ANNUAL REPORT, 1933 43 



also made of a control group of children of the same grades in a school in a neigh- 

 boring village. The control group was fed this year. As in the project above, 

 insofar as the analysis has been completed, the data seem to indicate some im- 

 provement in the general well-being of the children in the experimental groups. 



DEPARTMENT OF HORTICULTURAL MANUFACTURES 

 W. W. Chenoweth in Charge 



Technological Investigations and Nutritive Value of New England Fruit 

 Products. (C. R. Fellers and J. A. Clague, with the assistance of G. G. Smith.) 

 The vitamin C content of 17 varieties of apples has been determined by the 

 guinea pig bio-assay method. A marked difference among varieties was noted: 

 Baldwin and Northern Spy had the highest vitamin C values; Spitzenburg, 

 Roxbury Russet, King, Gravenstein, Winesap, Rhode Island Greening, and 

 Wealthy were intermediate; and Delicious, King David, Tolman Sweet, and 

 Mcintosh were very poor in this factor. The bio-assay of other varieties is 

 being continued. 



The spraying of apple trees with lead arsenate sprays had no effect on the 

 vitamin C content of Baldwin apples. Previous preliminary data reported 

 (Proceedings of the American Society for Horticultural Science 30 (1932): 93-97, 

 1933) on the distribution of vitamin C in the epidermis, flesh near the epidermis, 

 and flesh near the core were confirmed. There is a definite increase in vitamin C 

 in the outer layers of the flesh of apples. 



Apple butter, boiled cider, and vinegar retained only traces of \ntamin C. 

 Regardless of the method of manufacture, apple sauce retained only 10 to 20 

 per cent of the original vitamin C content of the fruit. 



The clarification of fresh cider was studied with a view to determining the 

 most effective and inexpensive methods. Tests were made with enzyme prep- 

 arations, gelatin-tannin precipitation, and filtration. Both the gelatin-tannin 

 and the enzyme methods followed by filtration gave clear, sparkling ciders of high 

 quality. Ten varieties of apples were studied for their cider making qualities, 

 especially with respect to sugars, acids, pectin, and tannin. 



Manufacture, Preservation, and Nutritive Value of Cranberry Products. 



(C. R. Fellers, J. A. Clague, and P. D. Isham.) About 10 additional varieties 

 have been examined during the year for suitability for strained and whole sauce 

 manufacture. Data have now been obtained on 60 varieties. Frozen cran- 

 berries were found to make good quality canned cranberry sauce, and several 

 canners are now utilizing this information by freezing several thousand barrels 

 annually for sauce manufacture during the off-season. Sauce made from such 

 frozen berries is superior in color and quality to canned cranberry sauce which 

 has been held in storage for several months. 



The jelly strength tester developed by this department {Industrial and Engi- 

 neering Chemistry, Analytical Edition 4:106, 1932) has been successfully used 

 to determine the jelly strength of canned cranberry sauce. This is of importance 

 because sauces showing strengths of less than 100 grams break down in shipment. 



A new method of preparing candied cranberries has been developed. Briefly, 

 the pricked fresh cranberries are placed in a 70 per cent sugar syrup in a vacuum 

 pan and thoroughly exhausted. This impregnates the fruit with syrup. After 

 drying, the fruit retains its excellent color and flavor and keeps well. Additional 

 research has also been conducted on cranberry juice. 



