CHAPTER VII 



PRECOOLING AND COLD STORAGE OF VEGETABLES 



Present-day problems. The horticultural problems of to-day are 

 markedly different from those of a generation ago. Precooling, 

 shipment under ice, and cold storage were not matters which 

 bothered market gardeners twenty years ago. It was not until that 

 type of vegetable culture which we now call truck farming began 

 to assume important proportions that the artificial protection of 

 vegetables for a period longer than" they normally "stand up " on 

 the market became necessary. Slow transportation, such as was 

 afforded by vessels propelled either by sail or by steam, made 

 apparent the need of artificially protecting the vegetables while 

 in transit, but this type of transportation was soon superseded by 

 the more rapid express and freight service of the railways. This 

 change for a time diverted attention from the problems of preser- 

 vation in transit and upon the market to the extension of the area 

 of production. 



Refrigerator-car service. No single factor has done more to 

 extend the area of vegetable production within recent times than 

 the refrigerator-car service. Perishable products, such as lettuce, 

 tomatoes, radishes, cauliflower, muskmelons, and strawberries, are 

 now shipped from Florida and California to our Eastern markets. 

 This is made possible by fast freight service and shipment in car- 

 load lots under ice. While a great deal of attention has been given 

 to the transportation of citrus and other fruits, comparatively little 

 attention has been paid to the movement of vegetables. 



The extent and importance of this modern method of trans- 

 portation is shown in the following statement from a private letter : 



Taking muskmelons as an example of what refrigeration has done for that 

 industry : the Imperial Valley of California is a very hot section with dry air 

 and little rain. It is therefore admirably adapted to the production of a high- 

 quality cantaloupe. 



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