offered a prize for a small refrigerating plant suitable for a dairy. There was only one competitor, who exhibited a machine working in connection with a cold chamber. This chamber and plant, which is admirable for its purpose, is shown in figs. 104, 105, and 106 reproduced from vol. 62 of the Journal of the Society. The room is insulated with silicate cotton and is provided with double doors

forming an air lock, a most important point if the entrance is at the side. The cooling is done by a brinewall or screen placed at the back end, and through which the refrigerated brine circulates. The air in the chamber is cooled by contact with the sides of the brine-screen. When cooled it descends, and is replaced

1 Messrs J. & E. Hall, Ltd., Dartford.

by warm air drawn from the top of the room, this being guided by the screen placed 3 inches from the ceiling.

In chambers of this size it is necessary to have a brinewall or reservoir of this nature, so that the refrigerating effect may continue after the machine has stopped running. The cold chambers can be kept at any temperature either above or below freezing, and they are exceedingly useful for preserving game, fruit, etc., for use out of season, or for cold storing bulbs and root plants to retard their time of flowering.

CHAPTER XIII.

ARTICLES IN COLD STORAGE.

Eggs. Eggs are exceedingly sensitive and readily absorb odours and smells. They are always giving off gas, and this must be removed as soon as it is formed or fungus will form and the egg will become musty. The egg storage room must be constructed of specially odourless timber, and is best cooled on the combination system by brine-pipes and air. It is essential that a gentle circulation and ventilation should be kept up to remove the gas and moisture given off by the eggs, and to prevent the formation of white fungus or mildew. The rooms should be, preferably, limewhited, and eggs should never be stored with other produce.

For storage purposes the eggs should be collected at the latter end of March and in April and May when they are finest, most plentiful, and in the most healthy condition. Eggs gathered in the summer are liable to be affected with heat-spots; these are small light-coloured spots which form on the yolk, and though an egg affected in this way need not necessarily be bad, it is unsuitable for cold storage and should be rejected.

Before being packed the eggs should be carefully sorted, graded, and candled. They should be again candled before they leave the store for the market. The packing-cases are best made of some white odourless wood, such as spruce

or poplar, each case containing thirty-six dozen. The eggs are packed in fillers or light divisions, which fit into the cases and make a separate cell for each egg. These are made either of cardboard or wood pulp; the former is apt to smell if it gets damp and give the eggs a bad flavour, and the latter, though it gives the best results, is apt to warp and damage the eggs. The eggs should be placed in the filler resting on the small ends, as in this position the yolk will keep central better than in any other. If the egg is placed on its side the yolk is liable to shift and attach itself to the shell, making what is known as a “spot” egg. Both before the fillers are put in position in the cases and before the box is nailed down, a layer of coarse granulated cork should be put in to act as a cushion between the eggs and the covers. A material known in America as Excelsior" is much used for fillers. It is made out of bass-wood shavings, and should be kept in stock some time before use in order that it may get seasoned and lose its odour.

Eggs for cold storage purposes should never be washed, as this removes a fine coating resembling varnish which naturally covers the shell and renders it less porous. If this varnish is removed, air gets to the meat and the process of decay becomes rapid. Unfortunately it is very difficult to tell a washed from an unwashed egg. The cases containing the eggs should be stacked in tiers with laths between them; this makes an air space round each case and allows efficient ventilation to take place. With the same object the cases are sometimes made with the sides an inch narrower than the ends.

The best temperature for eggs is 32° F., though for short periods of two to three months it may go as high as from 38 to 40° without damage. Some authorities hold that a

temperature of 40° all the year round gives satisfactory results, but the consensus of responsible opinion inclines to the lower temperature. If the temperature falls below 28°, the yolk becomes hard and the egg is apt to freeze. At 30-32° the egg is in its normal condition with the white slightly thickened, and this helps to keep the yolk central. There is also smaller shrinkage and a lessened tendency to mildew and must. A temperature of 40° is cheaper to maintain, but at this the white is liable to become thin and the eggs are more liable to "spot" and become rotten.

One of the most important matters in the successful storage of eggs is the retention of the atmosphere at the proper degree of humidity. If the air is too humid the eggs will go mouldy; if too dry they will give up their natural moisture and shrink as much as 20 per cent. At 32° a humidity of about 70 per cent. is about right. Mr Maddison Cooper, who has devoted considerable attention to the subject, gives the following list of the proper degree of humidity for egg-rooms:

The humidity can be easily ascertained by a wet- and