The Canadian /lorUcnltni-isL 



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THE CONDITIONS FOR LONG-KEEPIfJG OF FRUIT. 



IN wh.it condition can fruit bj 

 placed to best preserve its good 

 qualities and retard its decay ? 

 There seems to be two distinct active 

 processes in the growth and develop- 

 ment of fruit. The first is the growth 

 — the collecting and building up of a 

 compound of comparatix-el}' solid 

 structure which is unpalatable and 

 indigestible as an article of food. 

 The second is the ripening process; 

 a kind of organic ferment ; a break- 

 ing down, softening, dissolving, rend- 

 ering palatable, easily digested and 

 valuable as food. In this change 

 the volatile oils are generated, giving 

 flavor and character to fruit. The 

 time required in building up fruit 

 preparatory to ripening has not been 

 delegated to man to control to any 

 great extent, whether a variety is to 

 ripen in May, July or September. 

 Yet if man cannot control the time 

 of completed growth, he can, during 

 this period, by good care and culti 

 x'ation, nicrease greatly its size and 

 value. 



In the second stage of develop- 

 ment ripening can be hastened or 

 retarded, and when fully ripe, decay 

 can be delayed. In the second stage 

 fruit should not be left opened and 

 exposed to atmospheric changes of 

 temperature or moisture. Flavor is 

 lost by evaporation. If the purpose 

 is to hasten ripening, the fruit should 

 be inclosed in a tight box or barrel, 

 or wrapped in flannel, to prevent 

 evaporation, and left in a warm room 

 of uniform temperature. 



The greatest advantage to the 

 fruitgrower will result from checking 

 too early maturity, and from prevent- 

 ing early decay after harvesting. 

 His success demands a place for 

 storage, with surroundings favorable 

 for preservation. One condition is 

 conceded by all — that the tem])era- 

 ture, must be lower than that re- 

 (piired for growth. That 32^' is too 

 low, seems to be the conclusion of 



those best (pialilied to judge. Fruit 

 kept long at that temperature, al- 

 though apparentl}' unchanged, when 

 removed soon sinks to decay, not 

 apparently from over-ripeness, but 

 from the permanent suspension of all 

 active forces. The process of decay, 

 not that of ripening, takes possession. 

 California shippers of oranges have 

 come to the conclusion that refriger- 

 ator cars do not pay ; in fact that 

 they have occasioned great loss. It 

 seems that the conditions most favor- 

 able for the preservation of fruit 

 without loss in quality would be se- 

 cured by a store-room, having the 

 temperature so low as to check (not 

 wholly destroy) the forces at work in 

 fruit, whether these forces be chemi- 

 cal or organic, — so low that spores 

 would not be active ; the air so damp 

 tluit moisture would not escape, 

 while the temperature and moisture 

 should remain uniform. Apples, as 

 well as potatoes, buried in the ground 

 and so covered as to be protected 

 from heat and frost, come out in the 

 spring as fresh and bright as when 

 buried in the fall. 



Grapes, picked and wilted, then 

 buried in stone jars three to four feet 

 below the surface, will come out with 

 stems green and fruit plump and 

 bright. In these two cases the 

 temperature remains more uniform 

 than could result with atmospheric 

 exposure. Cellars having springs in 

 them or streams passing through 

 them are noted for keeping apples 

 and vegetables fresh, even until late 

 the next season. The water acts 

 as a regulator of both temperature 

 and moisture. These methods of 

 storage approach the conditions speci- 

 fied above, and the nearer the ap- 

 proach the better tlie result. 



If these conditions are favorable 

 for the preservation of fruit in all its 

 stages of ripeness, the question arises: 

 How ma}- they be the best and most 

 economicalh secured ? The cream- 



