The Yakima herald. [volume] (North Yakima, W.T. [Wash.]) 1889-1914, 1911-07-12
PRECEDING
" IMPORTANT
Government Experts Find That
System Brings Soft Fruit in
Better Condition

| The preceding of fruit. subject
which has received much discussion
and some experiment here. is treated
| rather extensively in bulletin Of
the Bureau of Plant Industry, in
cluded in the latest year book of the
Department of Agriculture. While
pre- cooling OF fruit has already re-
ceived commercial application, there
are many problems connected with
the rapid reduction Of the tempera-
ture of fruit which remain to be
solved. 1t is not yet certain whether
the cooling should he accomplished
before or after loading in the cars
to get the best results and at the
least expense.
Wrapping Completes
The fact that practically all the
Yakima fruit sent out is wrapped,
makes the problem still more So
rious one here, for fruit closely
packed and wrapped in paper, it has
been found. takes much longer to
chill than unwrapped fruit 1t re-
ouires a big circulation of cold air
and cons derabla time to thoroughly
cool the fruit.
| Different Methods
Where time is no great object the
warehouse method of cooling gives
best satisfaction. In well constructed
| cold storage rooms. there IS less
leakage. not so much cold is re-
quired and more uniform cooling
is obta med. Where. however. the
fruit must be rushed to market as
soon as possible, the car cooling
method is practiced. Except IN
places where there is very large
shi pm ent, it would seem not pract-
cable to construct the necessary APP
raratus for this process. since thu
heavy machinery required makes it
expensive. Such preceding. says
the bulletin. is most advantageously
done by the transportation com
pauieS who can combine the pre-
cooling and the manufacture of ice
for tho cars in the same plant. This
is done in several California shipping
points. one of the plants being able
to accommodate twenty cars at a
time.
May Freeze II
The danger in the car cooling
method is in not subiectinG the fruit
long enough to the cold air. In Some
cases it is found that after num-
Der of hours. there is twenty degrees
difference between certain boxes ami
it is sometimes necessary to leave II
this way, trusting to an equalization
of the temperature later. Again, 1t
is possible to freeze the exposed
] fruit. before the inside packages are
sufficiently cold.
Certainly Does Help
That the preceding method GER
tainIy does make 1t possible for the
softer fruits to reach the market IN
better condition. and does away with
the necessity for picking peaches,
plums and apricots hard and green
in order to offset the ripening pro-
cess en- route. has been proved by
the government experiments. IL
does not however, act as a panacea
for careless handling. The decay
germs and the fungus germs lose NJ
time in starting 20 grow Wherever
there is an abrasion of the skin, and,
4 while their growth may be checked
bv reducing the temperature and re-
moving moisture from the ar, Id =
vorabe conditions are restored gen
orally when the fruit is unloaded. 1t
is Just as important that fruit re-
main in sound condition long enough
after arrival in market to be sold
and consumed as it is to get it to
market sound. Preceding may not
be lceitimately substituted for care
full handling in preparing fruit for
shipment
Soinc Results
Results of proceeding experiments
on Georgia peaches show that the
decay found in the extra fancy fruit
on arrival in New York was per
cent i'm bo.h the fourth and bot
tom tiers in pre-cooled, as compared
with 1915 and So per cent on the
! fourth and bottom tiers respectively
of on-precooled cars. In the fancy
grade the decay averaged IS and
% per cent respectively in the pre-
cooled fourth and bottom tiers, and
t14l and o. for the same tiers re-
spectively in the preceded ship
ments.
| During the maturing of normal
fruit on the tree certain che cal
and physiological changes are con-
stantly taking place within the fruit
itself. These changes. which result
in the requirement of quality and Ma
vor. constitutes the ripeninG pro-
cesses After certain point =
reached the fruit becomes overripe
quality and flavor are lost, and dete-
rioration progresses until eventualN
the fruit is destroyed by fungous de-
cay or fermentation, or through de-
structive physiological changes.
/ a fruit may be considered as a
living organism which has definite
span of existence. the length of this
span depending upon the conditions
surround ing the organism. The most
important factor which modihes this
span N life is temperature. W hel
the fruit is removed from the palen;
plant. the life processes constituting
ripening are materially fastened and
the life span is greatly shortened il
tho fruit is allowed to remain warm
for any conside length nj rime
Hence the Importance of reducing
the tenn perature as promptly and
rapidly as possible after the fruit Is
! pick ed.