Alcoholic Vapor to Preserve Fruit. 459 



"Impressed with the powerful action of alcoholic vapors on the 

 mold which generally appears on the surface of fruits in a damp 

 atmosphere, Mr. Petit noticed that pears and apples kept for sev- 

 eral months in a surrounding saturated with vapors of water and 

 alcohol, even were they at the beginning in a state of decay, 

 showed no signs of mold, while fruits in every particular identi- 

 cally similar to the former, stored under the same conditions, but 

 not exposed to the action of alcoholic vapors, were entirely cov- 

 ered with it. 



"Taking advantage of this observation, Mr. Petit applied the 

 principle to the preservation of fruits in general, and most par- 

 ticularly to grapes, because, more than others, the latter are sub- 

 ject to mold. It was to be foreseen that grapes kept, from the 

 day they are cut off the vines, in an atmosphere saturated with 

 vapors of water and alcohol would, by the retarding of the sweat- 

 ing period, not only remain free from mold, but would even re- 

 tain their natural aspect. Consequently, should the temperature 

 be constant and low, the preservation could be maintained long 

 and well. 



"On the 31st of October, 1894 that is, very late in the season 

 and at a very unfavorable time Mr. Petit placed, with other 

 fruits and a bottle filled with 100 cubic centimeters (61 cubic 

 inches) of alcohol at 96, some bunches of grapes known as 

 'Chasselas de Fontainebleau,' fresh from the vine, in a brick 

 recipient in the form of a parallelepiped, cemented inside and 

 closed as hermetically as possible by a common wooden door. 

 In two similar recipients contiguous to the first, one of which 

 was kept open "and the other closed, but without alcohol, were 

 stored similar fruits from the same trees and vines. The fruits 

 were laid on wood shavings. The recipients were built in a very 

 damp cellar, the temperature of which varied regularly from 10 

 to 8 C. (50 to 46 F.) during the whole time the experiment 

 lasted. 



"On November 20, the grapes placed in the recipent left open, 

 and especially so those in the closed recipient without alcohol, 

 were mostly rotten and covered with mold, and were immediately 

 removed. In the recipient containing the bottle of alcohol, the 



