A RANCHMAN'S RECOLLECTIONS 



having been built in 1875 by him, the idea being 

 taken from a small domestic icebox, known as the 

 Fischer box. A royalty of 6 cents per square foot 

 was paid for the use of the idea. A year later Mr. 

 Nicholson felt that he could improve the Fischer 

 box, and built an entirely different one, using his 

 own ideas with success. Another interesting fact 

 recalled by Mr. Nicholson is that prior to the re- 

 frigerator car, fresh meat, mainly pork, was shipped 

 in barrels, with a link of stovepipe filled with packed 

 ice in the center and meat packed about it, but it 

 was never sent further than Aurora or Galesburg 

 in Illinois. Pork tenderloins were then considered a 

 by-product, and sold for 6 cents a pound. The lowest 

 temperature obtained from this class of refrigeration 

 was 34°. 



The Bankers* Magazine for January, 19 19, 

 carries a story of the house of Swift & Co., which 

 says: "Mr. Swift in 1876 perfected a refrigerator 

 car that would carry dressed beef to eastern markets 

 in prime condition. He built his own refrigerator 

 cars because the railroads refused to build them. 

 The same is true of Armour & Co., and others with 

 well-defined refrigerator car service in 1878, by 

 which time the prejudice against refrigerated meats 

 had been overcome by the splendid quality of prime 

 beef in prime condition available for every table in 

 cities." 



The history of refrigerator cars is especially inter- 



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