STORAGK 



STOKAGE 



1731 



siuee passed the sta,ij;o of an cxperiuu-iit, and tho annual 

 ri.iuua,i;e of such products is rapidly ini-n-aslnj^-. It is no 

 Ioniser ag'o than 1888 tliat the OiH-una carriod llie first 

 cari^o of apples in cold storay;e tr>nn iNU'lliourne to Kui;- 

 la.nd, and ttic tirst cari^o of West India fruits was car- 

 ried in 18S(_) by tlie ship Nonpareil. Xow ( ';ilitornia. is 

 al'le ri> ship peaches and pUinis in rcfriucratnr cars to 

 Xew Vork, aad tlience to Liverpool hy cuid storai^c on 

 shiplioard. and put the products iu •j;<u>\\ order on the 

 En.ijlish markets. \Vtth rcf riijirral ion, tiuir is of h-ss 

 importance tliau rehaudlini;'. shakini^- and a cmistant 

 temperature. 



Storay:e machinery has been i^reatly nmdilicd durin;,^ 

 the past two years. Small condensers, propelled by .i;as 

 engines, water-motors and even windinilN, are m-w 

 available for use iu hotels, meat shops and places wliere 

 constant cold is needed. Wliile these snuiU plants have 

 not been used in private stora^'e houses with limited 

 capacity, there is uo good reason why they should not 

 be. In large cities central refrigerating plants ilis- 

 tribute chilled brine through properly insulatt'd ]dpes 

 to dealers and commission men. much after the manner 

 of water and gas. The dealer is then iudepeudeid. of 

 tbe market, and if a consignment of fruit is received 

 too late for the week's traile it can be held in the cold 

 room with security for tbe Monday morning market. 

 With this plan, a large number of {lealers in the busi- 

 ness quarter of any city can bt.^ supplied with cold at a 

 moderate cost from a single central station. 



In modern cohl storage two systems are 

 in common use: one is known as the "direct 

 expansion system." and operates by allowing 

 tlie compressed gas to expand iu coils of 

 pipes placed in the room to be cooled ; the 

 other is known as the ''brine circulation sys- 

 ti-m," and operates hy pumping chilled brine 

 of one of the salts, sodium, calcium or potas- 

 sinm chloride, through coils of pipe in the 

 room to be cooled. Both these systems pre- 

 sent objections, which are of greater moment 

 to the horticulturist than to any other class 

 using cold storage. The temperature in the 

 immediate neighborhood of the cooled coils 

 is so low as to freeze the fruit stored there. In order 

 to overcome this, a system in which no pipes are 

 placed in tbe chilled or storage room has been de- 

 vised. A coil of pipe is arranged for direct expansion 

 and the air of the room to be cooled is drawn out by a 

 fan, passed over the chilled pipes, the temperature 

 lowered, and again carried back to the cold room into 

 which it is distributed from tlie ceiling by large wooden 

 comluits with numerous dampers and openings, so that 

 the cold can be distributed evenly through the room by 

 the constantly moving air. "With this arran^'-ement the 

 temperature can be kept constant and uniform through- 

 out all parts of the room, and there is no loss from 

 freezing. 



The following table of temperatures, compiled from 

 experience of practical storage men, will serve as a 

 guide for storing horticultural products: 



Articles. K<-ui:irks. Dcu'rees F. 



