The Kennewick courier-reporter. [volume] (Kennewick, Wash.) 1914-1938, 1916-11-09
Marketing Of | erishables
reprinted from the Weekly News Letter of
the U. S. Department of Agriculture.


nually in nearly every community
producing perishables for the market.
The employment of careless, unskilled
laborers, or the payment or harvesters
on the basis of amount picked, often
is contributing factor. The products
are handled roughly and the outer
covering of many individual speci-
mems is broken or bruised, making
for ease of decay on the way to mar
ket. <.a
Careful grading of the harvested
products is essential if they are to
make good appearance on the mar
kets and are to secure reasonable
price. By failure properly to grade
that is, to Gull out all bruised, dis
eased and inferior products and to as
semble the remainder according to
size and quality producers add
still further to the difficulty of mar
keting their commodities proftably
and in many cases bring about serious
losses.
Packing is usually the final step to
be taken by the producer in prepara-
ton for shipment, and here also pre-
ducers of perishables in many in
stances incur needless losses by their
failure to perform the necessary ac-
ton with proper care. Faulty packing
may cause losses by permitting the
fruits or vegetables to spill out of the
containers or become damaged, or by
producing such an attractive appear
ance in the market that a good price
cannot be obtained. Not the least of
the problems in connection with the
packing of perishables is the selection
Of containers of the proper type and
diners ons which will give adequate
protection and desirable appearance
to the commodities and at the same
time will not be too costly.
Tho packing in most cases completes
the work of the producer preparatory
to shipping, Investigations of the de-
partment have demonstrated that
there is another step that can be tax
en- with profit when certain valuable
products are to be shipped under re-
frigeration for long distances. This is
the preceding of the packed fruits OF
vegetables by blasts of very cold all
immediately before or just after they
have been placed in the refrigerator
cars. When perishables at their nor.
NAL temperature are slowed in re-
frigerator car under ordinary condi
tions, the limited quantity of ice USED
is unable to chill the products for sew
eral days. The result is that during
this period the products continue tx
ripen and in many cases begin to de
cay before a low eniugh Temperature
is reached to prevent such deteriora
ton. When preceding is practiced thi.
highly dangerous period is shortened
the fruit reaching a low temperature
more rapidly. Preceding obviousl!
can not be practiced by small-scale in
dividual shippers, but would be pro
fitable in many cases to cooperative
associations. It has proved particular
ly valuable to such associations in tn
shipment of oranges from Californi,
across the continent.
Solving Problems of Preparation
Il
While individual producers of per
ishable fruits and vegetables Otter
may improve with some profit thei
own methods of preparing commodi
ties for market, especially in the cas-
of crops the production of which i
highly specialized, probably the mos
. valuable improvements to the industr.
as whole will come thru standard
ization which will make the better
ments uniform over units of consid
cradle extent, if not thruout the coun
try. Conditions surrounding the mod
ern marketing of perishable fruits o
, vegetables makes especially desirabl
the standardization of output, sup
E plies, equipment and operating meth
III