BABTLETT PEAR l'RECOOLING AND STORAGE INVESTIGATIONS. 21 



allowed to rise to 30° or 32° to avoid freezing, and was held there 

 until the inner fruit was reduced to 34° or lower. No forced air 

 circulation was used. The loose fruit in the lug boxes cooled to the 

 desired temperature in less than half the time required for wrapped 

 packed fruit. The cooling was also decidedly more uniform. In the 

 packed boxes it often required three times as long to cool the fruit 

 in the center of the box as was needed for the outer fruit in the 

 same box. This necessitated the maintenance of a room temperature 

 not lower than 30° or 32° after the outer fruit was cooled. The rate 

 of cooling was necessarily slower under these conditions. 



Four withdrawals from each lot were made — after one, two, three, 

 and four weeks, respectively. After withdrawal, the various lots 

 were placed in an ieed refrigerator car held at Medford, as it was 

 impracticable to make any shipping tests during the season. Each 

 lot was held in the refrigerator car for 12 days, this being about the 

 average time required for carload lots to reach New York. As pre- 

 cooled and cold-stored fruit is cool when placed in the refrigerator- 

 car for shipment unless allowed to warm materially during the 

 transfer to the car. holding small lots in a stationary iced car should 

 approximate transit conditions in everything except jolting and 

 the possible influence of fluctuating outdoor temperatures while en 

 route. When cold fruit is placed in refrigerator cars, whether in 

 carload lots for shipment or in small lots for holding tests, the ice 

 has only to supply sufficient refrigeration to hold the fruit at a low 

 temperature; when warm fruit is placed in the car the ice must 

 supply refrigeration both to reduce the initial temperature of the 

 fruit and to keep it cool. After withdrawal from the car the experi- 

 mental lots were placed in an ordinary warehouse held under ap- 

 proximately open-market conditions. Inspections were made at the 

 time of withdrawal from the car and at the end of market-holding 

 periods of five and eight days. 



The total deterioration, as recorded by actual inspection of every 

 fruit in each box, included (1) wilt or shriveling, (2) brown stain 

 or scald, (3) fungous decay, (4) partial physiological decay, and (5) 

 complete physiological decay. 



Wilting or shriveling always started at the stem end, and all wilt- 

 ing or shriveling sufficiently noticeable to be taken into account on 

 the market was recorded. Brown stain or scald is a term used to 

 designate a general browning of the skin, at first only a discoloration, 

 but gradually extending into the fruit and causing browning and 

 softening throughout. When recorded in the inspections the discol- 

 oration was only on the surface of the skin, and fruits so affected 

 soon softened and were worthless 24 hours after inspection. Fun- 

 gous decay includes all decay due to attacks of various fungi, most 

 of which undoubtedly gained entrance through some bruising or 



[Cir. 114] 



