Refrigerator Cars. 467 
it may pay to ship in iced cars, particularly if the 
weather is very warm. In shipping fruit in’ iced 
ears, it is important to know that the car should 
be iced some time in advance of its receiving the 
fruit. This is for the purpose of completely eool- 
ing off the ear. The ice should be put in at least 
six hours in advance of the loading, if possible, and 
a longer time is very often advisable. The trans- 
portation companics should be notified in advance of 
the number and route of the cars which are ship- 
ping, in order that the ice may be renewed at the 
necessary intervals. It may be said, also, that the 
ear should not be completely filled with fruit. The 
upper part of the car is apt to be very hot, 
especially in summer, and if space is left above 
the fruit there is better opportunity for ventilation. 
About three hundred bushels of fruit in bushel 
packages should be the limit of the amount in any 
one ear. 
Earle writes* as follows upon shipping im _ re- 
frigerated ears : 
“Many difficulties and much prejudice were formerly en- 
eountered in shipping fruits under refrigeration. Dealers and 
buyers were afraid to handle fruits that had been on ice, 
claiming that they would melt down and spoil as soon as 
they were removed to the warmer air. This belief was wide- 
spread and deeply seated, and it has taken much time and 
many practical demonstrations to fully convince the trade of 
its falsity. It probably originated in attempts to save fruit 
that was already over-ripe, and on the verge of spoiling, by 
placing it in the ice-box. Such fruit will be preserved for 
*F. S. Earle, Bull. 79, Ala. Exp. Sta. 
