HAXDLIXG LETTUCE AXD CELERY. 
17 
to the fact that really first-class lettuce was very scarce in 1914-15 
and that it was hard, to classify small leafy heads as prime even 
though they showed no signs of decay. However, the inspections were 
made on as nearly the same basis as possible during both seasons. 
The percentages of marketable heads in the 1914-15 holding lots were 
fully as large, in general, as in the previous season. The effect of 
careful handling is clearly shown in Table VIII and figure 12. For 
the first inspection of the nonprecooled lots the average percentage 
of prime heads was 46.4 in the carefully handled lots and only 11.5 
in the commercially handled lots, a fourfold difference in favor of 
careful handling. At the second inspection of the same lettuce 
PRECOOLED NON PRECOOLED 
AFTER SIX DAYSJNJCED CAR 
M PER CENT DECAY 
PER CENT DECAY 
70 60 SO 40 30 20 
30 30 40 SO 60 70 BO »0 
119.8 CAREFUL 
J- 
49.&I 
IHIIIHUIIIHHmD53.5 COMMERCIAL S72IIIIIIIIIIIII llllll lllllll! II II 1 1I1HIII 
THREE DAYS AFTER WITHDRAWAL (repacked lots) 
■■■■■■■■■674 CAREFUL 8 ~ S ■■MBHHnHttHBttKI 
iniiiiimiiiiimiimiiiiiinminmi9i3 commercial" 93.siiniiiiiiiiiiiniiiiiiiiinuniminm 
Fig. 13.— Diagram illustrating the percentages of drop decay upon withdrawal from the car and three 
days later in precooled and in nonprecooled commercially qut and carefully cut lettuce held at Pal- 
metto, Fla., season of 1914-15. 
made three days later, the carefully handled lots showed an average 
of 10.7 per cent of prime heads, whereas none of the commercially 
handled lots were of this grade. The effect of precooling is also very 
strikingly .shown in these figures. 
Table VIII. — Average market condition of seven experimental lots of carefully cut and 
commercially cut lettuce held six days in an iced car at Palmetto, Fla., during the season 
of 1914-15. 
At withdrawal. 
Three days after withdrawal. 
Treatment. 
Carefully 
cut. 
Repacked. 
Undisturbed. 
cially cut. 
Carefully 
cut. 
Commer- 
cially cut. 
Carefully 
cut. 
Commer- 
cially cut. 
Nonprecooled: 
Prime heads per cent. . 
Marketable heads do 
Precooled: 
Prime heads do 
Marketable heads do 
46.4 
98 
78.8 
99.2 
11.5 
80.6 
45 
98 
10.7 
89.7 
31 
95.5 

61.1 
6.4 
92.9 
15.9 
84.4 
23.3 
96.2 
1.1 
56.9 
3.9 
85 
Table IX and figure 13 show the percentages of decay found in the 
lettuce held at Palmetto during the season of 1914-15. It is inter- 
