The query on cider mills reminded me of a question concerning the Ruiz-Alvarado-Johnson Adobe in Los Penasquitos Rancho, San Diego County, California. Initially a 1-room adobe house during Captain Ruiz and Francisco Alvarado's ownership, Captain George A. Johnson married into the family and expanded the adobe to a "U"-shaped structure with a stone-walled spring house and wooden drying shed. Captain Johnson hailed from New England and probably built the spring house and drying shed with New England templates. Inside the spring house, a natural spring overflows and is channeled out the foundation to a large fish pond. We assume crocks of butter, cheese, milk and yogurt were set in the cold water, based on other sites. The wooden drying shed is a mystery. All the 10-inch wide boards were drilled with 1-inch bits to enable saws to cut vertical slots. The total effect is a high-pitched roof on a 12-15-foot shed with vertical slots. Does anyone have information on the archaeology of spring houses and an idea of how the wood shed functioned? Ron May Legacy 106, Inc.