2 BULLETIN 331, "U. S. DEPARTMENT OP AGRICULTURE. 



ley is on the west side of the Cascade Range, and the climate is con- 

 siderably more humid than in most of the other fruit-producing 

 sections on the Pacific coast. Because of this humid climate and the 

 frequent rains during the harvesting season, both cherries and prunes 

 may split or crack badly before or at maturity, and oftentimes they 

 are attacked by brown-rot, so common in peaches and stone fruits 

 in different sections of the country. 



During the season of 1911 an investigation of the relationship of 

 handling and precooling to the behavior of sweet cherries and prunes 

 in transit to the market was commenced at Salem, Oreg. The work 

 was undertaken in response to urgent requests from the Salem Fruit 

 Union, a cooperative marketing organization of growers at that time 

 handling most of the prunes grown in this district, as well as most 

 of the cherries marketed in a fresh condition. The Department of 

 Agriculture had the hearty cooperation of the members of this asso- 

 ciation and the growers generally. The Salem Fruit Union con- 

 structed in their warehouse at Salem a small precooling plant de- 

 signed by the department. This plant was put at the disposal of the 

 department, giving most excellent facilities for experimental work 

 in the handling and precooling of various deciduous fruits. Because 

 of the cooperation mentioned and the facilities offered in the way, of 

 precooling equipment, Salem was considered an ideal place for ex- 

 periments in both the handling and precooling of such fruits as 

 prunes and sweet cherries. 



PURPOSE OF THE INVESTIGATIONS. 



The investigations were planned with a view of ascertaining pri- 

 marily the relation of two factors, handling and precooling, to the 

 decay of these fruits in transit and on the market when shipped in 

 a fresh or green state. The term " green " in this discussion is used 

 to designate fruit shipped fresh, in contrast to' fruit canned or evapo- 

 rated. If a considerable proportion of the crop could be successfully 

 shipped in this way during certain seasons, it would tend greatly to 

 steady and stabilize the industry and permit its further profitable 

 extension. The results would also indicate the important relation- 

 ship of methods of handling to the decay of such fruits in transit 

 and on the market, no matter where grown. 



During the seasons of 1911 and 1913, the two seasons during which 

 these investigations were carried on, the conditions were extremely 

 unfavorable for green-fruit shipping, frequent rains interrupting 

 both the sweet-cherry and prune picking during the harvesting sea- 

 sons. The results obtained, however, particularly from the careful- 

 handling experiments, are entirely consistent with the previous re- 

 sults of the department's fruit handling and transportation investi- 

 gations. While the work in the Willamette Valley did not extend 



