450 



Twenty-eighth Annual Report 



I'.ept well in dry cold storage. Crates of different varieties of dates 

 packed as for shipment were therefore placed in dry cold storage 

 in Phoenix at a temperature of 36-38 degrees F. The date of stor- 

 age was September 20, 1916, and the samples were examined at 

 various times during a period of fourteen months with results indi- 

 cated in Table VIII. 



All the varieties tested except Hayany kept well until after 

 holidays, and Iteem Joher, rich in sugar, kept perfectly for fourteen 

 months. Rhars kept fairly well for this time also. These observa- 

 tions indicate that many varieties of dates ma}^ be harvested and 

 held for sale as fresh fruit, thus avoiding overstocked markets at the 

 height of the harvest season. 



EVAPORATION AND COED STORAGE 



A further experiment with the Hayany crop of 1917 was con- 

 ducted by evaporating several samples of fresh fruit to 90%, 80%, 

 70%, and 60% of fresh weight, and then putting them in dry cold 

 storage at about 34-36 deg. F. These dates were picked October 

 19 and were examined January 23, 1918, in comparison with un- 

 evaporated fruit similarly kept. Table IX. gives the results of this 

 experiment. 



Condition 



Plump, moist, 947c mouldy 



Fresh, firm, 7% mouldy, flavor excel- 

 lent 

 Wrinkled, no mould, prime quality 

 Semi-dry, no mould, superior quality 

 Sticky-dry. no mould, very sweet, good 

 quality 



NOTE: — April 20,1918, after six month.s in cold storase, these dates were .sub- 

 stantially in the condition described above. Occasional fruits evaporated to 1)0^ 

 of the original were specked with mould, but after removing these the rest of the 

 package was edible and marketable. Those evaporated to 80% and 70<"^ of the 

 original weight were still in prime condition and of fair flavor. The uni)rocessed 

 fruits used as a check were a mass of mould. Trial baskets removed from cold 

 storage and exposed to warm dry air after one week are in good condition. — A. E. V. 



These statements indicate that the fruit would have kept well 

 at about 85% of its fresh weight; while at 70-80% it kept perfectly 

 and Avas of superior quality after three months of storage. 



ROOTING OF date; p.klm sucke;rs 



A partial review of distributions to individuals of suckers from 

 the date palm orchard indicates that nearly 95 ])ercent of such dis- 



