5fi8 REPORT OF OFFICE OF EXPERIMENT STATIONS. 



as follows: Tlic residual stai'cli is clian^'cd into sucrose or cane suj^ar 

 ill I III' lirst staii"e. iicxi tlic caiic suoar is cliaiit^'cd into imcrt supir, and 

 liually tlicre is a slow dccrfasc in total suj^ar. 'riic acid \vhi(;li is most 

 alaiudaiit in the i^recii fruit »>radually decreases witii ripenini^. 



When apples were j^atliered Ixd'ore thev were ripe and stored or 

 allowed to sweat in piles, R. Otto" found that the star<h in them was 

 entirely convcM'ted into suiiar within 2 to 8 weeks. The sweatinu" of 

 apples is, tiicrefore, ludieved to he very advanta«^eous in cider niakinj^ 

 and especially desirable with ai)})les not yet fully rii)e, since such 

 ai)i)les contain comparatiyely larj^e amounts of starch which needs to 

 be conyerted into sugar for the manufacture of j^ood cider. 



The apples must not he allowed to lie too h)no;, however, after the 

 starch has ))ecome converted into sugar. Fruit under a hell jar in the 

 experiment mentioned above increased in sugar content from 9.98 to 

 11.51 per cent within 23 days, but after 49 days it had again decreased 

 to 10.4 per cent. 



The c()m})osition of the apple lias also been found to var}' with the 

 different seasons. Thus K. Otto'' gives the residts of the analyses of 

 18 varieties of apples harvested in the fall of 1898 and of the same 

 varieties harvested in 1900. The average monthly precipitation in 

 1898 for the months March to October, inclusive, was 58.0 millime- 

 ters, while in 1900 it was 61.4 millimeters. There was also 281.7^ C. 

 more heat during the months of June, July, September, and October 

 in 1900 than in 1898. As a result of these different climatic conditions 

 two-thirds of the varieties i-ipened considerably earlier in 1900 than in 

 1898 — in many cases 2 weeks and in some cases 22 and 45 days earlier. 

 The specific gravit}' of the nmsts of half of the varieties was considera- 

 bl}' higher in 1900 than in 1898. AVith 13 of the IS varieties there was 

 a considerable increase in the sugar content and a decrease in the acid 

 content in 1900 as compared with 1898. The difference in rainfall and 

 temperatui'c in 1900 was believed to largely account for the earlier 

 ripening and the differences in the chemical composition of the apples. 



UTILIZATION OF WASTE APPLES. 



But few experiments have been made along this line at the stations. 

 The Virginia .Station reports'' that with a hand grindei" and press onh'' 

 about 2 gallons of cider could be obtained per bushel of apples. With 

 apples at 8 cents per bushel cider made in this way cost 6 cents per 

 gallon. With a medium-sized custom grinder and press run with an 

 8-horsepower engine, cider was produced at a cost of 2.3 cents per 

 gallon, and 4 gallons were obtained per bushel of apples. A jelly 



aProskauer Obstbau Ztg., 7 (1902), No. 10, p. 156. 

 ?'Lan<hv. Jahrb., 31 (1902), No. 4, pp. 605-618. 

 c Virginia Sta. Bui. 57. 



