8 THE COLD STORAGE OF SMALL FRUITS. 



and reach their destination too late for the early morning market. 

 There is often little opportunity of disposing of them until the follow- 

 ing morning, or in case the late arrival occurs on Saturday the fruit 

 can not be sold until the following Monday morning. \Yithout arti- 

 ficial refrigeration, the fruit would deteriorate rapidly, and in many 

 instances would become worthless before it could be sold. Under 

 these conditions it may be saved by placing it temporarily in cold 

 storage. An overstocked market sometimes results in the cold storing 

 of considerable quantities of small fruits when there is a reasonable 

 prospect for a stronger demand and better prices within two or three 



days. 



Cold storage is now used for small fruits b}' many canning estab- 

 lishments. At the height of the season, the fruit is often received 

 faster than it can be cared for. The surplus is then placed in cold 

 storage to be held until it can be packed in the cans. Some of the 

 best equipped canneries in this countrj^ are now supplied with their 

 own cold-storage facilities. 



In some sections, particularly in the Hudson River Valley of New 

 York, small-fruit growers have built farm storage houses, cooled by 

 ice or by a mixture of ice and salt, with a view to handling their crops 

 to better advantage. The berries are placed in these houses as fast as 

 picked, and held until the output of the day is ready for shipment. 

 The fruit may be held from one day to the next before shipping, or 

 even for a longer period if desired in the case of firm-fleshed varieties, 

 and still reach the market in good condition. It has been found that 

 berries cooled down before shipping will carry in better condition than 

 the}^ do when shipped in a warm condition. 



Another phase of cold storage of small fruits that is assuming con- 

 siderable importance is the freezing of the fruit for use by confec- 

 tioners, bakers, and restaurateurs, the fruit being held in a frozen 

 condition for use in ice cream, pastries, etc. 



In view of the difficulties involved in storing and the long season 

 during which fresh-picked supplies can be obtained from various sec- 

 tions of the country, the use of cold storage for small fruits wnll con- 

 tinue to be restricted mainlv to the preservation of the fruit for a 

 brief period when otherwise it would be lost. But in this field alone 

 cold storage serves a very important mission, for in many of the large 

 cities of the country great quantities of berries are annually stored 

 for brief periods for one or more of the reasons already stated. In 

 New York, for example, thousands of crates of berries are some- 

 times stored in a single day in the cold-storage houses within or near 

 the produce district. 



There is very little information published relative to the cold storage 

 of small fruits, and such as is available is based primarily upon obser- 



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