A HUMIDIFIER FOR LEMON CUEING ROOMS. 
3 
attempt to hold the relative humidity of several curing rooms at 
about the following conditions, viz, 70 per cent, 75 per cent, 80 per 
cent, 85 per cent, 90 per cent, and 95 per cent. 
The rooms were kept tightly closed during the day and opened 
at night, when the conditions of the outside atmosphere were such as 
to make ventilation advisable, in order to assist in maintaining the 
inside condition of humidity at the desired point. Owing to the ex- 
treme fluctuation of the conditions of relative humidity in the out- 
side atmosphere during the day and night and from day to day, 
ventilation alone was found to be impracticable as a means for main- 
taining a uniform condition of humidity in the curing rooms. It 
was found that excessive humidity in the rooms could be quickly 
reduced by opening the ventilators during the day, when the dew 
point of the outside air was much lower than that of the air inside the 
rooms. The real difficulty was found to be that of increasing the 
humidity in the curing rooms when it dropped below the condition 
desired. 
METHODS TRIED FOR INCREASING THE RELATIVE HUMIDITY. 
Several methods were tried for adding to the humidity in the cur- 
ing rooms. The ground under one of the curing rooms was sprinkled 
Avith water. This method proved objectionable from the fact that 
by its use molds which were injurious to the fruit began to develop. 
Then a small perforated water pipe was arranged along the sides 
of one room, near the top, with a valve to regulate the spray of 
water from the pipes. This method was found to be inadequate. 
Later, sacks of coarse, heavy cloth were suspended from these pipes 
and the spray of water was allowed to fall on them. This method 
was also found to be ineffective. 
A commercial humidifier used in tobacco warehouses was tried in 
one of the rooms. This machine consists in part of a rapidly re- 
volving fan wdiich throws a fine spray of water into the room. For 
the conditions in the lemon curing room this apparatus was found to 
be impracticable and was finalh^ discarded. Other somewhat similar 
machines manufactured for the same purpose were used and found 
to be of little or no value for this work. 
About this time the writer conceived the idea of increasing the 
humidity of the curing rooms when necessary by the evaporation of 
water from saturated cloths. Several ways of doing this were tried. 
The first apparatus consisted of a shallow, galvanized-steel pan, 2 
feet wide, 3 feet long, and 6 inches deep. Into this pan was set a 
series of wooden frames, about 3 feet long and 1 foot high, spaced 
about 2 inches apart. During several tests they were covered with 
cotton and other absorptive cloths. The pan was nearly filled with 
