PROCEEDINGS OF THIRTY-SIXTH FRUIT-GROWERS' CONVENTION. 177 



many claims for damage made. The usual time it has taken to reduce 

 the temperature of these cars has been from one and a quarter to two 

 hours. I experimented with cars in which the fruit temperature had 

 been reduced from seventy-six degrees to from forty-four to fifty-five 

 degrees, while the open air temperature would be ranging anywhere 

 from seventy-five to one hundred degrees in the shade, the fruit arrived 

 at destination without complaint. These statements may be verified 

 from the files in the office of the California Fruit Distributors in Sac- 

 ramento, through whom all my claims on loss in car loads are made. I 

 have with me a list of the precooled cars, the date when shipped and the 

 destination ; by a comparison of this list with their files will verify my 

 statement. 



With but two exceptions did I make known to the consignees what 

 cars were precooled and what were not, and no attempt was made to 

 get special reports upon the car; I took this method that I might 

 know the facts, for as my fruit is most usually sent to the f. o. b. 

 markets, and if it arrives without complaint, the draft is paid with 

 no grumble from the consignee, it becomes prima facie evidence to the 

 shipping fraternity that the condition of the fruit is above suspicion; 

 and when the fruit is delivered to the auction and sold at the best price 

 with no one to ''boost" the sale we are ready to accept the theory that 

 the fruit was all right. 



On one car I advised the consignee in New York, Mr. C. E. Thurston, 

 that a certain car was precooled, and asked him to note its condition; 

 this car sold at top price and the returns came back with the nota- 

 tion from him that "precooling was all right.'' On another occasion 

 I notified Messrs. Longfellow Bros. Company of Minneapolis to note 

 conditions of a precooled car. P. F. E. No. 6100, shipped on June 25th 

 with an initial icing only, and the following report was received from 

 them : 



"Green fruit from Newcastle, Gal., received by us this morning - ; peaches and 

 plums were in splendid condition, being firm and dry, and did not develop sweat 

 after unloading, although the day was quite warm. We believe that your system of 

 cooling fruit before it is loaded into the car will place the fruit on this market in 

 much better condition than the present plan of icing cars and loading the fruit while 

 warm. Wishing you success in your efforts to improve conditions in the fruit busi- 

 ness, we are, 



Sincerely yours. 



LOXGFELLOW BEOS. COMPANY.*' 



On August 27th. one of the hottest of the season, I loaded a mixed 

 car of peaches, precooled. into a car that was cooled by being vestibuled 

 to the cold room, with no ice, the car closed ; it left the next morning. 

 On September 7th the car was sold in Minneapolis auction, the twelfth 

 day from the picking, and this car of peaches and assorted grapes was 

 sold for $875, being the average price paid for fruit in that market that 

 day. 



Note that this car was not cooled by ice, was not iced en route, and 

 was in condition to sell at average price ; the cost of refrigeration was 

 only the cost of the precooling; the cost for hauling five and a half 

 tons of ice was saved the transportation companies, and the expense 

 of holding the trains, with five or six icings, was all saved, so far as 

 this car was concerned. All matters of great consequence to the rail- 

 road operating departments, which if could be applied to whole train 



12 — FGG 



