UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE 
BULLETIN No. 729 
Contribution from Bureau of Markets 
CHARLES J. BRAND, Chief 

Washington, D. C. July 24, 1918 
SUITABLE STORAGE CONDITIONS FOR CERTAIN 
PERISHABLE FOOD PRODUCTS. 
APPLES, POTATOES, SWEET POTATOES, ONIONS, CABBAGE, EGGS, 
FROZEN EGGS, POULTRY, BUTTER, AND FISH. 
INTRODUCTION. 
| Fas a number of years the Department of Agriculture has been ac- 
cumulating information concerning the factors which influence the 
keeping of various perishable farm products in storage. Some of this 
information has been published in various bulletins of the department, 
but much of it has not been made available in convenient form for the 
use of those operating storage warehouses. Recently the Federal Re- 
serve Board requested the Department of Agriculture to furnish it 
with information as to “proper storage conditions,” “length of storage” 
and “percentage of shrinkage in storage” for each of several perish- 
able commodities which might be considered sufficiently staple to re- 
ceive the benefit of the preferential rate of rediscount in connection 
with loans made by member banks against warehouse receipts for such 
products “properly graded, packed and stored in weather-proof and 
responsible warehouses.” This information has been prepared on ap- 
ples, potatoes, sweet potatoes, cnions, cabbage, eggs, frozen eggs, poul- 
try, butter and fish and for convenience it has been tabulated in the 
form of a folding chart or table. (See envelope in back cover of this 
bulletin.) 
The data contained in this chart represent the results of investiga- 
tions and observations made by various workers in the Department 
of Agriculture. While the information given is not complete and may 
not, in all cases, represent ideal conditions of storage, it gives methods 
and conditions which thus far have been found to produce the most 
satisfactory results. 
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