Bitter Pit in Apples. 15 



and xylol, ^vhich are all highly soluble and extremely penetra.- 

 ting, and consequently the appearance was produced very 

 rapidly. In e*ach case a small portion of the surface of the 

 fruit was rubbed with sterilised cotton wool steeped in the 

 liquid, with the following results : — In two days the areas of 

 Anne Elisabeth apples rubbed with chloroform, showed distinct 

 pitting. (See fig. 12.) Those (Bethlehemite) rubbed with 

 corrosive sublimate in 24 hours (see fig. 13), and those (5- 

 crown) treated with xylol in 12 hours. (See fig. 14.) 



Jonathan apples, whose whole surfaces were washed over 

 with a mixture of new process arsenate of lead, manufactured 

 by the Sherwin-Williams Co. in the proportion of 1 oz. of the 

 solid per gallon of water began to develop bitter pit in about 5 

 weeks. 



In order to ascertain whether any lead arsenate was present 

 in the diseased cells, they were submitted to chemical tests, 

 the experiments being performed in the general laboratory, 

 where no spraying materials were present. 



The apples, principally Anne Elisabeth, were well washed 

 in order to remove any traces of spray which might be ad- 

 herent to the skin. They were then peeled with a clean knife, 

 and aftenvards with a clean scalpel the diseased cells were 

 scraped out. These were reduced to ash in a new crucible. 



The ash was then tested for the presence of lead, by in- 

 cineration on charcoal blocks, which were quite new, and the 

 characteristic incrustation of litharge was obtained, and also 

 glassy yellowish beads of lead silicate, but no globules of 

 metallic lead. A further supply of affected cells from Anne 

 Elisabeth apples was prepared in a similar way. They were 

 mixed with sodium carbonate, and left to dry in an oven. 

 In about 8 hours they were converted into a dry, carbonaceous- 

 mass which was ignited gently till the flame extinguished it- 

 self. The mass was rubbed to a fine powder with a pestle and 

 mortar, when very small glittering metallic globules were 

 discernible with the aid of a hand lens, scattered throughout 

 the powder. Chemical tests Avere also performed for the detec- 

 tion of arsenic in the scraped out pitted cells, but the charac- 

 teristic arsenic reactions were not discerned. Possibly this 

 may be due to the quantity of arsenic, if present, being verjr 



