144 MODERN FRUIT MARKETING 
the pipe coils is cooled down and then conducted through 
a 6-foot tunnel to the outlet for each refrigerator car. 
The air is driven by means of a rotary fan. 
The cold air is conducted into the cars by means of 
flexible couplings, one of which is inserted in the vent 
opening of either end of the car. At first the warm air 
is drawn off and discharged outside and then as the 
car is cooled down the heated air, which is drawn from 
the fruit in the cars, is conducted back into the plant 
where it is again cooled down by coming in contact with 
the brine coils. Cold air is foreed through the cars at 
the rate of about 8,000 cubic feet a minute, reaching a 
velocity of from 30 to 40 miles an hour. It is first run 
in one direction for a little while and then reversed, so 
that all parts of the car will be equally cooled down. 
In the systems where the boxes are cooled before load- 
ing, the fruit is conducted through a cool room by means 
of an endless belt. This is so timed that, as each pack- 
age makes one complete revolution, the fruit is cooled 
to the desired temperature. Thus, by varying the speed 
of the carrier, to suit the various sizes and kinds of fruit 
only one handling is necessary. 
Moving the Fruit.—In carrying food products to the 
larger cities which constitute the main markets of the 
United States, the bulk of the fruit must be shipped long 
distances. In most cases it must cross two or three states 
and often go across the entire continent. There is ap- 
proximately half the population of the United States 
within a radius of 500 miles of the city of New York. 
Hence, the bulk of the fruit products must be sold 
within that radius. The transportation problems then 
enter largely into the business of moving fruit long 
