The Bridgeport evening farmer., 1914-04-22
POULTRY CARS
 SHOULD BE NEAR
 THE FREEZING POINT
Department of Agriculture Con- ducts Extensive Experi- lr1enfs of 12O Car-LOts
 of Dressed Poultry


 Washington, April afTo test the enaiciency of refrigerator cars in the shipment of dressed poultry, and to determine the changes that take place in this poultry in transit at d1fferent Temperatures, the Bureau of Chemis- try. U. s. Department of Agrtc1lture. has made conplete examinations and records Of 120 carload Shipments of dressed poultry which traveled an ag- gregate of | 40. 900 miles The hauls averaged between 1000 %and 1.500s miles, and terninated generally in New orlk City. No car was used twice. and many different types or or- dinary refrigerator cars were employ led The shipments were mada in winter and summer. so that the eff feet of outside temperatures could be determined. Many of the cars were equipped with accurate recording de- vices which showed the temperature parts Of tho ear, and also outsi7e tenn 2 peratures As a result Of this exper1-. ment the specialists have found that the builders of refri rigeratpr cars have not kept, pace with the refrigeratfng industry in general, and have also de- termined the temperatures which best keep poultry fresh in long trips from ToWA or Tennessee to the Atlantic Coast markets. These results ara re- ported in bulletin No IT, .Tshe Re-
 
 Transit which contains d large num- Der of tables and illustrations in it's 35 pages
 The poultry shipped in these cars was carefully prepared and chilled for E4 hours to 3& degrees Fahrenheit, packed in one dozen to the box, and the boxes placed in refrigerator cars
 which had been iced "A hours before l loading. Accurate chemical analyses of the conditions of the poultry were made prior to the shipment, special attention being given to the nercen-
 tage of ammonfaca1 nitrogen in the muscle tissue. which is an accurate | index of the degree of deterioration in the nesh of dressed poultry The l fresh chicken shows OHIO per cent
 such nitrogen. It was found that poultry kept at 9 temperature of 18 degrees to 26 degrees F. showed only. l.012O, while a temperature of above 31 degrees F., gave nitrogen per cent of .o13l. and S5 degrees For above a nitroge& per cent of ..01 fl.
 The poultry after arrival in the car was then kept under examination while in the wholesale commission houses, and at the retailers. The corn-
 mission houses kept the IoW-temperA-
 ture shipments at 2s.8 degrees F.. whereas the average for the hieh-ten- perature shipments was Sz.2 degrees
 F The retail stores kept their pou1-
 try at from 35 defrees F. to 59.8 de- gTees F. It was found that the high l temperature shipments after a transit period of five days showed an increase in nitrogen to .0143 per cent. The high-ternperAture shipments at a. re- tailerss after seven days showed ni- trogen percentage of .018S. The changes during the imission period we're, therefore very slight, bur after
 four days at, retailers, or nine days after the railroad haul the low-tem- perature Shipments increased to .0144 per cent, which is nearly the same as the high-temperature shipments at the end of transit period This Indicates that if the car temperature is above HQs5 degrees F. the poultry when it reaches the market has the disad- lvantage Of a deterioration equivalent
 to i've or more days in the market, and must be consumed five days ear | Her than that arriving at car tenn ! peratnres below 8 degrees F.
 1 The experiments indicated that less than s1 degrees E. is the most satis- I factory tenperatdfe of dressed pou1-
 try for long hau1s. The ten-degree ! rise in the tenn mperature of the car dur l ing the haul makes difference in | keeping time on the New York mar l ket, even when the market conditions. are favorable. Even poultry excel Iently handled, as was the case in these experimental shipmentss if ex- Inoeed to urfavorabIe temperatures
 
 petus towards decay that cannot be
 overcome by subsequent careful treat
 n1ent on the market. It is a com l parative1y simple. matter to prevent
 decay. but it seems to be impossible to
 stop decay by the use of low tempera- 1 lures once the decay has gained "a foot hold. Imperfect work by the
 carrier nuI1ifies to q certain extent l the work of the packer, and the l wholesaler or retailer handling the goods on the marke ct. The tenpera- 1 lures indicated by this investigation to be most desirable for the transporta- tion of dressed poultry are consider ably lower than those generally ac- Z eepted as satisfactory.
 The Efficiency Of Cars.
 The information furnished by these 120 shipments Of dressed poultry indicate that most of the refrigerated carriers of the United States are not built to maintain optinum condition
 during warm weather for the trans
 portatton of a highly pef1ehab1e com
 tnea4ts. aaeh as dxeased acultzT. CaE <