156 ANNUAL REPORTS OF DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 



Celery storage. — Celery harvested in New York, as well as celery 

 harvested in Florida, has been transported to storage houses and held 

 in receptacles of different types to determine the keeping qualities of 

 celery stored in standard crates such as are ordinarily used in New 

 York and California, as well as in partitioned crates of the same type 

 and in half crates. After two years of investigation it is evident that 

 the storage period of celery can be extended at least thirty days by 

 placing the celery to be stored, provided it has been well grown 

 and is free from disease at the time of harvesting, in crates one-half 

 the size of the standard crates used in the New York and California 

 regions. 



Grapes in sawdust. — Storage and shipping investigations in Cali- 

 fornia table grapes have been continued, and the results of this work 

 have been utilized by the industry so that in three years the delivery 

 of table grapes packed in redwood sawdust to eastern markets for 

 the Christmas trade has increased from one car in 1911 to 300 cars 

 in 1914. 



Orange precooling in Florida. — The orange handling and precool- 

 ing work in Florida has shown that not only is decay from blue mold 

 lessened for the first ten days of the market period by precooling but 

 sometimes serious results from stem-end decay can be almost entirely 

 avoided or eliminated during this period. This has been demon- 

 strated not only in the department's experimental shipments but in 

 the shipments from commercial packing houses. 



Pineapple handling. — The pineapple handling and precooling 

 work has been continued, and this season's results conclusively demon- 

 strate the practicability of placing plant-ripened fruit on the eastern 

 markets of the United States; in fact, the plant-ripened product 

 which was carefully and quickly handled and precooled before ship- 

 ment and transported under full icing to eastern markets attracted 

 unusual attention for its quality and appearance. 



Corn grades. — The official grades for commercial corn were estab- 

 lished July 1, 1914. These grades specify definite maximum limits 

 of moisture, damage, dirt, foreign matter, etc., and " cracked " corn 

 for each of the six numerical grades. Investigations during the 

 year show that these grades, which have been adopted throughout 

 the whole of the corn belt, have had a noticeable beneficial effect 

 upon the quality and condition of the corn as delivered from the 

 farm to the country elevators, in that the farmers are not only 

 delivering corn that is cleaner, but they are also picking out the dam- 

 aged ears, both of which tend to put the grain into a higher grade. 

 The factor of moisture content determines the commercial grade of 

 corn more frequently than any other factor during the first three or 

 four months following a new harvest, and because of this farmers 

 are now recognizing the value of storing their corn in properly con- 

 structed cribs, built to exclude rain and snow and with good ventila- 

 tion to facilitate drying and prevent deterioration. 



Sampling device. — Since the Federal corn grades provide definite 

 maximum limits for damage, dirt, etc., and " cracked " corn, it has 

 become necessary for the grain men and the inspectors to be able 

 to secure accurate samples for analyses. Investigations of the vari- 



