104 PROCEEDINGS OF THIRTY-THIRD FRUIT-GROWERS ' CONVENTION. 



the season just closing have been 10,912 cars, nearly a thousand more 

 than last year. From southern California the shipments via all lines 

 were 27,533 cars of citrus fruit and 3,477 cars of vegetables. 



The prospect for this season is good. Since October 1st over 450 

 cars of deciduous fruit and 1,400 cars of oranges and lemons have been 

 shipped from northern California — a far greater number than during 

 last year's corresponding period. The present outlook for the south- 

 ern California citrus fruit crop is 32,000 cars, and 4,000 cars of vege- 

 tables—this season, altogether, spelling prosperity in capital letters for 

 California fruit-growers. There has been no shortage of cars so far 

 save a very temporary delay in getting in a supply to the Porterville 

 district, a trouble quickly remedied by borrowing from our neighbor; 

 and without minimizing the difficulty in distributing cars in the face of 

 a tremendous freight movement, the Pacific Fruit Express and the 

 Southern Pacific expect to meet the situation throughout the winter 

 satisfactorily. 



The ice shortage of last season is being met by the construction 

 by the Pacific Fruit Express of two great ice-making plants, one at 

 Colton and one at Roseville, to supplement the private companies' sup- 

 plies; and other plants will be built if needed. Other cars will be 

 constructed as business demands. 



The precooling process has not quite passed from an experimental 

 stage. The system being experimented with at Roseville bids fair to 

 prove satisfactory; if so, it will mark a great improvement in fruit 

 transportation, and the gentlemen originating it are to be heartily con- 

 gratulated. 



The refrigerator cars are not only expensive, but because of their 

 weight and their relatively less carrying capacity than ordinary box 

 cars, they are not economical cars to use in the transportation of the 

 majority of other classes of freight. The gentlemen here present in- 

 terested in the dried-fruit and canned-fruit industries are therefore 

 more concerned with the prospect for increase in other equipment, such 

 as box cars; and you are all concerned with the condition, of motive 

 power. But I wish to say here, that we are called upon to face a 

 peculiar situation in the matter of car supply for the fruit industry. Of 

 the total tonnage loaded on Southern Pacific cars last year, only 5.78 

 per cent — less than 6 per cent — was fruit of any kind : green, dried, or 

 canned. I suppose the green deciduous fruit aside from oranges repre- 

 sented about 1 per cent, and with oranges possibly 3 per cent. The fig- 

 ures for local movements are not easy to obtain. Our total freight 

 equipment last year was 44,294 cars. The Pacific Fruit Express has 

 for service 6,600 cars, or about 15 per cent of those devoted to other 

 service. 



These figures indicate relatively how well the fruit traffic has been 



