FRUIT STORAGE 113 
Where lime is used it is the freshly burned lime or 
calcium oxide. This is taken into the storage rooms 
and placed around over the floor in small, open re- 
ceptacles. It absorbs moisture from the surrounding 
atmosphere and gradually slakes down, changing to the 
hydrated form of calcium. This must be carefully 
watched or its action will be unsteady and a too radical 
change produced. 
A better way is to use the calcium chloride. A few 
lumps of the raw material are placed on a frame in the 
upper part of the storage room—they absorb the mois- 
ture from the air. Often water will drop from the 
material in which case it can be caught on a drip-board 
in the lower part of the support. When this iaterial 
has absorbed all the moisture it will, it can by simply 
heating expell the moisture and be used over again. 
While the raw material is much more expensive than 
lime it is enough more efficient to make it well worth 
the extra price. 
On the other hand, if the humidity runs too low, it is 
easy to add moisture by simply setting pails of water 
in the room or by sprinkling it on the floor. On the 
whole, storages that are above the level of the ground 
are more likely to have too little than too much moisture. 
Cost of Cold Storage.—There are several different 
methods in use by cold storage companies for the storage 
of fruit. Most of the eastern companies offer a double 
rate system, one by the month and the other by the 
season. The season storage is, of course, cheaper when 
time ‘is considered than by the month. Most storage 
companies run the season from November 1st to May 
1st. Some of them make a distinction between boxed 
