FLORIDA STATE HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY 
209 
and Philadelphia, where the inspections 
were made imimediately after the lettuce 
was unloaded from the cars. As shown 
in the tables, the effect of the different 
methods of treatment employed on the 
carrying quality of the lettuce is practi¬ 
cally the same as in the lots held in Pal¬ 
metto. While there was considerably 
less deterioration in all lots inspected in 
the north, owing to difference in tem¬ 
perature, yet the relative amounts of the 
different troubles found in baskets 
treated in different ways was very much 
the same as in the holding lots. In the 
shipments, as well as in the lots held in 
Palmetto, the precooled lots were in 
crisper, sounder condition than the non- 
precooled, and the difference between 
the carefully and commercially cut lettuce 
was even greater than the difference be¬ 
tween the precooled and the non-pre- 
cooled. 
The difference in the amount of decay 
found in experimental shipments in¬ 
spected at the northen markets and in 
corresponding lots held in Palmetto is 
shown below in Table V. 
table v. 
COMPARISON OF HOLDING AND SHIPPING 
LOTS. TOTAL PER CENT DECAY. 
At withdrawal 3 days after with¬ 
drawal 
Careful Commercial Careful Commercial 
Regular Iced: 
7 Holding Lots 
7 Comparable 
28.1 
55.9 
78.9 
96.2 
shipments. 
Precooled: 
20.1 
* 39.9 
30.6 
53.2 
7 Holding Lots 
7 Comparable 
2.0 
9.6 
22.2 
50.6 
shipments. 
4.9 
7.2 
10.4 
15.5 
This table shows that the average de¬ 
cay was rather greater in the holding 
than in the shipping lots even at the first 
inspection, in spite of the fact that in¬ 
spections in the north were made, on an 
average, nearly two days later after 
loading than the corresponding lots held 
in Palmetto. At the second inspection 
these differences were much greater, as 
would be expected from the great differ¬ 
ences in temperature between the two 
parts of the country at the time when 
the experiments were carried on (De¬ 
cember to February.) 
General Conclusions .—The investiga¬ 
tions outlined above show distinctly that 
by changing somewhat the methods of 
handling the crop, lettuce can be landed 
on the northern markets in much better 
condition than is now common, and can 
therefore be made to command a consid¬ 
erably higher price. This fact has been 
recognized during the course of the sea¬ 
son’s investigations by shippers and deal¬ 
ers who have been in touch with the re¬ 
sults obtained. Representatives of a 
commission firm which handled a consid¬ 
erable quantity of the experimental lots 
shipped north have • stated that, on the 
average, the precooled lots were in no¬ 
ticeably better condition than the non- 
precooled, and that the effect of careful 
cutting was even greater than the effect 
of precooling, the carefully cut lettuce 
being worth from 25 to 75 cents more 
per basket on the wholesale market than 
the commercially cut. 
As indicated above, the experimental 
lots were nott -sent out wholly -during 
wearm weather when precooling would 
be expected to have its greatest effect. 
Owing to the unusually cool weather 
prevailing in Florida through most of 
14 
