A CHEMICAL STUDY OF CRANBERRIES 99 



(4), and grapefruit (l), high quality is generally accompanied by a high 

 sugar and high acid content occnrring together. These two constituents do 

 not account for the characteristic flavors but do cause the distinction between 

 an insipid, a too tart, and a well balanced, sprightly taste. 



It has not been observed that cranberries tend to increase in sugar after 

 removal from the vines, but that this constituent develops with marked rapid- 

 ity before picking as maturity, indicated by high color, is reached. On the 

 other hand, total acid is as high in the inunature fruit as at any later stage. 

 Hence it appears that a better balance between acid and sugar is attained 

 when the cranberry is allowed to remain on the vines until highly colored. 



Howes, for example, have as a rule been harvested from the State Bog 

 before October 1 ; and analyses have shown total sugar a little under 4 per 

 cent, while the fruit has been only partially colored. Yet, whenever the vari- 

 ety has been left on the vines until fully colored dark red, the sugar content 

 has advanced well above 4 per cent, with no increase in acidity. It would 

 appear that the dark colored Howes would be superior in quality to the light 

 colored berries usually harvested. 



Assuming that quality in cranberries is indicated by content of total 

 sugar, since acidity varies within comparatively narrow limits for all varieties, 

 there were nine varieties of Massachusetts berries with 5 per cent or more 

 total sugar; namely. Black A'eil, Buccilieu, Centennial, Centerville, Champion, 

 Paradise Meadow, Shurtleff, Stanley and Wales Henry. Some samples of 

 these varieties, however, were too immature to reach this percentage. Thir- 

 teen other, varieties yielded over 4.5 per cent total sugar and should be given 

 consideration for quality. These were Aviator, Berry, Howes, Klondike, Late 

 Red, McFarlin, Mammoth, Middleboro, Nova Scotia, Perry Red, Pride, Shaw's 

 Success, Smalley Howes. Numerous samples of this group were below the 

 given percentage. 



Of the New Jersey varieties, Centennial came within the highest group, 

 and McFarlin and Woolman were in the second group. From Wisconsin, the 

 samples of McFarlin and Searl's Jumbo from the northern district were in 

 the second group. 



Resistance of Cranberries to Decay or Keeping Qualities of Varieties 



The cold storage conditions for the cranberries in these studies were 

 those for apples, since the boxes of berries were kept in one of the storage 

 rooms used for apples by the Department of Pomology. In nearly all cases 

 the Massachusetts and W^isconsin cranberrFes were sent to the laboratory 

 without being screened; therefore, the berries had not been bruised by pass- 

 ing through the grading machinery as may be the case with cranberries 

 shipped to market. 



Samples of a given variety of cranberries coming from different bogs 

 showed widely different proportions of sound fruit when the sub-samples 

 were sorted. For sample. Centennial from one bog had not more than 15 per 

 cent of sound frviit on January 30, while from another bog 60 per cent of the 

 sample were good at that time. Perry Red cranberries from two different 

 bogs had 70 per cent of sound fruit in February, but a lot from a third bog 

 rotted rapidly and was discarded early in the winter. 



Of the varieties with but one representative sample, it may be unfair to 



