Octobei . 1020 



BETTER FRUIT 



The Refrigerator Car Shortage Problem 



IN discussing the car shortage sit- 

 uation that usually obtains during 

 the apple shipping season, a well- 

 known railroad man says: 



"The railroads, like the fruit grow- 

 ers, have their problems, and an ex- 

 change of information and ideas that 

 will create a better understanding and 

 a closer co-operation between the 

 grower and shipper on the one hand 

 and the railroads on the other is es- 

 sential. 



"Apples are a seasonal commodity, 

 and every fall the railroads are con- 

 fronted with an enormous volume of 

 apples to move in the shortest pos- 

 sible time. This movement comes also 

 at the same time as the wheat and 

 hay and lumber traffic. If there were 

 no apples to ship at all, the usual fall 

 rush of other principal farm and for- 

 est products would give the railroads 

 a goodly amount of tonnage to handle. 

 Such non-perishable products as wheat 

 and lumber and shingles move every 

 month in the year and, while the offer- 

 ings are larger in the fall, the move- 

 ment is steadier and longer, and there 

 are no losses to be feared on account 

 of weather or not getting into eastern 

 markets quickly. 



"If the apple movement was an all- 

 year-round affair, there would be suffi- 

 cient refrigerator cars in the country 

 to handle it, but it is compressed 

 chiefly within a ninety-day period. 



"For three months of the year, Au- 



gust, September and October, the 

 equipment about balances the offer- 

 ings; then for November, December 

 and January the offerings are in ex- 

 cess of available cars. The split might 

 be several weeks earlier or later, ac- 

 cording to conditions which fluctuate 

 some years. Then for the balance of 

 the year a large part of the refriger- 

 ator cars are not in use. 



"Along in July the railroads begin 

 to head their refrigerator equipment 

 toward the points where it will be 

 needed in the fall. 



"These empty refrigerators are ac- 

 cumulated and stored in yards and at 

 stations against the time when they 

 will be needed. 



"The railroads go into the season 

 with as large a surplus of refrigerators 

 as it is possible to accumulate, and 

 supplement it with all other refriger- 

 ators that can be rounded up and 

 worked westward during the shipping 

 season. The empty car mileage on re- 

 frigerators is naturally heavier than 

 on box cars. 



"Considering their limited use and 

 idle time, the greater initial cost and 

 interest on investment, and the greater 

 empty car mileage, the carriers would 

 not be justified in attempting to own 

 as many refrigerator cars as would be 

 equal to the size of the crop to be 

 moved. 



"During federal control of the rail- 

 roads, refrigerator cars were pooled 



Page ij 



and used in any part of the country 

 where most needed. When the rail- 

 roads get their tangled car situation 

 finally straightened out this would 

 seem a desirable and necessary ar- 

 rangement to continue if possible. All 

 of the refrigerator cars in the country 

 would then be available in the North- 

 west to draw from to move the apple 

 crop. At other seasons they would be 

 available in the south and southwest, 

 or at other points where needed. 



"It would require an unreasonable 

 amount of capital to be tied up in 

 equipment that would be idle the 

 greater part of the year, if every rail- 

 road acquired sufficient cars of its 

 own to move its crop." 



Spraying For Anthracnose. 

 Spraying for anthracnose on apple 

 trees should be done just as soon as 

 the apples are picked and before the 

 fall rains commence. While you may 

 be fairly satisfied that your trees are 

 free of this disease at the present 

 time it must be remembered that when 

 the rains come it germinates rapidly 

 and may become widespread in your 

 orchard if you neglect preventive 

 measures. A thorough spraying of 

 Bordeaux mixture at a strength of 

 6-6-50 before the rains permit the 

 spores to develop is the best treat- 

 ment for destroying anthracnose in 

 vour orchard. 



Standard 1 World=Hoover Potato Diggers 



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