RHIZOPUS EOT OF STRAWBERRIES IN TRANSIT. 

 Table IV. — Effect of drying or heating strawberries. 



19 



Treatment of fruit, if any. 



Unwashed fruit. 



Number 

 of ber- 

 ries. 



Sound 



after 



arrival. 



Washed fruit. 



Number 

 of ber- 

 ries. 



Sound 



after 



arrival. 



Packed without drying or heating 



Exposed to air (21° C, 70° F.) in shade of packing house 



Exposed to sunlight (30° C. ; 86° F.) 



Spread on table covered with black cloth and placed in sun 

 temperature 36° C. (97° F.) 



396 

 430 

 412 



Per cent. 

 72 



Per cent. 

 69 



Observations at points of shipment and destination show that car 

 lots of berries picked and shipped on very warm days under similar 

 conditions of transit do not arrive at northern markets in such good 

 condition as those shipped during cooler weather. This further illus- 

 trates the fact that the temperature of the berries from the time they 

 are picked until placed under refrigeration influences their shipping 

 qualities. 



A final series of experiments was undertaken to substantiate further 

 the previous results in regard to the effect of washing fruit in clean 

 water and drying before packing. In this series, as before, shipments 

 were made in small iced containers, commercial refrigerators, and in 

 ventilated crates without refrigeration. Table V summarizes the re- 

 sults of these shipments. They agree with the former experiments in 

 showing the harmful effects of drying and emphasize the benefit de- 

 rived from packing the fruit wet, for berries treated in this manner 

 arrived at their destination in even better condition than those not 

 washed. 



Table V. — Effect of washing strawberries in clean water and of subsequent 



drying. 



Treatment of fruit, if any. 



Not washed , 



Washed in clean water aria packed wet 



Washed in clean water and dried before packing 



SUMMARY. 



The conclusions given here are drawn chiefly from field studies and 

 experiments made in Florida and Washington in the winter and 

 spring of 1916 and in Louisiana and Chicago in 1917. 



The deterioration of strawberries in transit may be due to the con- 

 dition of the berries at the time of shipment or to inadequate trans- 



