19 6 NEBRASKA STATE HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY 



Editor's note: The above article was read at the annual meeting 

 of Iowa State Horticultural Society December 1913. There are 

 hundreds of acres in Eastern Nebraska suitable for orcharding that 

 could be treated as Mr. Beebe treated his orchard and prevent the 

 erosion of the soil to a large extent. By selecting varieties according 

 to the recommended list for the district in which you reside and follow- 

 ing the above method good orchards can be grown, on land considered 

 valueless except for pasture. — (April Horticulture.) 



FRUIT STi;iiA(;K IXVKSTIGATIOXS OF THE UNITED STATES 

 DEl'ARTMEXT OF AGRICULTURE. 



A. \\ Stuebeniaiuh, Exi>ert in Charge of Field Investigations in 



Pomology. 



During the past eight years the Bureau of Plant Industry of the 

 United States Department of Agriculture has carried on an extensive 

 investigation of the cold storage of fruits and especially of apples. From 

 these investigations many important facts and principles have been 

 developed, most of which have had an important bearing on the stor- 

 age and warehousing of fruits. These investigations are still in pro- 

 gress, as there still remain important problems to be solved. Some 

 fruits have not yet been studied, and furthermore, all sections of the 

 .country have not yet been included. Naturally, the first work was done 

 on eastern and central western fruits, and as funds have been provided 

 and experience has been gained the work was extended to the other sec- 

 tions of the country. Last season work was begun in the Pacific 

 Northwest, ccmprising the /'important fruit producing districts of 

 Oregon, Washington, Idaho, Utah, and Montana. 



It has been found that the condition of the product at the time it 

 is stored has a most important influence on its behavior in storage and 

 the length of time it may be held in good condition. This has refer- 

 ence to the regions w^iere the fruit is produced; to the orchard con- 

 ditions and treatment; to the stage of maturity of the friut at the time 

 it is packed, to the care with it has been picked, handled and packed; 

 to the promptness with which the fruit is placed in storage and cooled. 

 All these factors are under the control of the producer, the packer, or 

 the shipper. The duties of the warehouseman or the cold stroage man 

 follow these and have reference to the proper regulation of the tem- 

 perature of the rooms, ventilation and handling in the cold storage 

 house itself. It is the warehouseman's business to see that the 

 proper storage temperature and proper conditions of humidity 

 are unformaly maintained. A fluctuating temperature — if it 

 fluctuates to a considerable extent — may be most injurious. An- 

 other important factor in the successful storage of fruit is the mainten- 

 ance of uniform conditions throughout the storage rooms themselves. 

 This is plainly the duty of the warehouseman. Where the rooms are 



