34 



BULLETIN 63, U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGEICULTURE. 



The prevailing opinion that fruit packed soon after picking or before it has had 

 time to cure will arrive in slack condition has not been borne out by the bureau inves- 

 tigations. WTien the fresh fruit is firmly and properly placed in the box, it is no more 

 liable to make a slack pack than is the cured fruit. It is probably true that the latter 

 can be more easily packed, for less effort is required to press it into the box. The 

 work of many rapid packers who make no effort to place the oranges firmly and who 

 rely upon the press to squeeze the fruit into place, is conducive to poor carrying 

 quality as well as to slackness. Each layer must be properly placed. Wherethe press 

 is depended upon to shove the fruit down into the box the force exerted reaches through 

 only two or three layers and often squeezes the oranges in* these to the extent of break- 

 ing the skin or inflicting serious bruises. After the boxes are loaded on the cars, 

 jolting during transit loosens the improperly packed layers, and the fruit arrives on 

 the market in a slack condition. "^^Tien every orange is firmly placed, however, there 

 is little chance that such slackening will result. 



Moreover, fruit held loose in the packing house during warm, humid weather is 

 afforded an additional opportunity for blue-mold infection. Although some packers 



Fig. 16. — Diagram illustrating the percentage of blue-mold decay of oranges on arrival in Washington 

 and after holding for three weeks, in carefully handled and commercially handled lots and in 

 immediate and delayed shipments, 1911-12. 



consider this delay necessary in order to eliminate the injured oranges which have 

 begun to decay, experience and observation show that while graders are occasionally 

 able to discern and throw out such fruits, it is practically impossible to discover all 

 infected specimens. The development of blue mold during the curing period accounts 

 for the advanced stages of the decay usually found in delayed shipments on arrival 

 in market. 



The average length of time during which the experimental shipments were in tran- 

 sit from Florida to Washington was 10 days; as a rule, from 8 to 10 days are required 

 for Florida oranges to arrive at their destination. Several days may then elapse before 

 the fruit is sold, and a still longer period usually intervenes before it is placed in the 

 hands of the consumer. The 3-weeks' period used in the Washington market-holding 

 tests represents approximately the length of time required to finally dispose of the 



