470 The Principles of Fruit-growing. 
ears. Each line, of course, claims to have the best cars; and 
tor difficult service there would certainly be considerable choice 
between them, but with the numerous re-icing stations that are 
now available, any of them will give satisfactory service, if 
properly loaded and handled. 
“The main points to consider in selecting a refrigerator car 
for transporting produce are first, its ice capacity, and second, 
its insulation. The ice tanks should hold at least five tons of 
ice, and six tons is even better. The position of the tanks, 
whether overhead or at the ends, is a question of minor im- 
portance. The car should be tightly built, with double walls 
and roof, with the space between them filled in with some non- 
conducting material, or by numerous linings of building paper, 
with dead air spaces between them. The doors should be built 
like the walls, and be of the same thickness; and they should 
fit as nearly air-tight as possible. Of course the car should be 
sweet and clean. 
“It is usual for the refrigerator companies to furnish their 
own men for loading the ears, for proper loading is a point of 
so much importance that they do not care to trust the repu- 
tation of their cars to inexperienced men. The important points 
to secure in loading are first, that the packages be so spaced 
that the cold air has immediate access to all sides of them, and 
second, that they be so secured that the load cannot shift by 
the bumping of the cars while in transit. These points are 
usually secured by piling the crates or other packages one 
above another in tiers or ranks, from three to six inches 
apart, and with lath or strips between each layer. Strips are 
placed upright against the end of the car, and a row of 
packages is placed on tho floor, with the ends svt snugly 
against these strips, and carefully spaced. Light half-inch 
strips, as long as the width of the ear, are placed aeross 
the ends of the packages; and the front one is nailed down 
with w light nail to the heal of cach package, {o prevent 
side shifting. Another row of packages is placed on these 
strips, each one directly above one in the lower row. These 
are again stripped and nailed, and so on to the top. The 
