EXrERlMENT STATION WORK WITH PEACHES. 427 



where they arrived in perfect condition, without refrigeration. One 

 shipment to Rochester, N. Y., was returned to Texas without ice, 

 reaching there in good condition. Powell and Fulton, of this Depart- 

 ment, as a result of their investigations,'* state that in shipping 

 peaches pickmg must be done carefully to prevent all bruising. The 

 fruit should be fully grown and well colored, but firm when picked. 

 It should be transferred from the orchard to the cars or the storage 

 room as soon as possible after removal from the trees. If picked in 

 the morning it may be 20° F. cooler than if picked later in the day, 

 and unless artificially cooled should be placed on the cars before losing 

 this cool temperature. 



It was found that if peaches are cooled quickly to about 40° F. 

 before, being loaded into refrigerator cars they will carry to the most 

 distant northern markets without loss, while if the peaches are picked 

 and sent from the orchard to cars cooled in the ordinary way with ice, 

 as much as 30 per cent of the layers in the upper part of the car may be 

 spoiled. Much of the losses in transportation of peaches can be over- 

 come if the temperature of the fruit is reduced quickly after picking. 



In shipping peaches to Paris, Mr. Wright, of Delaware,^ was most 



successful when the peacljes were picked green, then wrapped in 



tissue, then cotton, and fuially in blotting paper, and shipped in 



6-basket carriers. Peaches shipped by West Virginia growers" to 



England gave much larger net returns than when shipped to New 



York. 



COLD STORAGE OF PEACHES. 



The freezing of the juices of different varieties of peaches was found 

 by the Ontario Agricultural College "^ to vary between 29.3° and 30° F., 

 from which it is calculated that the freezing point of the fruits them- 

 selves would be if anything lower than this. 



Peaches are .not usually stored for any length of time. Stormg 

 may be of use as a temporary measure to prevent or avoid a glut in 

 the market, or to fill in the gaps between the crops of different regions. 

 The investigations of Powell and Fulton ^ show clearly that it is not 

 profitable to put peaches into cold storage for any length of time 

 under any circumstances, unless the condition of the fruit and the 

 storage conditions are most favorable. "In normal ripening the 

 peach passes from maturity to decay in a few hours in hot, humid 

 weather. The aroma and flavor are most delicate in character and 

 are easily injured or lost." 



" U. S. Dept. Agr., Bureau of Plant Industry Bui. 40. 



b Agr. Gaz. X. S. Wales, 12 (1904), Xo. 1. 



-West Virginia Sta. Bui. 82. 



fi Ontario Agi-. College and Experimental Farm Rpt. 1!)0:], ]>. 13. 



« U. S. Dept. Agr., Bureau of Plant Industry Bui. 40. 



