STATE POMOLOGICAL SOCIETY. 45 



INFLUENCE OF CULTURAL CONDITIONS. 



There seems to be a wide difference in the keeping quahty of 

 the same variety when grown under different conditions. It has 

 been observed that the Tompkins King, Hubbardston, and 

 Sutton apples from rapid growing young trees ripen faster than 

 smaller fruit from older, slower growing trees, and therefore 

 reach the end of their life history sooner. From older trees 

 these varieties have kept well until the middle of April, while 

 from young trees the commercial storage limit is sometimes 

 three months shorter. 



It has been observed that Rhode Island Greenings, Mann, and 

 Baldwin apples grown on sandy land ripen more rapidly than 

 similar fruit from clay land where all the other conditions of 

 growth were similar. 



In the southwest in the younger apple growing sections where 

 the nrrhards have been planted on new land, the trees grow 

 rapidly and produce an abundance of fruit, but under these con- 

 ditions the keeping quality of the fruit does not appear to equal 

 that of the same variety from older, slower growing trees. 



It does not follow, however, that the longest keeping type of 

 the same variety is the most valuable. An apple that is large 

 and highly colored, brilliant in color, and with commanding 

 style may be worth 50% more — though it will not keep longer 

 than early winter — than the same variety grown under other 

 conditions that causes it to be small and poorly colored and giv- 

 ing it a keeping quality until the spring. 



INFLUENCE OF THE TYPE OF PACKAGE. 



There has been a good deal of discussion concerning the rela- 

 tive value of closed and ventilated barrels for apple storage. 

 The investigations indicate that the chief advantage of the venti- 

 lated package lies in the greater rapidity with which its contents 

 cool off. Apples in a ventilated package, if the ventilation is 

 considerable, are checked in their ripening processes sooner 

 than those in a closed package, and the influence of the package 

 in this respect is most marked with varieties that ripen entirely 

 and in hot weather. 



Apples in ventilated packages, however, are likely to shrivel 

 if the fruit is stored for any length of time, and it is, therefore, 



