COLD STORAGE OF VEGETABLES 99 



By the use of refrigeration facilities there were shipped from this valley 

 during the present season 2562 cars, of which about 2100 came to Eastern 

 markets and arrived generally in good condition. Without refrigeration cars 

 they could not have been transported much beyond Los Angeles, or an equal 

 distance eastward. 



This gives an idea of the value to our vegetable industry of this 

 method of transporting perishable products. While transportation 

 charges upon such shipments are extremely high, the fact that the 

 product reaches the market at a time when it cannot be supplied 

 locally makes the result, as a rule, satisfactory to the producer. 

 The advantages of car-lot shipments under refrigeration are further 

 illustrated in the following quotation, under date of September 4, 

 1911, from the General Freight Agent of the Florida East Coast 

 Railway Company : ' 



Formerly the highly perishable vegetables, such as snap beans, peppers, 

 etc., were shipped exclusively by express. On account of the highly perishable 

 nature of these vegetables, and the schedules, they would not ship in satis- 

 factory condition by express except to the Eastern markets. The result was 

 that production frequently exceeded the consumption, and there were gluts 

 in the markets and serious losses to shippers on account of arrival in bad 

 condition. 



During last winter some of the shippers (from the Florida section) tried 

 shipment by freight in iced refrigerator cars. The results were entirely satis- 

 factory. This method of shipment enables the producers to get a wider 

 distribution for their products. A large part of the shipments were distributed 

 through the West, and it is very probable that the acreage will be increased 

 and the bulk of the shipment during the coming winter handled under refrig- 

 eration. Handling the shipments by freight under refrigeration made a lower 

 charge than the express charge and resulted in shipments reaching market in 

 better condition. 



Shipment of mixed cars. Another important problem of trans- 

 portation under refrigeration in carload lots is being worked out 

 by some of the railways operating in the trucking section. This is 

 the shipping of mixed cars of vegetables to cities and towns too 

 small to handle a straight car of any particular sort. This will work 

 to the advantage of the small producer, for only the largest oper- 

 ators grow a sufficient quantity of any particular vegetable to enable 

 them to ship solid cars. 



" Pick-up " trains. A large proportion of the vegetable ship- 

 ment is, of necessity, handled in exactly the same way as fruit. 



