278 Journal of Agricultural Research voi. xxii, no. s 



fruit during development on the tree showed that the total sugar con- 

 tent increased while the acidity decreased, the increase in sugar content 

 being very marked. 



Fruit on the tree increases in palatability and food value. There is, 

 of course, always danger that the seeds will sprout in the varieties 

 containing seeds if the fruit remains on the tree too long. There is also 

 danger that the fruit will drop or be shaken from the tree by high winds. 



It is of interest to note that the behavior of the acids and sugars 

 during growth and in cold storage is similar to the behavior of these 

 constituents of some of the deciduous fruits — that is, it is apparently 

 possible to remove the fruit from the tree after it is well along toward 

 maturity and to ripen it in storage. The result will be an apparently 

 sweeter fruit, due to loss of acidity and a reduced bitterness, the naringin 

 or bitter principle breaking down in storage. A period in cold storage, 

 then, renders the fruit more palatable. From the experiments detailed 

 above it seems probable that the pitting of grapefruit can be controlled 

 by curing at 70° F. before they are placed in cold storage. Investiga- 

 tions are in progress at the present time on this last-mentioned phase of 



the Avork. 



LITERATURE CITED 



i) BiGELOW, W. D., and GorE, H. C. 



1905. STUDIES ON PEACHES... U. S. Dept. Agr. Bur. Chem. Bui. 97, 32 p. 

 2) and Howard, B. J. 



1905. STUDIES ON APPLES... U. S. Dept. Agr. Bur. Chem. Bui. 94, 100 p., 

 30 fig., 5 pi. 



3) COLLINSON, S. E. 

 I913. SUGAR AND ACID IN ORANGES AND GRAPEFRUIT. Fla. Agr. Exp. Sta. 



Bul. 115, p. 1-23. 



4) Gerber, Charles. 



1896. RECHERCHES SUR LA MATURATION DES FRUITS CHARNUS. In Ann. Sci. 



Nat. Bot., ser. 8, t. 4, no. 1/6, p. 1-280, pi. 1-2. 



5) Hasselbring, Heinrich. 

 1918. BEHAVIOR OF SWEET POTATOES IN THE GROUND, /n Jour. Agr. Research, 



V. 12, no. I, p. 9-17, I fig. 



6) Hawkins, Lon A. 



1916. EFFECT OF CERTAIN SPECIES OP FUSARIUM ON THE COMPOSITION OP THE 



POTATO TUBER. In Jour. Agr. Research, v. 6, no. 5, p. 183-196. 

 Literature cited, p. 196. 



7) and MagnESS, J. R. 



1920. SOME CHANGES IN FLORIDA GRAPEFRUIT IN STORAGE. In JoUr. Agr. 



Research, v. 20, no. 5, p. 357-373. Literature cited, p. 372-373. 



8) LiNDET, L. 

 1894. RECHERCHES SUR LE D^VELOPPEMENT ET LA MATURATION DE LA POMME 



A cidrE. In Ann. Agron., t. 20, p. 5-20. 



9) Magness, J. R. 



1920. COMPOSITION OF GASES IN INTERCELLULAR SPACES OP APPLES AND POTA- 

 TOES. In Bot. Gaz., v. 70, no. 4, p. 308-316, i fig. Literature cited, 

 p. 316. 



