TEMPERATURES OF SMALL FRUITS 177 



METHODS 



The method of making temperature observations was as 

 follows: The fruit was picked in the usual manner into the 

 standard container used for the sale of the fruit, generally a 

 quart basket, and the temperature ascertained by thrusting 

 the bulb of a chemical thermometer into the mass of fruit near 

 the center of the basket. The temperature thus obtained was 

 of course not the temperature of the berries themselves, but of 

 the outside surface of the berries and the air among the berries. 

 In other words it was approximately the average temperature 

 of the mass of berries and air which goes into the crate when it 

 is packed. Air temperature was recorded from a thermometer 

 kept in the shade near by. 



More accurate data would, of course, have been obtained by 

 more elaborate methods, but that chosen could be used with 

 convenience in practically the same way on a variety of fruits. 



RESULTS OF OBSERVATION 



The results of the observations made by this method are 

 given in table 1. The data are arranged in the order in which 

 they were taken, which is approximately that in which the 

 fruits ripen, though this is modified somewhat by the fact that 

 observations were made in widely separated localities. In some 

 cases information of interest was obtained which it is not practi- 

 cable to include in the table. This is given in the text in the 

 same order. 



STRAWBERRIES 



During the work on strawberries {Fragaria sp.) numerous 

 observations were m.ade on the temperatures inside the berries. 

 The temperature was determined by thrusting the bulb of a 

 sm.all thermometer into the tissues of the berry so that the bulb 

 was completely covered. This method of determining tempera- 

 ture is open to the criticism that the berries were wounded and 

 wounding has been demonstrated by Richards (8) and others to 

 cause an increase in the activity of respiration and also in the 



