MARKETING 



97 



Refrigerator ears are almost essential for shipment except 

 during the late fall. In warm weather their insulation protects 

 from high outside temperatures. In cold weather, they pro- 

 tect the fruit from freezing. Their use has increased 

 enormously. 



It takes many hours to cool fruit that is put in the car at 

 warm temperatures. Ordinarily fruit registers about 75° F. 

 when loaded, or 43° higher than the ice temperature. The 

 rate at which the fruit cools depends largely on its position 

 in the car. The warmest area is in the top layer midway 

 between the door and the bunker. The coldest area is in the 

 bottom layer adjacent to the bunker. Fruit placed at 75° 

 to 80° F. in the car may reach about 45° F. in 12 hours in the 

 bottom layer whereas it may require from 6 to 7 days for the 

 fruit in the top layer to reach 50° F. 



Before the cold air can penetrate to the centers of the pack- 

 ages and cool the fruit properly in all layers, the car may be 

 well on the way to its destination and early and soft varieties 

 of fruit may have ripened considerably. It is desirable, there- 

 fore, to load the fruit in the cool of the morning, to put it in so 

 as to facilitate air movement as much as possible, and to ar- 

 range for re-icing of the car en route as may be necessary. 



In some sections it will be necessary in severe weather to 

 afford additional protection against freezing by lining the car 

 with paper, putting straw on the floor, and using heaters. 



Ventilator cars are available on some railroads. They do 

 not provide for icing but are built to permit circulation of air 

 through the car. They are used for fall and winter varieties 

 shipped after the weather is cool but before temperatures are 

 severe. Refrigerator cars are used as ventilator cars for the 

 late and hard varieties of apples when outside temperatures 

 have become sufficiently cool. In such cases the ice is omitted 

 from the bunkers and the hatches are opened when the out- 

 side temperature is cold enough for refrigeration but not low 

 enough to cause freezing. 



Little has been done as yet in pre-cooling apples in special 



