The Clio messenger. (Clio, Mich.) 1907-current, 1919-10-09
prepared by the United States Depart
ment of Agricultural

For every thousand persons in the
United States there is at least one re-
frgerator car. loaded with food prod
ucts. rolling along the rails. These
cars carry billions of pounds and more
than three-fourths of them haul fruits
and vegetables. Much of this produce
is highly perishable, and must be
moved quickly, while temperatures are
kept down by the use of ice.
Unless one is given to travelling. his
breakfast fruit or dinner salad is like
ly to have covered more miles in trip
of days than he has in as many
table perishable fruits and vegetables
must be watched over and cared for
by a group of workers who are as busy
as a mother travelling with a baby in
her arms.
Sometimes refrigerator cars arrive
at markets with their fruit or vege-
tables damaged by heat or shifting of
loads through faulty containers, or dis
eases and rots developing during
transit. This means not only loss
Of foodstuffs, but increased prices for
the sound produce that arrives on the
market-losses that in the long run
must be borne by wholesaler retailer,
producer and consumer. This itself is
serious enough, but, according to the
bureau of markets of the United States
department Of agriculture there is
present shortage of refrigerator
cars in this country, and the more
cars that Sring damaged produce
to market the fewer available cars
there are to carry perishable food to
the cities.
What Can Be Done About III
If, and this is where science steps
in, the present equipment Of refrigera-
tor cars should be modernized, and If
more care were taken in loading, brac-
ing and hauling perishables in these
underlined cars, losses of food would
be reduced and our scanty supply OF
refrigerator cars made to carry more
actual food to market.
At one large market last July 1T
cars of peaches were inspected by the
bureau of markets. Most Of these cars
were ain trouble" as the inspectors
say, and they represented 81 per cent
of the total July arrivals at that mar
ket. Although brown rot was bad
this year among peaches. and account
ed for much loss and sales of as low
as ten cents q crate for rOtted fruit.
ii is pointed out by refrigerator car
men that some Of this loss Is due to
poor refrigeration which could be
avoided by proper construction Of cars
and better loading and handling meth
DDS.
Bio Losses Recorded.
Estimates based on reports Of carlot
shipments Of fruit and vegetables,
compiled by the bureau Of markets,
show about 100000 shipments moving
under refrigeration. From reports Of
inspectors at Chicago, Cincinnati and
Pittsburgh from May Is to July IS,
covering 1S9 shipments under refrlg-
Grafton, 1t was found that the aver
age decay Of all commodities was 11.S
per cent. In lat Of these shipments
the temperature Of the load on arrival
was found to vary from 40 to rs de-
grees Fahrenheit, averaging SO de-
| RTeeS. lHtSe silpiucbtS, ihNiuuihS W.
cars Of peaches with average decay
on arrival Of 90 per cent; 30 cars Of
cabbage, average decay 1873 per cent !;
| cars of tomatoes, average decay 25.S
| per cent; 8 cars Of cantaloupes, aver
| age decay S.4 per cent; and 6 cars OF
strawberries, average decay 3S per
| cent.
Decay on arrival does not include
all the deterioration, according to In.
vestigators, because many shipments
showing a small percentage Of decay
| arrive overripe and soft, owing to i'm
perfect refrigeration, and these ship
ments deteriorate rapidly while in the
| hands of dealers and consumers. But
without considering the decay that &C.
| ours after the cars are unloaded, the
percentage of decay in the total num-
Der of cars of fruit and vegetables ar
irving under refrigeration shows an
enormous loss Of food. If the average
of 11.S per cent decay shown on
shipments at Chicago, Cincinnati and
| Pittsburgh last year held at other mar
kets il would mean an annual loss of
about 1920 carloads destroyed In
transit, or about 1,1S0,000,0OO pounds
of fruit and vegetables. This loss is
| only In shipments moving under refrig-
Grafton. There is heavy loss also In
shipments under ventilation.
Better Cars, Less Loss.
Experiments on shipping perishables
in refrigerator cars have located causes
of loss and shown that change in car
construction will reduce the losses. In
each end of refrigerator car are COM
partments running from the roof to
he floor and known as "bunkers."