160 



ANNUAL REPORTS OF DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 



Having in view the severity of Watsonville browning in general and 

 the serious difficulty experienced in the marketing of these apples 

 after they have been held in cold storage, any feasible method of 

 segregating fruit which can be safely held in cold storage from fruit 

 which develops the browning would be of great value to the apple 

 industry of California. 



MODEL COMMON-STORAGE WAREHOUSE PLANS. 



In connection with the investigations of the efficiency of common- 

 storage houses, imj)ortant principles were developed relating to the 

 design and construction of suitable tj^pes of warehouses adapted to 

 different districts and climatic conditions. Detailed plans for an im- 

 proved type of common-storage house at Winchester, Va., were de- 

 signed, in which special methods of precooling the fruit by means 

 of an auxiliary refrigerating plant using ice and salt were provided, 

 supplemented with ample means of cooling during the regular sea- 

 son by natural ventilation. 



VEGETABLE HANDLING AND STORAGE. 



The principal storage work with vegetables was with sweet po- 

 tatoes. Well marked and sharply defined results were secured from 

 this work. The results are summarized as follows : 



In a storage experiment to determine the difference in keeping 

 quality of the various varieties, 36 varieties were stored for 150 days. 

 The average loss by decay was less than 0.5 of 1 per cent. Seven- 

 teen varieties showed no decay, seven varieties less than 0.5 of 1 per 

 cent, five varieties between 0.5 and 1 per cent, two varieties between 

 1 and 2 per cent, one variety between 2 and 3 per cent, one variety 3.5 

 per cent, and three varieties between 5 and 10 per cent. 



In an experiment to determine the best temperature for storage, 

 three standard varieties of sweet potatoes were used and lots of each 

 variety were placed in each of three rooms. In one room the tem- 

 perature was maintained from 50° to 55° F,, in the second room from 

 65° to 60°, and in the third room from 60° to 65°. 



The shrinkage in the three rooms and for the three varieties of 

 potatoes was as follows: 



Variety. 



Big Stem Jersey 



Nancy Hall 



Southern Queen 



Days in 

 storage. 



152 

 152 

 152 



Shrink^ 

 age. 



Per cent. 

 16.8 

 11.9 

 14.4 



The amount of decay was so small that comparisons would not 

 amount to much. However, in the Nancy Hall variety there was 

 no decay and in the other two the average was less than 1 per cent. 



TIMBER DECAY. 



The age limit at which decay reaches practical importance has 

 been determined for incense cedar and white fir. Definite external 



