Aug. i6. 1920 Ripening and Storage of Bartlett Pears 497 



same time to plan so that the tremendous tonnage that comes on within 

 a short period is utilized before the fruit becomes overripe and breaks 

 down. Almost every year canners lose a considerable quantity of pears 

 because the fruit becomes overripe before the cannery can handle it. 



The first consideration of the canner should be the securing of a high 

 quality product by leaving the fruit on the trees until well devel- 

 oped. Pears picked very early are low in the natural fruit sugars and 

 are of very inferior quality, whether eaten fresh or canned. A high- 

 grade canned product can be secured only by using a high quality of 

 fruit. 



If this is done, it becomes practically necessary for the cannery man 

 to store part of his season's supply. If certain conditions of storage are 

 carried out, the keeping of Bartlett pears in storage, even up to two 

 months, and still securing a high-quality product is a practical certainty. 

 These conditions may be summarized briefly as follows : 



(i) Use only well-developed fruit for storage. Early pickings tend to 

 "scald" or turn brown and decay and break down much faster when 

 removed from storage. 



(2) Put fruit into storage immediately after it is picked. The maxi- 

 mum time that should elapse between picking and storing should not 

 be more than three or four days. The cannery man will know the 

 capacity of his plant; and, if more tons are being picked each day than 

 he can handle, unless some go directly into storage, he can be sure that 

 his cannery will be "flooded" when the fruit ripens. The fruit should 

 go to the storage as soon as picked, rather than when it begins to soften. 

 Much loss in pears in cold storage occurs because the fruit is in an 

 almost soft-ripe condition when put in. 



(3) Fruit should be cooled as quickly as possible after being placed in 

 storage. It is especially desirable that a room with a large amount of 

 direct expansion or brine piping be used, so that the temperature can be 

 reduced quickly to 30° F. The fruit will cool somewhat more slowly 

 than the air, although, if the fruit is loose in lug boxes, it will follow the 

 air temperature rather closely. 



(4) An even temperature should be maintained. If the storage rooms 

 are large, it will be well worth while to use certain rooms for cooling down 

 thefruit when it arrives, after which it may be transferred to other rooms 

 for holding. This eliminates putting warm fruit into a room in which 

 other fruit, already cooled, is being held. While this necessitates an 

 extra handling, it is well worth while if it is desired to hold the fruit 

 for some time. Especially is this system desirable if certain rooms 

 having greater cooling capacity can be utilized for this precooling. 



(5) The temperature should be held down to 28° or 30° F. if a long 

 storage period is desired. Well-developed Bartlett pears will store at 

 that temperature, ripen in excellent condition if removed at any time up 

 to two or three months, and give a high-quaUty product. If it is desired 



