KEEPING QUALITIES OF APPLES. 



-T is a matter of common knowledgfe that 

 varieties of apples, as of other fruits, 

 differ greatly in their keeping- qualities. 

 ^' Not all varieties are adapted to the 

 same conditions. In general a juicy fruit 

 or one that matures earlier in the season, 

 does not keep as well as a drier, firmer fruit, 

 or one that matures later. 



The Canada Experimental Farms made a 

 test of the relative keeping quality of 22 var- 

 ieties of apples as stored in a cellar. The 

 temperature ranged from 35° to 40° F. for 

 three months, with the exception of one 

 very cold snap when it fell to 26°. The 

 apples were undoubtedly frozen, but were in 

 the dark and thawed out gradually. April 

 15, the thermometer rose to 45' F. , and in 

 May a little higher. The fruit was not ripe. 

 It was examined May 28, with the following 

 results : 



Relative keeping qualities of ttoenty-three varieties of apple*. 



Variety. 



Ben Davis 



Newell 



Wagener 



Rawles Oenet 



Winesap 



Walbridge 



Gre«n Sweet 



Crimean 



Lawyer 



Bombareer 



Doke of ConnaughC • 



Hardy 



Swaysie Pomme Grise. 



Pewaokee 



Watterson No. 3 



Salome 



Fameuse 



Qaakar Beaaty 



Hardisty , 



Haas „ 



Gideon ^... 



Mcintosh 



Anisovka 



Bound. 



Peret. 

 100 

 03 



88 



Partly 



de- 

 ca\ed. 



Peret. 



73 

 T2 

 62 



34 

 31 



20 

 20 

 SO 



'1 



25 



Rotten. 



Peret. 



12 

 12 

 14 

 13 

 16 

 23 

 40 

 20 

 42 

 33 

 63 

 33 

 40 

 40 

 70 

 96 

 75 

 100 

 100 

 100 

 100 



Grapes in sawdust gave better results 

 than those in baskets or open trays. 



The berries seemed to hold to the stem 

 better than in either of the other cases. 

 They were also slower to show mildew, 

 owing to the fact that the sawdust absorbed 



the moisture that evaporated from the grapes 

 and kept them dry. A difficulty with saw- 

 dust packing is that it adheres to the fruit 

 and stem so that in shaking it off the berries 

 are detached. Cut cork was suggested as 

 better packing material than sawdust. Next 

 after packing in sawdust the method of 

 storing in trays gave best results, as it kept 

 the fruit drier than the baskets. 



Dryness is essential to the successful 

 preservation of grapes. Moisture causes 

 the growth of mold, which at once ruins the 

 fruit. With the present moist storage rooms 

 some good absorbent such as sawdust must 

 protect the fruit. Better success with grapes 

 would be attained in a room cooled by dry, 

 cold air currents than by the present systems 

 of refrigeration. Such storage rooms are 

 already being planned in some ware- 

 houses. * * * 



Grapes held up in good condition from six 

 to eight weeks. The results of other sea- 

 sons agree in fixing this as the limit for 

 grapes grown in our section. The length 

 of time varies considerably with the different 

 varieties. Delaware, Agawam, Brighton, 

 Duchess, Centennial, Concord, Worden 

 and Hays, ranking in the order named, have 

 kept the best. It is noticable that the red 

 grapes head the list, the first three being 

 red. The fourth and fifth of the list are 

 white, while the black grapes represented 

 by Concord and Worden rank in sixth and 

 seventh places. The varieties that kept best 

 are those that rank as early grapes. How- 

 ever, no extremely late varieties were tried. 

 Had they been tried the results might be 

 different. The climate in which the grapes 

 grow modifies their keeping qualities. A 

 grape that matures slowly in a climate of 

 moderately cool, regular temperature will 

 keep longer than one whose ripening it hast- 

 ,ened by excessive heat. 



