TRANSPORT BY SEA 169 



made were not far wrong. In fact, a description of the 

 latest vessel put in the service applies to the earliest, the 

 only modifications having been in details, e.g. the air 

 fans are now coupled to electric motors instead of high- 

 speed steam engines. 



Fig. 13 shows in elevation the general arrangement of 

 Messrs. Elders and Fyffes' S.S. Barranca one of a class 

 of fine steamers designed exclusively for banana carry- 

 ing, and recently added to their fleet. The refrigerating 

 machinery and cooling appliances are in deck-houses on 

 the upper deck, thus leaving the spaces below as clear 

 as possible for the cargo. There are three decks of fruit 

 forward and aft respectively, and each deck has a clear run 

 of about 130 ft. between bulkheads, making six fine 

 chambers, each taking about 10,000 large bunches, the 

 total of nearly 60,000 bunches being about three times the 

 number carried by the steamer Port Morant, which initiated 

 the service in 1901 



The fruit comes on board within a few hours of cutting, 

 and is stowed without covering of any kind, the lowest 

 bunches being arranged with the stems vertical, with a 

 final layer placed horizontally, this giving the best results 

 both in utilizing space and freedom from damage. Every 

 cargo space is divided into bins by portable horizontal 

 sparring fitting into vertical posts, thus checking the 

 movement of the fruit in rough weather. Sparred gratings 

 are laid on the steel decks to carry the fruit clear of the 

 plating, and to allow the air to circulate below and up 

 through the fruit. The ship's sides and bulkheads and 

 the highest and lowest decks are insulated with granulated 

 cork and wood boardings, forming a complete envelope 

 about 7 in. (say, 18 centimetres) thick. Along each side 

 trunks conveying the cooled air are formed by boardings, 

 in which are a number of openings fitted with adjustable 

 slides, and spaced at suitable intervals and levels. 



Powerful fans of the centrifugal type, arranged in pairs 

 and coupled to electric motors, draw the air from the fruit 

 chambers through the suction trunks on one side, pass it 



