The Ordway new era., 1919-10-10

tPrepared by the United States Depart
ment of Agriculture-)
For every thousand persons in the
United States there is Mt least one re-
frigerator 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 IKE
Iy to have covered more miles in trip
of days than he has in as many
months, and all the way from field to
table perishable fruits and vegetables
must be watched over and cared Tor
by Il group of workers who are as busy
as a mother travelling with baby in
her arms.
Sometimes refrigerator cars arrive
Mt 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 Il loss
the sound produce that arrives on the
market-lusses that In the long run
must he borne by wholesaler, retailer
producer and consumer. This itself is
serious enough. hut, according TO the
bureau of markets Of the United States
department of agriculture there is
II present shortage of refrigerator
cars in this country. and the more
cars that bring damaged produce
10 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 he modernized, and IL
more care were taken in loading, brac-
ing and hauling perishables in these
modernized cars, losses of food wouid
he reduced and our scanty supply or
refrigerator cars made TO carry more
actual food to market
AT one large market last July 1T
cars of peaches We're inspected by the
bureau of markets. Most of these cars
were "in 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
ms ten cents II crate for rotted fruit.
1t Is pointed out by refrigerator car
men that some of this loss is due to
poor refrigeration which could be
avoided by prorer construction of cars
l.,,, ltnr mt a..
ods.
Big 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 II to July 10,
covering 1S9 shipments under refrig'
Grafton, it was found that the aver
age decay of all commodities was lis
per cent. In 14I of these shipments
the temperature Of the load on arrival
was found to vary from 40 to 10 de
grees Fahrenheit. averaging ~ de
grees. These shipments, including 6t
cars of peaches with average decay
on arrival of 0.s per cent; 30 cars OF
cabbage, average decay lS.S per cent
. cars of tomatoes, average decay 25.S
per cent: cars of cantaloupes. aver
age decay S.4 per cent; and 6 cars oi
strawberries, average decay 3S pei
cent.
Decay on arrival does not include
all the deterioration. according to in
vestigators, because many shipments
showing n snail percentage of decay
arrive overripe and soft, owing to i'm
perfect refrigeration. and these ship
ments deteriorate rapidly while in III,
hands of dealers and consumers. Blu
without considering the decay that oc
ours after the cars are unloaded. tbs
percentage of decay in the total mum
ber of cars of fruit and vegetables ar
irving under refrigeration shows al
enormous loss of food. If the averag,
of lis per cent decay shown oi
shipments at Chicago, Cincinnati an'
Pittsburgh last year held at other mar
kets, it would mean an annual loss q
about 1920 carloads destroyed il
transit. or about lsO,o0O,OO0 pound
of fruit and vegetables. This loss l.
only in shipments moving under rcfrig
Grafton. There is heavy loss also ii
shipments under ventilation.
Better Cars, Less Loss.
Experiments on shipping perishable
in refrigerator cars have located cause
Of loss and shown that change in ca
construction will reduce the losses. II
each end of n refrigerator car are com
purtmcnts running from the roof t.
the floor and known as "bunkers,