Apples :i-2-34 



Bauanas IJ4-I56 



Berries, fresh. . . For three or four days ;>4-36 



<\'niteloupes Carry only about three w<-(--ks ,12 



Cr;inberries Xi-^4 



Djites, figs, etc 34 



Fruits, dried ;;.'-40 



Grapes ;;;:-:!(j 



L'-raons 34-4U 



* b-anges 36 



Peaches :"'..'i-4,3 



Pears ;i(.i-40 



Watermelons . . .i.'arry only about three weeks 32 



Asparagus ;i4 



C':ibbage 32-34 



<-':irrots 3:i-34 



Cf lery 3::-35 



Dried beans 32-40 



Pried com 35 



Di-ied peas 40 



Onions 32-34 



Parsuips 33-34 



Pi'tatoes 34-36 



Sauerkraut 3,V3S 



"Asparagus, c.-iliba-'e. carn>ts, and celery are carried 

 with litlie humidily; parsnips and salsif'y same as 

 'uiioTis anil potaIoe^, e\<'ei>t that they ujay be frnzen 

 wil hont detrinuMit, 



"Apph's wlieu stored in barrids shouM mit be stored 

 on ends, but lU'eferably on Ibeir sides. Fi-;, 2111. A 

 temperature of ;t2'^ is eoiisidci-e.l nmst favoralile. 



"in general, gn-eu fruits and \'egt.'tables sliontd not 

 Im- allowed to wither, ('itnuis fruils and ve;j:etaltles 

 should lie ke|.r dry until the skin loses its moisture; 

 then the tlrying [.rocess sbonld be immediately checked. 

 l''or bananas no laile can i)e made. The exigencies of 

 the market uuist govern tbe ripening process, which 

 ran Ite uianipubded alninst at will. 



"Fruits. es|.ecially tender fruits, should be placed in 

 cidd storage just when they an' riiu*. They will keep 

 lietter than if put in when not fully ripe. Pears will 

 stand as low a temperature as H.'i^. Sour fruit will not 

 bear as much cold as sweet fruit. (_'atawba grapes will 

 suttVr no harm at 2(i'-. while 'Si'' will lie as cold as is 

 safe for a lemon. 



"The spoiling of fruit at a temperature b(dow 40° F. 



2410. A storage house in western New York, built with particular 

 reference to storing apples. 



is due to moisture. In storing apples, eight to ten cubic 

 feet storage room space is allowed per barrel, and twenty 

 to twenty-tive tons daily refrigerating capacity per 10.- 

 000 barrels." ^ l_ ,._ (.'orrett. 



Treatment of Frtiits Intended ior Cold Storage. -Cold 

 storage has come to be a factor of prime importance in 

 the marketing of many fruits, especiallj' in apples, 

 pears and grapes. "With the more perishable fruits, like 

 berries, peaches and plums, it is but little used, largely 

 for the following reason: The action of cold in preserv- 

 ing fruits depends on two things; first, it retards those 

 normal bio-chemical changes in the tissues of the fruit 

 that are concerned in the process of ripening. It is a 

 matter of common observation that apples, for instance, 

 stored in a warm room ripen and become mellow much 

 quicker than those in a cold cellar. Second, if the de- 

 gree of cold is sufiicient, it prevents partially or entirely 

 the growth of those bacteria and fungi that cause decay. 

 In peaches and other perishable fruits the changes con- 

 cerned in the normal process of ripening take place 

 much more rapidly than in winter apples or other fruits 

 that are naturally gond keepers. By the time the more 

 perishable fruits reach market, in the ortlinary course 

 of events, these changes have already progressed so far 

 that it is necessary to dispose of the fruit at once iu 

 order to avoid loss. If, now, market conditions are un- 

 favorable and it is decided to place the fruit in cold 

 storage to hohl it for a lietter market, the chances are 

 aicainst success, for the ripening changes have already 

 ]n-ogressed almo-^t to the limit of safety and, while the 

 cold checks, it does not entirely prevent them. Tbe 

 usual result is that, even though they nniy look fairly 

 "u-ell while still in the cold chamber, tbe goods go down 

 quickly on reaching the warm outside air. "U'hen for 

 any reason it is desirable to hohl perishable fruits iu 

 cold storage, it is essential that great care be used in 

 selecting only perfectly sound, full-grown but unripe 

 specimens, and that these be placed as soon as possible 

 after picking in a refrii^erator i-ar or tin ice-box for 



