G4 THIRTY-FOURTH FRUIT-GROWERS ' CONVENTION. 



shipment of the fruit. The following- data are taken from a large 

 number of shipments, under "ventilation, from houses on the coast and 

 in the midvalley region, in which efforts have been made to handle the 

 fruit carefully. The shipments were made in cool weather. They 

 included apparently sound brushed and washed fruit, commercially 

 packed, brushed aiid w^ashed' fruit, iind mechanically injured oranges. 

 J^uplicate lots have been s;hi])ped to New York as soon as packed, and 

 two and four days later. The decay has been determined on the arnval 

 of the fruit in the market : 







Delay in Shipment. 





Character of Oranges. 













0. 



2 days. 



4 days. 



Average. 





Per cent. 



Per cent. 



Per cent. 



Per cent. 



Brushed, apparently sound 



0.1 



0.2 



0.9 



0.4 



Washed, apparently sound 



0.1 



0.6 



0.7 



0..5 



Brushed, commercially packed _ 



0.7 



0.8 



1.7 



1.1 



Washed, commercially packed _ _ ___ __ 



0.8 



1.4 



3.6 



1.9 



Mechanically iniured - _-_ _________ 



6.1 



12.4 



14.4 



11.0 



Average - _ _ _ _ 



1.6 



3.1 



4.3 





The decay in all of the shipments in the preceding table is of little 

 commercial importance, but like the results of previous years, it shows 



(1) the oranges that are handled the most simply develop the least 

 decay, while the fruit that is most injured develops the most decay; 



(2) the oranges shipped out quickh' after packing develop little decay, 

 w^hile the fruit that was delayed develop considerable decay, espe- 

 cially the injured fruit. 



THE MARKET HOLDING TESTS. 



In the market holding tests of 1908, the fruit has been handled in dif- 

 ferent ways in California, and the decay has been determined on the 

 arrival of the fruit in New York, and at the end of each succeedinu- 

 week after being stored at a temperature varying from 50 to 70 degrees. 

 The decay is invariably least in the carefully handled fruit, and greatest 

 in the fruit that is more or less mechanically injured. 



An example taken from a typical lot of fruit will suffice to illustrate 

 this phase of the work. The data show the decay of oranges packed 

 from the same bins, one lot representing the regular commercial pack 

 of the house, and another lot having the visible mechanically injured 

 oranges eliminated: 



Character of Oranges. 



Time of Inspection. 



On 

 Arrival. 



After 

 1 week. 



After 

 2 weeks. 



After 

 3 weeks. 



Apparently sound _ _ _ 

 Commercially packed _ _ _ . 



Per cent. 

 0.0 



1.0 



Per cent. 

 2.8 



4.6 



Per cent. 

 6.6 



11.3 



Per cent. 

 10.4 



14.6 



