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APPLE MARKET INVESTIGATIONS, 1914-15. 13 
Great improvement could have been made in shipping bulk fruit. 
A number of cars arrived in bad condition, due principally to two 
causes. First, large quantities of undersized, wormy, bruised, and 
otherwise defective fruit were shipped in heavily loaded cars and 
decayed easily when subjected to the heat generated in fresh vege- 
table products placed in bulk. Furthermore, bulk fruit was shipped 
frequently in ordinary box cars. It was impossible properly to ven- 
tilate the fruit in these cars, although attempts were made in some 
cases to slat the doorways, thus ailowing a slight circulation of air. 
Some shippers used foresight and good judgment in ordering venti- 
lators far in advance of shipment, but it is impossible to secure this 
equipment at all times when the movement of fruit products is 
heavy. 
Many consignments of properly picked and graded bulk fruit 
arrived in very poor condition, because they were loaded in improp- 
erly constructed cars. Other consignments of bulk fruit, having been 
shipped under proper conditions, arrived at the markets in such good 
shape that the owners packed the fruit in barrels and placed it in 
cold storage. | 
In some cities the transportation companies provided for the fruit 
a minimum of protection from the weather. After a few days of con- 
tinuous rain in St. Louis, Mo., the investigator of this office visited 
the levee, where thousands of barrels had been stacked three tiers 
high. It was noted that the commission men had attempted to 
protect the barrels with tarpaulins, but this was insufficient. The 
coverings failed to cover all of the barrels, and those at the bottom 
of the stacks were thoroughly soaked also as the water ran down the 
levee. These barrels immediately swelled, the hoops split, and the 
heads and staves bulged. The fruit depreciated 25 cents or more per 
barrel on account of poor terminal facilities. 
GRADE AND PACKAGE LAWS. 
In New York State the effect of the apple grade and package law 
was studied. The law is mandatory and provides for four grades— 
“Fancy,” ‘‘A grade,” ‘‘B grade,” and ‘‘Unclassified.”” Very few 
erowers packed the ‘‘Fancy grade,’ because they thought its speci- 
fications too strict, and owing to the large crop and scarcity of labor 
there was a tendency to pack those grades which could be prepared 
most easily. 
The first year’s operation of this statute resulted in a marked 
improvement in the marketing of the apple crop of the State, and it 
is generally conceded that it has been very beneficial. It established 
confidence at a time when confidence was sorely needed. Its grades 
for the most part proved to be a common language between the 
