The Prc-Cooling of Fruit 



MUCH interest was taken in a dis- 

 cussion on the pre-cooling of fruit 

 which took place at the recent 

 Dominion Fruit Conference held, Sept. 

 2 to 4, at Grimsby, Ont. The delegates 

 having investigated during the afternoon 

 the splendid pre-cooling plant erected at 

 Grimsby by the Dominion Government 

 under the direction of Cold Storage Com- 

 missioner J. A. Ruddick, were prepared 

 to discuss the subject to advantage. 



Mr. Ruddick led the discussion. "We 

 first heard of the pre-cooling of fruit," 

 he said, "through the establishments 

 erected in California by the railway com- 

 panies. These were large plants and 

 cooled the fruit in several cars at one 

 time. This led at first to the impression 

 that all fruit was pre-cooled in this way. 

 This is not the case, as most of the plants 

 to-day are smaller and cool the fruit be- 

 fore it is loaded. 



"There are a number of objections to 

 the car-cooling plant. Such plants must 

 be large, and therefore are expensive to 

 operate. There is a considerable wast- 

 age of the cold air, also in adusting the 

 ducts between the plant and each car. It 

 is difficult to so adjust them that either 

 more cold air than is needed is let rush 

 into the car or too much warm air from 

 outside is taken into the plant. Then 

 also considerable time is wasted in ad- 

 justing the air ducts to each car. This 

 is an important consideration. 



"In our small plant here in Grimsby 

 we can cool fruit for shipment in twenty- 

 four hours. Such plants are useful also 

 for the purpose of holding fruit over 

 periods of temporary gluts, or on occa- 

 sions when there may be delays in the 

 jam factories . Thousands of dollars can 

 often be saved in this way. 



"These plants can be used also for the 

 storage of apples in the winter season. 



"Our plant is operated on the gravity 

 brine system. Mechanical refrigeration 

 is the other system, often called the am- 

 monia system. There has been some ob- 

 jection to this system on account of the 

 danger of explosions from the gas. Im- 

 provements in the methods have largely 

 overcome this objection. 



"There is not much difference in the 

 cost of installing the two systems. Our 

 plant cost us $17,300 for the building 

 and $6,ioo for the cold storage equip- 

 ment, with some extra charges for car- 

 pentry work, the figures for which I 

 have not obtained as yet. We spent also 

 $250 for electrical thermometers, which 

 are most important and a great conven- 

 ience. We are able to cool three to four 

 carloads a day. 



"When considering the cost of opera- 

 tion, the ice supply is the first consider- 

 ation. We obtained ours in Burlington 

 Bay. The cost of hauling was quite an 

 item. We have put in about seventy-five 

 tons of sea grade rock salt, which cost 

 us about six dollars a ton laid down in 

 Grimsby. As the control of the temper- 

 ature is largely dependent on the supply 

 of salt it is most important to have an 

 ample supply of good quality. 



"As far as effectiveness is concerned, 

 a mechanical plant has a larger reserve 

 of power than the gravity brine. One 

 system is as dry as the other. 



"Dampness in a plant may be due to 

 an improper circulation of the air or to 

 a leakage which allows warm air to come 

 in from the outside. Where the air 

 circulates properly the moisture congeals 

 on the cold surface of the pipes and is 

 drawn off. 



"We obtain a temperature of twenty 

 degrees. I have seen a temperature of 

 fifteen degrees. It is now realized that 

 it is more important to hold the fruit 



longer than twenty-four hours if neces- 

 sary to ensure its being cooled to the 

 proper degree of temperature. An extra 

 few degrees of temperature may make a 

 great difference in the shipping qualities 

 of the fruit. I don't think much is to be 

 gained, however, by cooling the fruit 

 much lower than the temperature of a 

 refrigerator car. In one of our rooms 

 to-day I noticed that the temperature 

 was thirty-eight degrees. A temperature 

 of forty degrees is a pretty good one for 

 a refrigerator car. We have a canvas 

 cover that we fasten closely around the 

 door of the building and of the car, which 

 prevents a leakage of air while we are 

 loading the fruit. 



PSOPEE LOADING 



The proper loading of a car is just 

 about as important as the pre-cooling. 

 We use a rack, costing about eight dol- 

 lars a car, which allows a good circula- 

 tion of air from the ice bunkers. Some 

 growers load so carelessly that instead 

 of facilitating they prevent the proper cir- 

 culation of the air. 



"This plant is largely experimental. 

 It is intended to show us if it will be 

 practical for growers to erect similar 

 plants elsewhere in the fruit districts. In 

 addition, this plant is going to give me a 

 chance to conduct experiments in the 

 marketing of fruit held at different de- 

 grees of temperature and with fruit pick- 

 ed and kept at different stages of ma- 

 turity. 



"We are charging the growers one 

 cent for an eleven-quart basket and three- 

 quarters of a cent for a six-quart basket, 

 as well as eight dollars for the frame- 

 work used in the car. The railways re- 

 fund three dollars of the cost of putting 

 the flooring in the car." 



Q.— "How many barrels would your 

 plant hold?" 



Prominant Fruit Grower* and Government Official* from all Part* of Canada Who Attended the Dominion Fruit Conference at Grimaby, Ont. 



September 2nd to 4th. 



239 



