PROCEEDINGS OF THE FARMERS' CLUB. 243 



portant question, and it has been pretty well settled that apples, by once 

 freezing, if kept entirely quiet until thawed will not be injured. 



Mr. Carpenter said that he was well satisfied upon this point, that once 

 freezing did not injure the apples, but that a repetition of it would spoil 

 them, and so would any movement, such as rolling over barrels, or expos- 

 ing them while frozen to a change of air by opening the barrels. He once 

 shipped a lot of Newtown Pippins to England which had been frozen solid 

 while lying in the barrels, and thawed undisturbed, and no shipment ever 

 did better. 



The Chairman thought it would make a difference what kind of apples 

 were frozen; that sweet apples frozen only once, and thawed in any way, 

 would be quite spoiled. 



Chiccory. 



The subject of chiccory being again called up, Solon Robinson read a 

 letter from John F. Stillwell, South Amboy, N. J. He says: 



"Born in a district of Germany where this root is much raised, and from 

 which all that has come under my eyes in New York market has been im- 

 ported, I have quite a concise recollection of the process. It is not much 

 raised by large farmers, but more by those who lease a piece of land, or 

 own but a few acres. The soil is a sandy one, very little approaching 

 a light sandy loam, but of good depth. It must be well manured and 

 plowed very deep. The manure used was oftener spread than plowed in, 

 of good, rich quality by appearance, and must have been either cow or hog* 

 manure, as I know that these people had no horses. The seed was sowed 

 broadcast, like carrots and radishes, and raked with an iron rake. Side by 

 side I have seen plots of carrots and chiccory, treated alike, weeded 

 and thinned out by hand, dug or loosened with fork or spade, and then 

 pulled. Chiccory roots are about the same in size as carrots, from 1 

 to 1| inches in diameter, by 12 to 15 inches long. I presume that from 

 this can be inferred that chiccory can be raised profitably under the present 

 method of raising carrots in drills, with a nearly corresponding yield. The 

 chiccory roots, when getting of a fair size, are dug little by little dur- 

 ing the season, left on the ground long enough to dry the adhering sand, in 

 order to make it shake off more easily, and are then taken to shelter. I 

 have never seen them washed, whicl), however might not have hurt them. 

 The roots are now sliced and re-sliced from top to bottom, with pocket or 

 other knives, and then by means of a machine, like a common straw-cutter, 

 cut in pieces of about an inch long. The curing is performed upon boards, 

 or drying frames made for the purpose by basket makers, of split willow 

 shoots, exposed to the sun. I have seen it cured in ovens or kilns, but it 

 was not considered to be as good. In this climate it would dry very fast 

 exposed to the sun. To be marketable for the roaster or factoryman it 

 must be dry enough to rattle when shaken, or crack when breaking in two 

 one of the small pieces. After curing, care must be taken to prevent its 

 heating and molding, by keeping it in heaps not too large, or when for 

 want of room obliged to have it in large heaps, it must now and then be 

 shoveled or forked over. The process of raising, harvesting and curing 

 of which I speak, was carried on twenty years ago; that space of time 



