414

NICEOLLS'S  SEAMANSHIP AND  NAUTICAL KNOWLEDGE

Apples are generally carried at a temperature of 40° F to 43° F.,
other fruits at different temperatures according to shipper's instructions
Large quantities of apples shipped from Canada and United States
are packed in barrels.
The methods adopted for the carnage of bananas are quite different
from those employed for the carrying of other fruit. Bananas are a
cargo which present considerable difficulties during their carriage by
sea as they easily either chill or ripen, and as they are shipped green
and must be delivered in a particular state of advancement their
transport calls for great care and constant and skilful attention.

Fig. 7.—Ship fitted for Carriage of Bananas.
They are carried in specially constructed steamers which are only
employed in that trade. The holds are insulated similarly to those
of meat carrying steamers, but trunkways, just broad enough to permit
the people in charge to walk through, separate the fruit from the in-
sulation. Thermometers are fitted in these trunkways, their readings
being taken and recorded at regular intervals. The holds and "decks"
are subdivided into numerous compartments called "bins," each being
about 20 feet square. The bananas are stowed in these bins.
To regulate the temperature in the holds, the outside air is cooled
by passing it over brine pipes which are situated in special houses on the
upper deck. It is then forced through the trunkways by large fans
also situated in the special houses, which are termed "coolers."
In these ships the hold temperatures are reduced to about 37°
F. when "cooling down/* but this rises to about 70° F. during loading
operation.
The loading being finished and hatches secured, the hold tempera-
tuxes are gradually brought down again to about 53° F., which
temperature is maintained throughout the voyage.
About 300 stems are placed in a bin stowed vertical and sometimes
oversto wed with one row of stems on their sides. The upper part of Fig. 8