HORTICULTURE. 143 



parative test of the influence of different styles of packages upon the keeping 

 (juality of the fruit when stored; and the influence of paper wrappers on the 

 keeping qualities of fruit. The fruit was held in storage at a temperature of 

 34° F. in 1906-7, and at 33° F. the following season. 



In storage, hard, firm, well-colored fruit keeps best. Northwestern Greenings 

 of this type remained in prime condition a month longer than poorly colored, 

 I)rematurely picked fruit. With the Patten, the scald was more conspicuous on 

 the poorer colored lots. The difference was greater and more striking with the 

 Wealthy than with any other varieties tested. 



Fruit stored inunetliately after i)icking was in better condition, harder, firmer, 

 and lasted longer after removal from storage, than lots of the same variety 

 which were held in the orchard or in an open shed for two weeks, and then 

 forwarded to the storage house. This was more noticeable with early ripening 

 varieties when the delay in storage comes during warm fall weather. With 

 varieties subject to scald, immediate storage tends to reduce and retard the 

 development of that trouble to a marked degree. 



With hard, late-ripening sorts, the advantage of wrapjiing in paper was not 

 very apparent, while with tender varieties, the wrapper appears to extend the 

 life of the fruit, preserving its natural brightness and lessening the amount of 

 decay. 



In the package trial, ordinary apple barrels, slat crates, and boxes holding 

 50 lbs,, were compared. With the Northwestern Greening and Patten, the 

 difference between the different packs was not marked. Wealthy kept in the 

 best condition in boxes. The bruising was greater in the barrel and shriveling 

 was greater in the slat crate than in either barrel or box. Data are given show- 

 ing the ra])idity of cooling of air and fruit in different styles of packages in 

 cold-storage warehouses. 



A sununary is given of the orchard conditions in which the fruit used in the 

 experiments was grown, together with a record of the varieties tested with ref- 

 erence to their keeping qualities in storage. 



The results of the work as a whole confirmed earlier experiments conducted 

 by the Bureau of Plant Industry along this line (E. S. R., 15, pp. 581). 



Report on grape shipments, A. V. Stubenrauch (Cal. Fruit Groiver, JfO 

 {1909), Ao. 11 lo, 1)1). 1, .'/). — The storage and transportation experiments with 

 table grapes being conducted in California by the Bureau of Plant Industry 

 were continued during the season of 1909 with results similar to those pre- 

 viously noted (E. S. R., 20, p. S40). The report here given originally appeared 

 in the Lodi Sentinel. 



Data are given showing the percentages of decay in individual shipments of 

 Tokay grapes on arrival in New York, and the average percentage of decay in 

 all experimental shipments to New York during September and October, 1909. 

 The average percentage of decay in the commercial packs upon arrival was 

 4.35 per cent, and in the carefully packed crates 0.9 per cent. The decay in 

 the commercial lots increased to 7.42 i)er cent after 3 days exposure to market 

 conditions, to 11.95 per cent at the end of 5 days, and to 15.78 per cent at the 

 end of 7 days, while in the carefully packed crates the average decay at the 

 end of 7 days was only 8.87 per cent. When the grapes were packed in boxes 

 with ground cork only 4.08 per cent developed decay 7 days after arrival in 

 market, and when redwood sawdust was used only 1.13 per cent. 



Investigation was made of the percentages of decay resulting from injuries 

 and the percentage of injured berries in a number of commercial packs obtained 

 from different growers and held in California in an iced car for about two 

 weeks, or the equivalent of a trip across the continent. At the end of the first 

 day 9.02 per cent of the grapes were decayed and 12.82 per cent showed injuries. 



