CHAPTER XVIII 

 TRANSPORTATION, STORAGE, MARKETING 



TRANSPORTATION 



It is to be assumed that the peach-grower selected his 

 location with respect to good transportation facilities. Such 

 facilities may be represented by railroads, boat lines, or 

 perhaps both, and in case of local distribution, good roads. 

 With respect to local markets, the use of auto-trucks has 

 greatly facilitated delivery in many instances and increased 

 materially the distances which it is practicable to cover. In 

 most cases in which peaches are delivered by boat, a com- 

 paratively short time in transit is required, and the problems 

 of transportation are relatively simple. 



The great bulk of the commercial peach crop is moved by 

 rail, much of the fruit being shipped distances varying from 

 perhaps several hundred to three thousand miles, or from the 

 Pacific coast to the Atlantic seaboard. 



While small lots and less than car-lots are commonly 

 shipped by express, fast freight service in refrigerator cars 

 is essential in distributing the bulk of the crop. This im- 

 plies also adequate car-icing facilities. The object of re- 

 frigeration in transit is to provide a temperature for the fruit 

 sufficiently low to retard the ripening processes. A tem- 

 perature of 40° to 45° or even lower, if possible, is desirable. 



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