1320 
in the carefully handled lots and 5.8 per 
cent of decay in the commercial pack of 
the same fruit. Moreover, this difference 
was maintained after arrival in New 
York. The grapes were held for a week 
under open-market conditions, and de- 
terminations of the decay were made 
three, five and seven days after arrival. 
The carefully handled lots were still in 
merchantable condition five days after ar- 
rival, with an average of 5.2 per cent of 
decay, or less than the average decay 
found in the commercial packs on the 
day of arrival. 
The decay in the commercial packs had 
reached 15.8 per cent five days after be- 
ing received, and they were far past a 
marketable condition. The carefully 
handled lots had a great advantage aside 
from their better and sounder condition, 
in that they were in fit shape to be re- 
shipped from large centers to smaller 
surrounding towns, thus allowing a much 
wider distribution and extension of the 
market. The importance of this fact can 
best be appreciated when considered in 
connection with the problems of overpro- 
duction and the possibilities of increas- 
ing the sale and use of the fruit. AS 
long as the commercial packs continue 
to arrive at or near the limit of decay 
commercially allowable, the possibilities 
of reshipment are extremely limited and 
the market for the fruit is cut down ac- 
cordingly. 
In the careful-handling experiments 
with grapes and oranges nothing has 
‘been attempted which can not be done 
under commercial conditions. In the case 
of citrus fruits the piecework system has 
been changed to the day-payment plan, 
thus doing away with the tendency to 
rapid and careless work. In the grape 
industry no such radical change is neces- 
‘sary, as the day-payment plan largely 
prevails, but the pickers, packers, and ail 
those who handle the fruit must be im- 
pressed with the necessity of doing their 
several operations with the utmost care. 
The fault lies largely in requiring as 
much and as rapid work to be done in a 
day as possible. Nearly every grower 
knows or believes that care is necessary, 
ENCYCLOPEDIA OF PRACTICAL HORTICULTURE 
but very few realize how much damage 
is really due to requiring their help to 
work at topmost speed in order to get 
the work done as cheaply as possible. In 
many instances growers are astounded 
when informed of the amount of injury 
which is done. In the hurry and anxiety 
to get off as much as possible and 
to hasten all operations, the bruises, the 
scratches, and the punctures which re- 
sult are too often overlooked. 
Naturally it will cost more to handle 
the fruit carefully. At first sight it seems 
unreasonable to advocate spending more 
money in preparing fruit for market dur- 
ing seasons of low prices, but it has been 
found to be good business policy to make 
the increased expenditure. The saving 
in the quantity of sound fruit gotten to 
market will alone very nearly balance 
the increased cost. Using the average 
percentages of decay in the carefully 
handled and the commercial packs of 
grapes already noted, the saving in favor 
of careful handling amounts to nearly 
45 crates per car, or a full carload of 
grapes tor every 21 shipped, and this 
does not take into consideration the in- 
crease in market value and consequent 
salability of the sounder fruit, the price 
of fresh fruit being always depreciated 
by the presence of decay. 
What has been found to be true in the 
grape industry applies with equal force 
to all other branches of fruit growing. 
Sound fruit of good quality, honestly and 
uniformly graded and packed, is the 
fundamental factor upon which the suc- 
cess of the business depends. 
Refrigeration 
Another factor of prime importance in 
the successful shipping of fresh fruits 
long distances is quick and efficient re- 
frigeration. The deciduous fruits are all 
shipped during warm weather and must 
be kept cool while in transit. The full 
transcontinental trip requires usually 
from 12 to 14 days, which may be com- 
parable to a period of about two weeks 
in cold storage. 
As already stated, it has been found 
that the ripening processes are hastened 
