10 



BULLETIN 331, U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 



or lower. The transfer to the iced car was made without exposing 

 the cooled fruit to contact with the warmer air outside. 



Table II. — Decay in precooled and nonprecooled cherries, commercially han- 

 dled, Willamette Valley, season of 1911. 



Time in iced car. 



Time and treatment and extent of 

 decay (percent). 



On withdrawal. 



Pre- 

 cooled. 



Nonpre- 

 cooled. 



Two days after 

 withdrawal. 



Pre- 

 cooled. 



Nonpre- 

 cooled. 



5 days. 

 10 days 

 15 days 



2.2 

 6.6 



3.2 

 9.2 



13.5 



10.2 

 12.7 

 17.1 



10.2 

 15.1 

 20.9 



The decay on withdrawal at the end of a 10-day transit period 

 is fairly representative of the general results of the precooling tests. 

 The precooled, commercially handled fruit at the end of 10 days 

 showed 6.6 per cent of decay, while the nonprecooled fruit showed 

 9.2 per cent of decay, and after holding on the market for two days 

 the precooled fruit developed 12.7 per cent of decay and the non- 

 precooled 15.1 per cent of decay. A comparison of the differences 

 between the precooled and nonprecooled lots in Table II with the 

 differences between the carefully and commercially handled fruit 

 in Table I will serve to emphasize strongly the fundamental im- 

 portance of careful handling. In interpreting the precooling re- 

 sults, however, one should bear in mind the fact that the nonpre- 

 cooled lots were placed in a partially filled, well-iced refrigerator 

 car and that these crates cooled more quickly than they would in a 

 full carload in transit. Greater differences in decay and condition 

 between precooled and nonprecooled fruit would naturally be ex- 

 pected under actual shipping conditions. One difference not brought 

 out in the tables or charts is that of appearance, the precooled fruit 

 being uniformly and consistently much brighter and fresher than 

 the nonprecooled. 



EFFECT OF DELAY IN LOADING AND COOLING. 



Table III and figure 3 illustrate very strikingly the importance 

 of handling the fruit from the tree to the refrigerator car or of 

 delivering it to the carrier or transportation company with the least 

 delay possible. 



Table III gives the decay in comparable lots of fruit, one half of 

 which had been picked, packed, and shipped immediately, the other 

 half being delayed two days before placing in the refrigerator car. 

 At the end of a 5-day transit period the immediate lots showed 3.2 



