8 MASS. EXPERIMENT STATION BULLETIN 168. 



As will be seen by comparing the percentages in the line of averages in 

 the above table, the amount of decay in these boxes was least among the 

 top berries and greatest among those at the center of the box; and the 

 berries at the ends of the box, halfway between the top and bottom, 

 showed more rot than did the surface berries, but less than did those at 

 the center, it being self-evident that the distribution of the decay was 

 governed largely by the ventilation to which the berries in the different 

 parts of the box were subject. The averages of the table show further 

 that, at the end of the test, the berries at the center of the box were con- 

 siderably smaller than those in the other parts (it taking a larger number 

 to fill the cup used in sampling), while those taken from halfway between 

 the top and the bottom of the ends of the box were slightly larger than 

 were the surface berries. In the opinion of the writer this variation in the 

 size of the berries from the different parts of the box was an exhibition of 

 the varying resultant of the combined action of the three factors which 

 appear to be most important as causes of shrinkage in cranberry storage, 

 namel}^ : — • 



(1) Advanced Decay: Berries in this condition are thrown away in 

 separating and screening. A marked softening and frequently a shriveling 

 accompany the complete disintegration of the fruit tissue. Rotten berries, 

 under even moderate pressure, will take up less room in proportion to 

 their number than will sound ones. The variation in the percentage of 

 such berries in the different parts of the box would, therefore, necessarily 

 have a bearing on the relative number of berries in the samples. 



(2) Incipient Decay: This is not usually superficially apparent. The 

 hardly discernible softening and shriveling which accompanies the slight 

 disintegration of the fruit tissue in the early stages of decay appears to be 

 a very potent cause of shrinkage both in the size of the individual berries 

 and in the quantity of fruit in the mass. The shriveling of berries of the 

 Early Black variety which has been generally supposed to be caused by 

 loss of water appears to be due to this disintegration of incipient decay. 

 As there is an optimum temperature for the development of the fungi 

 which cause decay, there seems to be, in connection with this kind of 

 shrinkage, a suggestion that it may be possible to develop a heating test 

 by which inspectors can determine the relative keeping qualities of cran- 

 berries before they are shipped. 



(3) Loss of Water: It is as yet impossible to say how great the shrinkage 

 in the size of the berries due to water loss is, but it appears to be much 

 less than that caused by either the incipient or advanced decay described 

 above. 



It would seem that in these tests the berries halfway between the top 

 and bottom, at the ends of the boxes, suffered less shrinkage in size because, 

 on the one hand, they were not subject (their ventilation being less) to as 

 much loss of water as were the surface berries, and, on the other hand, 

 they did not develop as much decay as did those at the center, their gain 

 from reduction in loss of water more than offsetting their greater shrinkage 



