^Jcaqi-TATu/] n»uj»2 
^^TRY H b 
VoL. LXXVII. 
Published Weekly at 333 W. 30th St.. 
New York. Price One Dollar a Year. 
NEW YOEK. .SEPTKrilP.Elt 7. P.Hs. 
Entered as Second Class Matter at New York 
under the Act of Congress. March 3. 1879. 
No. 419S. 
Check the Transportation Waste 
Where the Responsibility Lies 
LOSS OF MIIJ.IONS.—Tt is iiupossiblo ticcii- 
rjitcl.v to estimate the extent of the loss of 
1 erishahle lood Avhich occurs from the time it loaves 
the .ifrowei's hands until it reaches the consumer. 
The best authorities place this loss in fruits and 
Trav.Sfporldlion Loss of FUj. 517 
ve.iretaliles under normal conditions at Id to '25 juu’ 
cent of tlio total amount shippcHl. This means an 
annual loss ajr.irre.tfating many millions of dollars. 
TTie yearly claims for dama.ws tiled asaimst the rail¬ 
roads by fruit and veyetahle urowers, amounting to 
siu'cral million dollar.s, do not reitre.seiit the total 
losses. Some of this Avastaye is uiiavoidahle, hut 
ii is mostly due to neirliyence or ignorance some¬ 
where alon.n' tlie liiu>. Faulty loading is one of the 
two to throe inches between each row tdi containers 
runnins' lengthwise of the car is .generally sutiicieiit 
lor this pui'iiosc. This aids in accomplishing: rapid 
cooliiif^ h.v enahlin.i; the cold air from the ic(‘ hunkers 
1 -romptly to reach all parts of the load, and thus 
tends to ]>reveut the (h'veloimient of decay. 
2. The load must he made solid, prefc'rahly by 
placing packa.ges firmly, end to end, len.gthwise of 
rotators Dainatrti in 'I'raaxit. FUj. 5IS 
tlu' car. Half-inch wooden strijis nailed to ea<‘h 
[lackaire. .and running crosswise of tin' <‘ar Avill ]»r('- 
seiua' tlu' s)»ac(?s ladween tin* rows and jirevent lat¬ 
eral shifting of tin* load. 'Tin' iiac-kages must be widl 
hi’aceil in the ctmler to a\'oid forward shifting or 
leosei ing (d’ the load. This is best aca-omplished by 
I’.eans of gates const laictetl of 2x4 (»r IxU-inch U]i- 
nghts with 2x4 cross-pieces. The uiu'ights should jit 
s(;uarel.\" across the ends of «'ach row of packa.ges, 
The bracing should he built of a good grade of 
seasoned lumber that is free from knot-holes, splits, 
or otlu'r weaknesses. A groat deal of damagi! results 
from the use of I’otteu or defective bracing. 
The car must not be overloaded. The maxi¬ 
mum load varies for dilferent crops, and the shiiiper 
must he guideil by his experience or the experii'mi* 
of otluu's in this regard. Tn gener.ii it is best to 
'I'lir Filins of a \'rffrtah?r Fhipnirnt. Fiij. 5F) 
lea^■(‘ a sp;ic(‘ betwo'di the toji of the lo.id and Ihe 
(oiling of at least is inclu's. With (juickly p(*rish- 
i'.hle crops, such as strawlierries and iieaches. tins 
sjiace should he much .greater, but with others, for 
example, ceh'r.v and onions, it ma.v sometimes be 
less. With the prescmt abnormal demands upon llu' 
shii»iung facilities of the country, it may at times 
be necessary to load cars more lusavily than would 
crdinaril.v h(‘ considertal safe. 
Tiro Fcaprrs and Finders Drawn hit 
D ost costly sources of waste, jiarticularl.v di.sastrous 
in pei-ishables shipja'd under refrigeration. 'fhe 
] re.sent refri.gc'rator car has been adopted through a 
process of evolution. It is not by any means a 
perfect device, but when intelligently used it .gen¬ 
erally servos its purpose fairly well. Several cardi- 
lial principles must he observed in the loadiiyg of a 
freight car of any type: 
1. The packa.ges of products must he spaced so 
as to allow ample cii-culation of air. Si)aces of from 
a Tractor, Frapinp. Finding and ^hocl'inp 50 Acres i, 
and should extend from the floor to the top of the 
load. Shorter uprights Avill probablj' cause the ]»ack- 
ages to split at the ends. These gates or bulkheads 
should he placed at each end of the load in the door¬ 
ways and Avedged tightly into place Avith 2x4 timbers 
cut very snug, forced in and toe-nailed. Four to six 
of these .should be used on the top and bottom of 
the .gates. The bulkheads are often further sup¬ 
ported h.v means of 2x4 uprights placed at (mch side 
of the .gates running from the floor to the ceiling. 
a Dap. FUf. 520. (Fee 'Nc.i-f Pape) 
1 lEl'T'lFT'S IN I.OADINC.—Neglect of any of the 
factors enumerated above almost iuvai-iably causes 
lo.s’s. An in.genious shipper recently attempted to up¬ 
set the customary practice Avith re.gard to loading 
refrigerator cars. Instead of loading his car hi.gliest 
at the bunker ends, where it cools most rapidly, and 
hAAvest in the center. Avhere cooling occurs more 
slowly, he reversed the proce.ss and placed his iic'iiters 
and e.gg plants two crates high at the hunkers and 
as high as the ceiling in the center. This almost 
