60 



CIRCULAR 773, U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE 



Average decay of fruits was lowest (0.6 percent) in nectarines and 

 highest (4.5 percent) in figs. Most of the figures were well within a 

 much narrower range and the average for all 14 fruits was 2.1 percent. 



A total of 101,093 inspections was made on vegetables. Although 

 over 2,500 carlots of potatoes, the most important commodity, were 

 inspected, they represent only 3 percent of the rail unloads of that 

 commodity. Likewise for onions and cucumbers the percentage of 

 rail unloads inspected was low. The same was true for sweetpotatoes, 

 for which rail shipments were not of great importance. The percent- 

 age of rail shipments inspected of other vegetables was for the most part 

 very high, ranging from 23 to 78 percent for 23 commodities. The 

 average inspection coverage for all 31 vegetables was 36.1 percent of 

 rail shipments. 



Table 40. — Summary of statistics on inspections of various commodities, 1935-42 



Commodity 



Fruits: 



Apples 



Apricots 



Cherries 



Figs 



Grapefruit 



Grapes 



Nectarines 



Oranges 



Peaches 



Pears 



Plums (and fresh 



prunes) 



Pomegranates 



Strawberries 



Tangerines 



Average ' or total. .. 



Vegetables: 

 "Anise" (nnocchio)... 



Artichokes (globe) 



Asparagus 



Beans (lima) 



Beans (snap) 



Beets 



Broccoli 



Brussels sprouts 



Carlots 





inspected 









Average 

 decay 







Per- 

 centage 



Total 



per 



carlot 



of rail 

 unloads 



spected 





Percent 



Number 



Percent 



13 



3,265 



2.9 



13 



182 



.8 



20 



801 



2.4 



9 



18 



4.5 



6 



1,157 



1.2 



7 



3,271 



3.4 



10 



78 



.6 



1 



1,034 



1.1 



11 



2,258 



1.9 



7 



1,405 



2.5 



17 



1,974 



1.8 



55 



97 



.7 



24 



913 



2.4 



7 



67 



2.5 



14.3 



16, 520 



2.1 



47 



377 



9.2 



23 



430 



6.4 



31 



1,252 



2.8 



36 



183 



.9 



16 



2,175 



.5 



55 



1,689 



1.2 



46 



2,445 



1.2 



78 



463 



1.5 



Commodity 



Vegetables— Continued 



Cabbage 



Carrots 



Cauliflower 



Celery 



Corn (green) 



Cucumbers 



Endive (chicory) 



Escarole 



Lettuce 



Muskmelons: 



Cantaloups 



Honey Dew melons . 

 Honey Ball and 



mixed melons 



Onions 



Parsley 



Peas 



Peppers 



Potatoes 



Radishes 



Rhubarb 



Shallots 



Spinach 



Sweetpotatoes 



Tomatoes 



Average l or total... 



Carlots 



inspected 



Per- 

 centage 



Total 



of rail 

 unloads 



spected 



Percent 



Number 



23 



4,597 



54 



12,344 



57 



4,596 



20 



4,757 



35 



344 



5 



414 



62 



607 



9 



322 



52 



24, 737 



36 



3,294 



55 



4,181 



63 



2,415 



4 



856 



76 



816 



53 



8,676 



23 



659 



3 



2,534 



37 



278 



25 



247 



17 



131 



37 



5,018 



3 



38 



38 



10, 218 



36.1 



101, 093 



Average 



decay 



per 



carlot 



Percent 



8.2 



1.6 



.7 



6.6 



.1 



2.0 



11.7 



8.4 



11.5 



6.7 

 2.2 



4.3 

 5.0 

 2.3 



.9 

 3.6 

 1.0 

 1.1 

 3.7 



.3 

 7.3 

 1.8 

 2.9 



1 Not weighted. 



Average decay in vegetable commodities was lowest in corn (0.1 

 percent) and highest in endive (11.7 percent), with an average of 3.8 

 percent for all. Thus, it will be seen that the average decay was near- 

 ly twice as much in vegetables as in fruits. However, in many vege- 

 tables — particularly the leafy ones, which are normally trimmed some- 

 what — the presence of decay is not always very important from a 

 commercial, or sales, angle. Likewise, decay that affects parts of the 

 vegetable that are not consumed — such, for example, as leaves of 

 cauliflower, wrapper leaves of cabbage, or tops of carrots — may not 

 reduce the edible portion or the quality of the vegetable, particularly 



