Newark post. (Newark, Del.) 1910-1969, 1918-01-16
SKETCH OF G.
HAROLD POWELL
Clipped From Literary Digest

An Interesting sketch Of 6.
Harold Powell, who Is we'll remem-
cred in Newark. as horticul.urist
At Delaware College, from 1896 TO
1901, appears in the Literary Di-
gest Of December 1917, under the
caption, Uncle Sam Borrows
Powell for Hoover"
Uncle Sam has borrowed man
from California 10 help Dir. Hoover
save the food Of the nation during
the war" the article states, and
certainly man who, when he was
only twenty Years old, ran Z board
ing-house that fed two hundred
persons ought 70 know something
about food-conservat!Cn, even If
for several years since then he has
been busy with microscope hunt
ing bugs and things that threaten
ed the crops Of the American farm
er. g. Harold Powell is the man,
and it is only because Of its pat
riotism that the California Fruit
Growers Exchange has agreed to
loan MIN to the Food-Adm.1ls-
traitor.
"Mr. Powell is forty-fve. He
entered Ctrnell University at the
age Of nineteen. and ne depended
on the clearinghouse which he
established 70 pull him through
financially. The fact that he was
graduated with all sorts Of degrees
is prima facie evidence that he is,
or was, pretty good boarding.
keeper. Now he is going TO help
Mr.. Hoover organize the distribu-
ton Of perishable fruits and pro-
duce. The Country Gentleman has
this to say about Mr.. Powell:
"In 1903 UncleSam published an
agricultural report Of the kind
called epoch-making. It's title was
The Decay Of Oranges While in
Transit from California; By ap-
plying the scientific truths en-
bodied in that report the State
marvelously improved the quality
Of its citrus shipments; the same
truths benefited Florida and other
citrus sections. 6. Harold Powell
was the author Of that report, and
he carried out the experiments up
on which it was based"
Since 1912 Mr.. Powell quit his
microscope, said good-by to germs,
and became general manager of
the biggest cooperative growers
organization in the United States,
The biggest interest in agricultur-
al problems has always been for
me, the business and economic
sides, Mr.. Powell told a Digest
reporter, and what this interest led
to, after his connection with the
Department Of Agriculture, is told
in The Country Gentleman as fol.
lows:
"'There was difficulty about the
storing Of barrel apples. They
were damaged by scald and decay
in cold storage. The grower:
blamed the storage men, the stor
age men blamed the growers, anC
the courts had little data by which
to fix responsibility. Young Powell
fixt the responsibility. He fount
three main causes Of damage
First, varieties Of apples suscep
tible to scald were picked too i'm
mature. Secondly, all apples wer,
held out Of storage too long afte
picking, starting decay. Thirdly
storage was at too high temper
atUres.
This was about the first in
vestigation Of the keeping qualitie
of a farm product ever made b.
the Government and it carried tn
agricultural scientists into a neI
field. Up to that time the scientis
had centered all his energy on in
creasing and improving produC
ton, and considered his work enc
ed when the crop had been han
vested. Storing, shipping, an
selling were left to business mcI
and the grover was not suppose
to have any further interest in tn
stuff. When it was shown thu
methods Of harvesting had direC
bearing on keeping quality, tn
scientists were started toward
field Of investigation that hs
wonderfully broadened their u.s.
fulness the past ten years.
Then Uncle Sam sent PoWe
down to Georgia to see how his :
suits could be applied to the be
ter handling of peaches in tran
portation. All fruit in transit W;
likely to decay on the top tier
the car. The top tier was war;
est. 1t was found that good tran
portation Of fruit called for coolil
before shipment. Peaches must
l;Io Re RI mi, 1tr,y,