6 BULLETIN 686, U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 
The experiments in 1916 showed that if washed berries are allowed 
to dry before being packed their shipping quality is injured. To 
obtain further data on this point three shipments of Klondikes from 
Hammond, La., to Chicago, 111., were made in April, 1917. The 
results, which are summarized in Table IV, agree closely with those 
of the previous year. 
Table IV. — Effect of drying washed strawberries before packing, as shown by shipments 
of fruit from Hammond, La., to Chicago, III. 
Treatment. 
Number of 
berries. 
Sound on 
examina- 
tion. 
Per cent. 
Not washed 
Washed and packed wet 
Washed, dried in shade, and packed 
1,064 
1,014 
1,037 
As alread} T stated, by this treatment the beneficial cooling effect 
of continued evaporation from the berries is lost, and the harmful 
effects of softening and extra handling are emphasized. 
Smith and Goodman (13, p. 84; see also 12, p. 17) found that 
strawberries dried for an hour in a strong current of air from an 
electric fan carried to market in better condition than those even 
slightly wet. In order to review the conclusions of these investi- 
gators, two tests were made at Hammond, La., in which wet berries 
were fanned before being packed. In one test the berries were pre- 
pared and held for 24 hours at room temperature, after which they 
were shipped to Chicago under refrigeration. In the second case 
they were placed in an iced car for shipment as soon as j were 
prepared. The results are shown in Table V. 
Table V. — Effect of fanning strawberries before shipment, as shown by two tests of fruit 
grown at Hammond, La., and shipped to Chicago, III. 
Treatment. 
Held 24 hours without 
refrigeration before 
shipment. 
Packed and shipped 
immediately. 
Number of 
berries. 
Sound on 
arrival. 
Number of 
berries. 
Sound on" 
arrival. 
234 
Per cent. 
42 
192 
184 
165 
162 
1S6 
Per cent. 
58 
54 
234 
194 
164 
23 
43 
23 
54 
72 
70 
These results and those of other tests (see Table IV; also 12, pp. 
16-19) indicate that no injury is likely to follow shipping berries v et. 
As the writers' work was done in Louisiana and Smith and Good- 
man's in Canada, no very satisfactory basis for a comparison of 
results is presented. 
