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Show HOW TO SHIP CANTALOUPES Investigations Show That When They Are Unwrapped They Can Best Be Transported. (Prepared by the United States Department Depart-ment of Agriculture.) Cantaloupes not wrapped, loaded into refrigerator cars within three hours after picking, are more easily refrigerated in transit and, after unloading un-loading from cars, are much less subject sub-ject to molding and rotting than cantaloupes can-taloupes which are wrapped when packed. These conclusions are based on investigations carried on by the United States department of agriculture agricul-ture during the shipping season of 1917 In the Imperial valley of California. Califor-nia. On as many different days during the season thirteen lots of melons were shipped from Brawley, Cal., to New York, in commercial carloads. IPC Hittikl I Standard Crates, Packed With Jumbo-Sized Jumbo-Sized Contaloupes, 23 to 27 to the Crate. The first lot was shipped on June 23 and the last lot on July 13. In each lot, half of the crates contained t melons in paper wraps and half contained con-tained melons not wrapped. All the melons were picked by commercial pickers. The time between picking and packing varied from half an hour to four hours, averaging about two. All the crates In each lot were packed by the. same commercial packer. The time between packing and car loading averaged about one hour. All the crates in each lot were stowed together togeth-er in the same car so that each crate would receive as nearly as possible the average cooling of the load. The average length of time in transit was 11 days. A few hours after car unloading every melon in each crate was inspected in-spected for firmness, color and decay. Immediately after the inspection each crate was repacked as nearly as possible pos-sible the same as on arrival. Two days later, after being held under average av-erage city conditions, every melon was inspected for firmness, color and decay. de-cay. Just after unloading from cars the melons not wrapped were in a trifle better condition than the wrapped melons mel-ons In regard to firmness, color, decay seriously affecting their food value, and mold seriously affecting their appearance. ap-pearance. Two days after unloading there was no great difference between the melons mel-ons not wrapped and the melons wrapped wrap-ped in regard to firmness and color. But there were nearly five times as many badly decayed melons and nearly near-ly sixteen times as many badly molded melons in the wrapped lots as in the lots not wrapped. The reason that wrapped melons rot and mold more after unloading from refrigerator cars than melons not wrapped wrap-ped is explained by the investigators as follows : When, on summer days, cold melons are taken from refrigerator cars moisture mois-ture from the atmosphere condenses on the surfaces of the melons. From melons not wrapped this moisture soon evaporates, but from wrapped melons the evaporation is hindered by the paper pa-per which, through its powers of absorption ab-sorption and obstruction of air circulation circula-tion about the melons, tends to retain the condensed moisture. This retained I moisture acts as a medium favorable I for the growth of organisms which cause rotting and molding. |