Evening journal., 1906-10-16
PACKING PRODUCE


the Weather Bureau which will un-
doub,edly prove of much value 10 the
commission merchants and shippers Of
produce around Wilmington. 1t con-
talns information concerning the man
ner in which all perlshable produce
should be prepared for shipment or
storage in order to preserve It.
How to preserve all the perishahls
produce. meaning by that such gooi
as fruits, dairy products poultry, hEh,
oysters, canned fruits and vegetables,
il a problem which confronts the ship
per and produce men continually ard
It becomes a more serious one as the
winter approaches, when every on
deavor is made to protect all perish
able commodities from the intense cold
weather.
Remarkable as have been the TN
provepents made on the part OF the
railroads in providing cars especially
constructed for the handling Of pro
ducts for the commission merchants
and other shippers, conditions sur
rounding the removal OF perishohle
products over the country are by no
means perfect Every winter, it Is
claimed. many OF the commission men
in the city lose hundreds Of dollars be-
cause OF improperly packed goods,
which reach their destination in a con-
dition unfit for use.
Three things, the pamphlet states.
must be considered in the shipment OF
foodstuffs and other products, namely.
the protection of the shipment from
frost or excessive cold; the protection
OF the same from excessive heat, and
the circulation Of air thrugh any car
so as to carry off the gasses generated
/ by some classes of this freight.
Attention is called to the fact that
the degree Of cold to which perishable
goods may be subjected without Injury
! varies greatly with different commodi-
/ ties and depends somewhat on the
time of the shipment will be on ths
road, it's condition when shipped,
whether it IS kept continually in mo-
tion and also on whether It is unloadei
Immediately upon arrival at its dcsti-
nation. or allowed to stand sometime.
/ The direction Of shipment whether
toward a cold area OF away from Il,
should also be considered.
IN ordinary freight cars. the Weathee
Bureau officials claim that perishsble
! goods can be shipped with safety with
20 degrees above zero. and in reeriser-
ator cars at 10 above. In the litter
these goods may be shipped with m
outward temperature Of from zero to
10 degrees below II tn, car is first
heated and at the end Of the Journey
the goods are mediatelv taken into a
warm place without being carted any
great distance.
II f. sugge-ted that to protect goods
shipped IN an ordinary car the sides OF
the car should be protected by hetv>
paper tackled to the walls and by tn
addition Of an inner board wall a few
inches from the outer one A car thus
equipped and packed with product, sur
rounded by straw, viii retain sufficient
heat to prevent injury for "a hours
the average air temperature of ali parts
Of the car being at least - degrees
higher than that of the outside air.
Particular stress is laid on the rea'
importance Of the temperature Of pro-
duce when placed in car ready foI
removal II II has been exposed 10 =
low temperature for considerable,
time previous. the Weather Bureau
officials say that it is in a poor condi.
tion to withstand cold, and the length
OF time 80 exposed should be taken into
account Goods at a temperature OF
50 degrees above have been exposed te
temperatures 10 degrees below zero f9l
four and lve days without injury.
IN the case OF poultry the pamphlet
states that if shipment is made wher
the Thermometer registers as high as
30 degrees above all fowls should b,
packed IN ice and burlap.
Milk shipments require special care
TO prevent sourins. The ofIicials at IN.
Weather Bureau advise that all milk
should be reduced after drawing 70 q
temperature Of 40 degrees, which ex.
tracts the animal heat. II possible
prevent II from becoming frozen. as Il
gets watery and inferior in quality
when thawed out.
Fish dealers packing their goods foi
shipment should be careful 10 supply
an amount of ice equal to about one
half the weight Of the fish. Fish keeI
best when the temperature OF the boz
in which they are stored is about tha
OF melting ice. Under favorable con
ditlons will remain sound and mar
ketable for 80 days after being caugh
and packed in ice. Shucked oysters
shipped in their own liquor In tigh
barrels, will not spoil If frozen in tran
sit.
Importance is given to the man.
precautions which should be taken b,
shippers in packing their fruits 70
transit. In this respect the creates
danger lies in the heating. In packins
the fruit to keep out the cold, shippers
sometimes pave the way for the hea
10 be retained. and in many instance
considerable fruit Is ruined. All fruit
should be shipped in car where th'
temperature reaches about 50 degrees