COMPOSITION OF THE AIR IN PACKAGES. 15 



Imsket used in the eastern crate. These two crates are the standard 

 berrv packages for the eastern United States. A series of tests devel- 

 oped the fact that not enoutiii ditierence in the tightness of the two 

 packages exists to materially atiect the keeping of the fruit in cold 

 storage. Practically the same amount of moUl developed in the fruit 

 in one package as in the other, and neither seemed superior to the 

 other in atiecting the h^ngth of time the fruit kept. 



With a view to testing the effect of a close package upon the keep- 

 ing of })erries in cold storage, a considerable cpiantity of fruit was 

 stored in the cartons before mentioned. The carton used holds a little 

 less than a quart, and is mamifaetured and used by a confectionery 

 firm for the purpose of preserving pop corn and other confections in a 

 dry, crisp condition. The package is a very close one, well designed 

 for protecting the contents from contact with the air. Fruit packed 

 in these boxes in a dry, firm condition kept well, being nuich less 

 affected by mold and less tainted by storage-house odors than the fruit 

 stored in open packages. Fruit that was damp with rain or dew when 

 packed, however, fermented and turned brown in three or four. days. 

 A still tighter package, made by wrapping and sealing the paraffined 

 cardboard carton in a heavy paraffined paper wrap l)(>fore inclosing 

 it in the outside paper jacket, was tested during the season of r.>05. 

 This package proved too tight; the fruit softened and had the charac- 

 teristic bad flavor of fruit confined and smothered in an atmosphere 

 of carbon dioxid. 



COMPOSITION OF THE AIR IN DIFFERENT TYPES OF PACKAGES. 



In order to test the comparative tightness of the several packages 

 and to determine the effect of a close package on the air surrounding 

 the fruit, a series of chemical tests of the air in the packages was 

 made in cooperation with Mr. H. C. Gore, assistant chemist, in the 

 Bureau of Chemistry. Packages of fruit were prepared in the l)erry 

 field and were placed in cold storage at 36° F. two to four hours later. 

 The packages used were the double-wrapped and the triple-wrapped 

 cartons previously described and glass bottles with rubber stoppers. 

 Within four to ten days after the fruit was stored Mr. Gore analyzed 

 samples of the gases taken from the several styles of packages. 



The method of taking the samples of gas was as follows: A round 

 hole was punched in one end of the box and a glass tube was immedi- 

 ately inserted nearly the whole length of the box. This glass tube 

 was connected with a rubber tube attached to a 6-ounce bottle. The 

 bottle, rubber tube, and glass tube had been previously filled with water. 

 By gentle suction a sample of air 60 to 80 cubic centimeters in volume 

 was drawn from the package and was immediately analyzed. In taking 

 samples from the bottles the glass tube of water was inserted through 



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