BEGINNINGS IN CALIFORNIA 45 



ment was in poor condition at arrival and consequently at 

 receiving a low price, even though the shipment might be 

 in fact perfectly sound. Besides, with the wide changes 

 in price from day to day it was comparatively easy to 

 manipulate the . ostensible date of sale forward or back- 

 ward by a day or two in order to indicate a poor price to 

 the owner, even if the consignment had actually been sold 

 on a strong market. In short, the grower was absolutely 

 dependent on the integrity of his agent. 

 ./ Another cause of confusion was the transportation situa- 

 tion. If citrus fruits are to reach the market in the best 

 condition ordinary freight service is out of the question. 

 Their susceptibility to heat and cold necessitates special pre- 

 cautions throughout the year. About half of the orange 

 crop goes forward under ventilation and half under re- 

 frigeration, and it is highly important in either case that 

 the cars receive constant attention en route : for ventilation, 

 to see that the vents are in the proper position; for re- 

 frigeration, to see that the ice bunkers are kept reasonably 

 full and that the drains are in order. As the boxes are 

 loaded in the cars with air spaces between the several rows, 

 rough handling may result in a shifted load which, unless 

 it is remedied, may cause havoc before the car reaches its 

 destination. Though mechanically sound oranges and 

 lemons are far from highly perishable products, decay de- 

 velops rapidly in any abrasion of the skin and will spread 

 to uninjured fruit. Since there is sure to be some damaged 

 fruit in every shipment, an expedited railway service is re- 

 quired if the percentage of decay is to be kept low. Cars 

 must not be shunted to a side track and await the railway's 

 convenience for moving them. Under the old plan of in- 

 dividual shipments the shipper was compelled to take the 

 railroad's word for the kind of attention the car received 

 en route and for the condition of the fruit on arrival. What 



