: 
8 BULLETIN 664, U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 
quate, for in the heavy shipping season a large number are required. 
At a much greater number of places ready-made frames have never 
been seen. Then the making of some such device devolves upon the 
shipper. He will find that 2- by 4-inch lumber is commonly the most 
satisfactory material. The frame must be very rigidly constructed, 
and must fit the space in the car that is to be filled. After the 
frames are placed in position, a wedge may be driven down between 
them to make them tight. The lumber needed to make such a frame 
costs from 30 cents to $2, depending upon the size of the space to be 
filled. 
BRACING THE LOAD.’ 
Bracing is not needed when the number of cases in the load or the 
size of the car is such that the top layer of cases completely fills 
the car from bunker to bunker. Very commonly, however, there is 
a shortage of cases on the top layer, so that it does not extend from 
end to end or to the middle buffer. | 
The preliminary survey of the industrial practices showed that 
many loads were self braced—that is, the weight and position of 
packages were depended upon to keep them from shifting or roam- 
ing free over the interior of the car. Another practice is to nail 
beams over or in front of cases to be braced, the lumber being usu- 
ally a 2- by 4-inch strip. These beams are nailed to the walls of 
the car, either directly or by way of blocks. Obviously, these nails 
ruin the insulation of the refrigerator car and almost always fail 
to hold the brace. The 2 by 4 is commonly placed with the 4-inch 
side vertical, making the strain come against the weakest. dimension 
and causing it to snap. The time and expense in procuring, adjust- 
ing, and fastening these braces is practically wasted: (p. 26). 
This unsatisfactory condition led to a search for an efficient, cheap. 
and simple brace. In response to the need, a brace consisting of two 
2 by +s (fig. +), so placed across the width of the car that the 
Fic. 4.—Brace of 2 by 4’s to be used under cases and placed across the car to prevent 
shifting to top layer. 
row of cases immediately in front of the incomplete top layer is 
raised about 2 inches (fig. 3), has been developed. If the strips 
are laid on the floor, the placing of the load must be accurately 
planned to make sure that they are in the proper position. If the 
1 For the purposes of this report, the term “ bracing ’’ will express the means by which 
a lesser number of cases than a full layer are prevented from roaming during transit. 
