18 BULLETIN 331, U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 
The relation, however, of this form of decay to transportation con- 
ditions and the practicability of fresh-fruit shipping is well illus- 
trated in the data giving the results of the work in 1913. 
EFFECT OF DELAYED SHIPMENT ON KEEPING QUALITY. 
During the season of 1911 half of all the experimental lots of 
prunes were held for two clays in the warehouse before being placed 
in the precooling room or in the refrigerator car, in order to deter- 
mine the effect of delayed cooling and shipping. While it is generally 
recognized that delay in the cooling or shipping of any perishable 
fruit product is inadvisable from the standpoint of decay and condi- 
tion, in certain localities a delay of two or three days is of frequent 
occurrence. This is especially true where two to four days are 
IMMEDIATE DELAYED Z DAYS 
/=>E/3 CESVT DECA Y PEG CEA/T DEC A V 
1 ' TEN DAYS IN ICED CAR ' 1 ' T 
WS 3.7 ON WITHDRAWAL 4.0 ^H 
SIX OAYS LATER 160 
FIFTEEN DAYS IN ICED CAR 
[ 64 ON WITHDRAWAL 9* gg 
,8.3 SIX DAYS LATER ,»■■ ||| || | || [||| ||| 1||[|!| || |||[|||| 1 
TWENTY DAYS IN ICED CAR 
5.8 ON WITHDRAWAL 
SIX DAYS LATER 21.6 [ I, |l .| " , ' ■ M ;, ~ 
Fig. 5. — Diagram illustrating the percentages of decay in commercially handled nonpre- 
cooled prunes immediately loaded and those delayed two days in the warehouse before 
loading, Salem, Oreg., 1911. 
required to assemble a full carload, the fruit meantime being held in 
sheds or packing houses. 
Table V and figure 5 give a comparison of decay in commercially 
handled fruit loaded immediately and delayed two days in the pack- 
ing house before loading. After a transit period of 10 days the 
fruit immediately loaded had developed 3.7 per cent of decay and 
the delayed fruit 4 per cent. After a 15-day holding period the 
immediate and delayed lots had developed 6.4 per cent and 9.4 per 
cent of decay, respectively, and the immediately loaded fruit in 
transit 10 days and held 6 days under ordinary market conditions 
showed 8.6 per cent of decay, as against 16 per cent for the fruit 
delayed two days prior to shipment. While these differences are not 
as striking, or perhaps as consistent, as those found between care- 
fully and commercially handled fruit, they nevertheless indicate the 
necessity of prompt shipment after picking and packing. The seri- 
ousness of delay before loading and shipping will also depend largely 
upon the temperature conditions at harvesting time. If the tem- 
peratures are abnormally high, a delay of a few hours in the packing 
