- 3 - 



Vifhile the number of bruises up to l/2" in diameter constitute seventy-eight per 

 cent of all bruises, this is relatively uningjortant as bruises of this size are super- 

 ficial and are seldom noticed. On the other hand, the remaining twenty-two per cent 

 is of great importance as these bruis es not onl;r affect the appearance of the apples 

 but are usually soft^ often result in rot, and cause a certain amount of wast iT 

 Elimination of these larger bruises which probably were due' to careless handling, 

 v:ould do much to improve the market quality of Jiiclntosh apples. 



Stem Punctures, Cuts and Cracks 



In addition to bruises, sixteen per cent of all apples had stem punctures, 

 twenty-three per cent had cuts and nineteen per cent had naturally occxirring cracks 

 in the skin. 



Breaks in the skin, of whatever nature, not only detract from the appearance of 

 an apple, but provide a ready entrance for rots. Several specimens were observed in 

 which rot had started from one of these sotirces . More careful handling can reduce 

 the number of stem punctures and cuts but the cause and remedy of naturally occurring 

 cracks is problematical. 



Color 



Poorly colored apples detract materially from the sales appeal of a display of 

 apples and lov;er the price of the entire lot when mixed with well colored fruit. The 

 market for ^iclntoah apples would be strengthened if such poorly colored apples vrere 

 kept at the farm and made into cider of^sold separately . 



Firmness 



Using a mgness-Taylor pressure tester with a 7/l6" plunger, sixty-two per cent 

 of the apples were in the range of 8,0-^,9 poxinds. Forty-two per cent were in the 

 range of 9 » 0-9. 9 pounds. In other words, the majority of the apples were too soft 

 to be in prime eating condition. These apples were either held too long at high 

 temperatures in the stores or fruit grov/ers held them too long in storage before put- 

 ting them on the market, Y^erever the fault may lie , the solution is for fruit growers 

 to vmtch the pressure of apples in "storage more closely and sell them vrhile they are 

 above ten pounds and then for th~stores to keep them under refrigeration until they 

 are sold. Only ten per cent of the stores visited sold apples from a refrigerated 

 display counter. The usual answer to the question, "Can you afford to keep apples on 

 a refrigerated counter?" was, "Yes , because it keeps ngr apples in better condition 

 and saves waste, " 



Temperature 



The temperature of eighty-five per cent of the san^jles as taken from the stores 

 ranged from 50°F, to 69°F, with forty-six per cent in the 60^, to 69°F, range. 

 Holding apples at these relatively high temperatures will tend to hasten ripening of 

 the fruit as compared with the lower average temperature of 52°F, as recorded for 

 samples taken from refrigerated display counters. 



Loss Dub to Waste 



The average of prices posted for Mcintosh apples in the stores was 13.25 cents 

 Jier pound. The average cost of usable pulp, assuming there was no waste, was l5.8 

 cents per pound. The cost of usable pulp with waste removed was l6,5 cents per pound, 

 fence, the consumer paid 0,7 cents per pound for unusable waste due to rot and bruises. 

 While the financial loss due to blemishes should not be ignored, it appears that the 



