TRANSPORT BY SEA 167 



thus saving much time and labour as well as the damage 

 to the fruit that was formerly caused by hand unloading. 

 A 35 ft. vertical marine leg drops from an extension pro- 

 jecting over the water's edge into the hold of the vessel 

 drawn up to the wharf. Sprocket wheels on the marine 

 leg and the stationary portions of the unloader carry a 

 pair of chains 4 ft. apart, between which on cross-bars 

 is attached a canvas strip so arranged with slack as to 

 form pockets at 3 ft. intervals. Each of the four machines 

 at New Orleans has ninety-two pockets, and they are 

 driven by individual 15 h.p. induction motors. They are 

 able to unload 2500 bunches of bananas an hour, the 

 bunches weighing from 60 Ibs. to 120 Ibs. each. In the hold 

 of the vessel the conveyers are filled from three levels, 

 each level loading into every third pocket of the conveyer, 

 the speed of which is too high to permit succession pockets 

 to be filled from a single position. 



After reaching the dock end of the conveyer the pocket 

 chain passes over a flat roller, which gently discharges the 

 fruit upon a moving belt running back to the cars, where 

 it is loaded for shipment by rail. At this point the 

 Mississippi River has a periodical variation of 14 ft., and 

 the unloaders must accommodate themselves to this 

 variation as well as reach the hatches of any ordinary 

 vessel. The marine leg is supported from an auxiliary 

 boom hinged to the main boom, so that by making a 

 jack-knife bend, practically any hatch level or distance 

 from the wharf can be negotiated. The manipulation of 

 the booms and the hoists and the side travel of the hinge 

 machine along the deck are controlled by friction clutches 

 on the main conveyer motor shaft. Within three to five 

 minutes after the vessel's hatches are made ready, the 

 machines can be placed in position and the unloading 

 begun. Ships can be unloaded in from ninety minutes to 

 seven hours, according to the size of their cargo. 



Refrigeration in Sea Transport. Mr. H. J. Ward, a 

 director of Messrs. J. and E. Hall, Ltd., Dartford, has 

 supplied the following information on this subject, which 



