HANDLING, SHIPPING, AND STORAGE OF BARTLETT PEARS. 7 



In Oregon the Rogue River Valley Bartletts carry the best of any 

 in that State and are comparable to the Sacramento River fruit. 

 Pears from the Salem district ripen quickly and must be handled 

 more promptly after the removal from the tree. In Washington much 

 difficulty has been experienced in handling Bartletts from the Yak- 

 ima and Wenatehee Valleys for eastern shipment. The fruit ripens 

 rapidly and has a tendency to ripen first at the core. By using the 

 best methods of precooling, shippers have been successful in handling 

 the fruit from the Yakima Valley, though severe losses are still en- 

 countered in attempting to ship the Wenatehee grown Bartletts to 

 eastern markets. 



From a survey of the fruit as grown under the widely varying 

 climatic conditions of the Pacific coast, it is apparent that a marked 

 relationship exists between the keeping quality of Bartlett pears fol- 

 lowing their removal from the tree and the summer temperatures 

 under which the fruit is grown. These observations have been made 

 entirely in the pear regions on the Pacific coast, and no attempt has 

 been made to check them by tests in the eastern producing States. 



The records of the United States Weather Bureau for various 

 points in each of the main Bartlett pear-producing sections have been 

 obtained, and from these records the average daily maximum and 

 minimum temperatures for June, July, and August have been com- 

 puted. These records are averages for a large number of years. The 

 temperature records together with notes on the earning quality of 

 the fruit following removal from the tree are summarized in Table 1. 



In certain instances it has been impossible to secure Weather 

 Bureau records of the average daily maximum and minimum tem- 

 peratures directly in the main pear-producing regions. However, it 

 has been possible to obtain data sufficiently complete to give a very 

 good idea of the general temperature range. As these studies have 

 been carried on, it has become increasingly evident that the summer 

 growing-season temperatures are of great importance in the develop- 

 ment of fruit that has a long keeping season. 



Bartlett pears grown in the Antelope Valley and other very hot 

 districts in California have a widely known reputation for keeping 

 quality. Often the summer temperatures in this region run to 

 115° F. The upper Sacramento Valley and foothills of the Sierra 

 Nevada Mountains, also having high temperatures during the grow- 

 ing season, produce pears that can be shipped to any point in the 

 United States. Such fruit is loaded into iced refrigerator cars, 

 shipped without previous precooling, and unless unexpected delays 

 occur usuiilly arrives on the markets in excellent condition. 



Pears ('torn the lower Sacramento Valley, in the region between 

 Sacramento and the mouth of the river, are also very good shippers, 

 although occasional trouble is encountered. This is especially true 

 of fruit from the lower and cooler portion of this region. In this 



