PROCEEDINGS OF THIRTY-SIXTH FRUIT-GROWERS ' CONVENTION. 185 



days after arrival. Last year twenty-two shipments were made. 

 This year thirty shipments were put through. In each car there 

 was an experimental series consisting of eight crates or boxes: two 

 were the ordinary commercial pack, two were a careful commercial 

 pack put up either by ourselves or a careful packer working under our 

 supervision. In this careful pack we attempted to do nothing more 

 than to be sure that the bunches were carefully culled and placed in 

 the baskets without further injury. All the careful packs were put up 

 in two-basket crates. Along with these crates were two boxes each of 

 the same fruit packed in ground cork and redwood sawdust. One crate 

 or box of each pack was placed on the bottom tier of the car and one 

 of each on the top tier. In each car. therefore, we had the same fruit 

 handled in different ways, thus eliminating all factors except the han- 

 dling. This year we have obtained data on the equivalent of about 250 

 crates, or sufficient to place the work on a practical basis. 



TABLE 2. 



iverage Percentages of Decay in Shipments of Tokay Grapes from Lodi to New York. 

 September and October, 1909. 





Commer- 

 cial Pack 

 Crates. 



Careful 

 Pack 



Crates. 



Packed in 

 Ground 

 Cork 

 Boxes. 



Packed in 

 Redwood 

 Sawdust 

 Boxes. 



On arrival- 

 Bottom tier -- _- _-- 



4.06 

 7.51 



0.85 

 1.63 



0.79 

 2.11 



0.33 

 0.31 







o.7S 



1.24 



1.45 



0.32 



Three days after arrival — 

 Bottom* tier ... ______ 



8.96 

 11.62 



1.95 

 4.51 



2.95 

 2.40 



0.62 

 0.75 



Top tier 



Average __ 



10.29 



3.23 



2.68 



0.69 



Five days after arrival — 



Bottom tier .__ - . __ 



12.68 

 18.88 



3.67 

 8.73 



4.94 

 4.36 



0.81 

 0.82 



Top tier 



Average - _. _. . - 



15.78 



6.20 



4.65 



0.81 



Seven days after arrival — 

 Bottom tier . . _ 



18.66 

 21.78 



6.53 

 13.35 



5.75 

 5.70 



1.03 

 1.37 



Top tier... _ _ ... _ _ 



Average. .___ ._ __ ______ _ 



20.22 



9.94 



5.73 



1.20 





1 



In Table 2 and accompanying chart the data from all the shipments 

 have been brought together and show the actual percentages of decay 

 found in the different lots on arrival and up to a week later, the fruit 

 being held under open market conditions. These data show a wide 

 difference between the commercially packed and the carefully packed 

 crates and between the bottom and top tiers in the cars. The average 

 on arrival in the commercial crates was 4.06 per cent on the bottom 

 tier and .85 per cent in the careful pack at the same place in the ear. 

 On the top tier the figures are 7.51 per cent and 1.63 per cent, respec- 

 tively. These differences were maintained during the time the fruit 

 was held. Three days after arrival the commercial pack showed 8.96 

 per cent on the bottom tier and 11.62 per cent on the top. The figures 



