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XVIII. A Description of a Fruit Room. In a Letter to the 

 Secretary. By Mr. John Maker, F. H. S. 



Read Dec. 7, 1812. 



Sir, 



X have the honour to send, for the Horticultural Society, 

 the plan of a Fruit-room which I have found, by several 

 years experience, to be very useful in preserving fruit, espe- 

 cially Apples and Pears. 



Fig. 1. is an upright view of the drawers. 



Fig. 2. The ground plot of the room. 



Fig. 3. The numbers of the drawers, with a space opposite 

 to each, for inserting the name of each fruit. 



The lower drawers have close bottoms, and are called 

 sweating drawers, the fruit being put into them, as soon as 

 gathered. In ten days, or a fortnight, accordingly as I find 

 the Apples and Pears come forward, they are sorted, and 

 the other drawers are prepared to receive them, by covering 

 the bottom of each with very clean wheat straw, thoroughly 

 dried and ventilated. The bottom of these drawers is made 

 of trellis work, see Fig. 4. 



It will be desirable on many accounts, that this Fruit-room 

 should be on the ground floor ; and both the door and win- 

 dow should have slides, to admit a free circulation of air in 

 fine weather ; but in damp days, or when it rains, the room 

 should be kept closely shut. 



