176 PROCEEDINGS OF THIRTY-SIXTH FRUIT-GROWERS ' CONVENTION. 



This experiment was conducted during the extreme heat of an extreme 

 season and proved beneficial. These experiments were conducted from 

 my office, with the cooperation of the fruit shippers of Newcastle. We 

 had free access to the valuable data obtained from Mr. Powell's obser- 

 vations and notes. Frequent discussions led us to believe that if the 

 fruit could be precooled by the single box before placing in the car. 

 quicker and better results would be obtained. Mechanics of inventive 

 talent and experts in refrigeration were consulted, combined with those 

 having experience in handling of fruit and knew its weaknesses and 

 some of its possibilities. The situation was studied, the conclusions 

 reached from observation, that fruit shipped under ice with no previous 

 preparation was inclined to arrive at destination damp, and this damp- 

 ness would create a mold that would be injurious to the fruit. It was 

 also demonstrated by the Government experts that ripening proceeds 

 much more rapidly when a fruit is severed from the tree, so that it 

 comes nearer the point of decay in a few hours, or days, than it would 

 have been if left hanging on the tree in the same temperature for a 

 much longer period; therefore, the ripening must be checked as soon 

 as possible after picking to prevent premature decay. 



Experiments show that mold grows in the room in which the fruit 

 is placed, if the air in the room is moist, and the flavor deteriorates 

 if the air is impure, especially is this true as regards mold upon grapes. 

 Dry cold air will prevent the development of rot. and pure air pre- 

 serves the delicate quality of the fruit. Therefore, a dry cold pure air 

 is ideal for the preservation of fruit and to maintain its natural quality. 



The conclusions reached were these : The successful transportation of 

 perishable fruits in refrigeration depends, primarily, upon the sound 

 condition of the fruit; upon cooling it as soon as possible after it has 

 been picked ; on shipping it in packages which cool quickly thoughout ; 

 on a dry, pure, cold air, uniformly distributed in the car. or compart- 

 ment, and on a free circulation of such air throughout the packages, and 

 this cooling process should not cease until the pit. or center of the fruit, 

 has been as completely cooled as the surface, for practical results. 



With these ideas, and to reach the results sought after, a unique and 

 practical machine was invented, which conveyed single packages of 

 fruit through insulated compartments through which a stream of dry 

 cold air was forced, and the fruit cooled thoroughly to the center, and 

 to any desired temperature. This was done by the ammonia process, 

 instead of ice. From this machine the fruit should be landed in a 

 cooled room, which is vestibuled with a precooled car and this car 

 loaded and closed up and shipped through to destination with the initial 

 icing. Cars so treated will carry to any market in the United States 

 without reicing, and will arrive dry and in sound condition. At least, 

 that has been my experience and observation from my experiments with 

 fifty-seven cars precooled with this process during the season of 1909, 

 and in this season of scarcity of cars and poverty of ice. Of these 

 fifty-seven cars thus treated there has been but one claim made for loss 

 and damage in transit, and that car was precooled on Saturday and 

 left standing in the open air until the Tuesday following, waiting for 

 a car to come to be loaded into; three days in the heat nullified the 

 preeooling, I suppose, and bad results followed. I shipped an equal 

 number of cars during the season that was not precooled, and there was 



