THE PANIER. 



567 



used by the French for drying the air of their fruit rooms. 

 Mr. Thompson recommends in his book chloride of lime for 

 drying the atmosphere in a fruit room, but he no doubt 

 means chloride of calcium, which is a much more powerful 

 absorbent of moisture. The fumes of chlorine given off by 

 the former substance, which is simply bleaching powder, 

 would be injurious to the 

 colour and flavour of the lia ' 318, 



fruit. Chloride of calcium 

 is a cheap salt, costing 

 only a few pence per 

 pound. It may be ob- 

 tained at any large opera- 

 tive chemist's or drysal- 

 tery, and should be pre- 

 served in well-corked jars. 

 For use, a pound or so 

 may be spread on plates 

 about the room, and should 

 be renewed as soon as it 

 shows a tendency to run 

 into a liquid. A few 



pounds of this material will be sufficient for a large fruit 

 room, for the whole fruit-preserving 

 season. Its damp-absorbing power may 

 be renewed by heating the wet salt to 

 redness on a fire-shovel or old frying-pan ; 

 but it is so cheap, and so readily obtain- 

 able, that the process of renewal is 

 hardly worth going through. This sub- 

 stance gives off no fumes of any kind, 

 and cannot be in any way injurious to 

 the Grapes, like the salt recommended by 

 Mr. Thompson. 



The Panier. — This is the article al- 

 luded to in the description of the garden 

 in the Bois de Boulogne. It is much 

 used for carrying vegetables, and also 

 frequently for conveying manure amongst 

 close rows of vines, and has many similar uses. At first it 



Arrangement for the use of chloride of cal- 

 cium in the Fruit room. A, Tray or box 

 about twenty inches square, and lined 

 ■with lead ; B, Support ; C, Slope on one 

 side ; I>, Outlet ; E, Jar to receive liquid. 



Fig. 319. 



The Panier. 



