults j 1 Itfi, on a small seale^ under bell glasses cemented down 

 air tight, and this not on wood the least resinous, or the flavor is 

 injured greatly ; 12th, buried in boxes, each on four bricks, un- 

 der other boxes inverted, and all buried so de^3 that the upper 

 fruit shall be from one to two feet below the level of the earth ; 

 13th, pack it in threshed grain, or in straw stacks; 14th, lay 

 it on wheat straw without any covering; 15th, put in wheat or 

 oat chaflf ; 1 6th, in flaxseed chaff; 17th, in pulverised charcoal; 

 18th, in dry fern leaves. These methods are tried as well on 

 pears as apples. We should observe that the wiping of fruit is 

 injurious. Their skins are covered with a secretion called tht 

 bloom, which, though more conspicuous on plums, is neverthe- 

 less on all fruits ; its use is to protect them from the ill effects of 

 moisture. Some know this and never touch the fruit ; they gather 

 it by its stem only. Light is very bad for fruit when gathered. 



Chairman — My practice is, on long experience on my farm, to 

 pit my vegetables in preference to putting them in my cellers. I 

 make a pit a little above the surface of the soil, make a pile of 

 vegetables, then put over it two or three inches of straw ; over 

 that put on earth a foot thick, make a hole in the top by means 

 of straw led up to and out of the top of the pile, and dig a drain 

 around the pit, which carries off the water. I choose a southern 

 slope on my ground for these pits. The hole in the top carries 

 off what vapoi-s arise from the vegetables. In very cold weather I 

 stop that hole up. I cover my potatoe pits deeper with earth. 

 The carruts, beets and parsnips, require less care as to frost. 

 When spring comes warm enough to make vegetables begin to 

 sprout, they should be taken out of the pit. I suppose that ap- 

 ples would keep in such pits. 



Meigs — Suppose these pits to be covered with two to three feet 

 of earth, would the vegetables sprout? Probably not, or at any 

 rate, not till much later in the season. And is it not as essential 

 to avoid bruising the vegetables as it is the fruit. It is monstrous 

 to behold the millions of bruised fruit and vegetables brought to 

 our markets and lost. Eggs do not require more care in hand- 

 ling than our good fruits ! Vegetables also demand great care if 

 they are to be kept in perfectly sound condition. 



