CHAPTER XIV 



COLD STORAGE 



The series of inventions during the last one hundred and fifty 

 years giving us our modern system of mechanical refrigeration 

 and cold storage marks one of the great triumphs of civilization. 

 The preservation of food by canning was an important step. 

 But the present use of refrigeration in the saving of food is a 

 vastly more important advance. Perishable foodstuffs, fresh and 

 in good condition, may now be found on the tables of the poorest 

 of our people, foodstuffs hundreds or even thousands of miles 

 from the place of their production, and many weeks or months 

 after the time of their production. The seasonal nature of certain 

 farm products makes it advisable to store them in the time of 

 plenty that they may be consumed in the time of relative scarcity. 

 Thus half the fresh butter produced in the country goes to the 

 market during the four summer months, May, June, July, August. 

 The heavy producing season for eggs is the three-month period, 

 April, May, June, equalling the remaining nine months. 



The seasonal production of foods and the consequent seasonal 

 ebb and flow of these goods in and out of cold storage is illustrated 

 by the case of butter and eggs. The graphs (Figs. 40 and 41) show 

 receipts and deliveries of butter and eggs in the Quincy (Massachu- 

 setts) Cold Storage and Warehouse Company's plant for two years. 



The graphs clearly illustrate the chief function of cold storage, 

 namely, to equalize the distribution of seasonal products through- 

 out the year. In other words, cold storage acts like a reservoir, 

 receiving the surplus flow of goods when production exceeds 

 demand and a market glut is impending, and giving out these 

 same goods when production has fallen off and a market scarcity 

 is impending. The public is thus benefited by having a greater 

 variety of food during all seasons of the year. A second function 

 of cold storage, equally important, is the transportation, under 

 refrigeration, of perishable foods in good condition to the consumer. 

 Thus Imperial Valley cantaloupes reach the New England con- 

 sumer's table without harmful exposure to heat and without 

 deterioration of quality. In the same manner lemons from Italy, 

 oranges from California, pineapples from Hawaii, all reach the 

 distant consumer in a fresh condition. Similarly, mutton from 

 Australia and beef from Argentine are served in a wholesome con- 

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