COLD STORAGE OF FRUIT.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XXV, Issue 9213, 16 November 1888, Page 6

COLD STORAGE OF FRUIT.

With a view to an investigation of the effects of refrigerating fruit in order to its preservation, the Royal Horticultural Society has appointed a strong committee to conduct experiments. The committee will co-operate with the Leadenhall Cold Storage Company ; the latter having commodious chambers below the market, and it is in these chambers that the subjects on trial will be deposited. On a recent visit to these stores (says a correspondent) we were enabled, by the courtesy of Mr. D. Tallerman, to inspect the system of working which is known as the " De la Vergne System," and consists of allowing anhydrous liquid ammonia under great pressure to enter into pipes from which the air has been exhausted ; the ammonia expands and assumes a gaseous condition, extracting heat from the pipes which are conducted round the chambers, they in their turn abstracting the heat from the air of the room ; and so a very low temperature may be maintained and regulated at will. One room had been cooled down to 38deg. Fah., another to '25 deg., and one even so low as 2'2deg., in which condition it is founa that the bodies of birds can be preserved for twelve months. It is not desirable that we should enter into detail concerning several samples of cherries which were shown (and which had been in only ten days), as the methods are not yet tested, but appearances point to success. This will have a very important bearing on fruit-growing, and on our fruit markets, for it cherries, strawberries, plums, and other fruits can be preserved fresh till Christmas time, the fruit-grower with a surplus stock can freeze those not required for present use ; but it yet remains to be seen in what way this will affect prices.

In reference to the above interesting question—that of preserving fruit by colli storage— the Gardeners' Chronicle of September 1, the editor says : —" Since our last issue we learn from the Journal of Horticulture that the committee appointed by the Royal Horticultural Society to ascertain the practicability of preserving soft fruits under the influence of cold, met on | Thursday, August 23, at the Cold Storage 1 Company's offices in Gracechurch-street, T. Francis Rivers, Esq., in the chair, and examined the cherries referred to. Several half-bushel baskets of cherries had been placed in the chambers on August 8, wet, and some of them decayed. Some were frozen like marbles, others were abnormally firm, but not actually frozen, others remaining soft. Those that were not frozen were in the same condition as when stored fifteen days previously, and those that were decayed then had not in the slightest degree communicated decay to others pressing against them. Those in the coldest freez-ing-chamber were spoiled. Soft fruits must evidently not be frozen, and the point to determine is the amount of cold that suffices to arrest fermentation, an . (l this settled, it is not unlikely that soft) fruit can be kept for some weeks or months. Various kinds of fruit will be tried under differing conditions in the hope of acquiring information of substantial value."