Winter Meeting. 229 



while another season the loss of equally good fruit would be very- 

 great. 



If the apples are to be put in cold storage immediately when 

 packed, they may be picked at any time after they are matured 

 and well colored. On account of shriveling when kept for some 

 time in cold storage, the apples should be put into tight packages ; 

 they should also be placed into the cool room at the very earliest 

 time possible after being taken from the trees. Perhaps the ap- 

 ples would keep better if wrapped in paper. One can do that 

 with a very limited amount ; but that plan is certainly not practical 

 for the man who grows or handles apples commercially, on account 

 of the scarcity and high price of labor. 



It is much better if the room where the packages of apples 

 are stored is kept ventilated well each day, as the supply of oxygen 

 becomes gradually exhausted if the fruit is mature, and more 

 rapidly if the fruit is immature, when there is no ventilation. 



The oxygen becomes partly exhausted, leaving, as we suppose, 

 carbonic acid gas. This gas being of a different specific gravity, 

 does not circulate from the pipes as rapidly as pure air; hence it 

 is a poor conductor of heat, making it more difficult and expensive 

 to keep the fruit the right temperature. 



The time consumed between taking the apples from the trees 

 and the placing of them into the cool vaults hastens the ripening 

 process, and is so detrimental to the keeping qualities of the apples 

 that it is a fact that often the apples are really in bad shape when 

 put into the cold storage. 



This question of keeping apples is not all a question of tem- 

 peratures. It is a very good idea for the grower to remember that 

 if the quality of his fruit is poor at packing time that it will be 

 poorer when he puts it on the market, a few weeks or months 

 later. But given fruit of good quality, with careful handling and 

 the proper temperatures, we can usually expect reasonably good 

 results. If the fruit is in cold storage, we can control the tem- 

 perature. But it is like a game of chance if we have it in com- 

 mon storage. We will perhaps win if Providence furnishes us with 

 a plentiful supply of cool weather; otherwise, we will pocket our 

 losses, smile just as complacently as ever, and resolve to ourselves 

 that we will do differently next year. 



