84 



MASS. EXPERIMENT STATION BULLETIN 198. 



ceived from the substation at East Wareham, they were placed in the 

 cold-storage house at the College under the same conditions that were 

 maintained for apples. The cold-storage house is a modern building in 

 which the temperature can be kept practically constant week in and week 

 out, wliich for apples is just above the freezing point, or between 32° and 

 33° F. The cranberries were stored in ventilated crates holding a half 

 barrel each. There was some evidence that the berries in the center of a 

 crate decayed a httle more than those near the surface, but these crates 

 are as small as will be economical for storage and transportation. 



When a sample of fruit was required for the chemical studies, a quantity 

 of berries was removed from a crate, carefully sorted by hand, and the 

 different portions weighed. Especial care was taken to have only perfect 

 fruit for the chemical experiments; therefore some berries were rejected 

 which would have been included among sound fruit by the ordinary 

 methods of sorting for the trade. The shrinkage was consequently some- 

 what greater than would occur in practical storage. The relative keeping 

 qualities of the different varieties should hold, however. 



In the fall of 1918 the cranberries were received at the Experiment 

 Station on September 26, kept in a cool room untU October 3, and then 

 placed in cold storage with apples. The first lots were removed on Novem- 

 ber 20, and others at intervals untU February 18. The percentages of 

 perfect fruit are given in Table VII. 



For the season of 1919 the cranberries were received in November and 

 placed at once in the storage room with apples. Previously they had lain 

 in the store room at the bog in East Wareham at natural temperatures. 

 The first lot was taken from cold storage on Jan. 13, 1920, at which time 

 the crates were removed to a room without ice for the subsequent respira- 

 tion experiments, but at no time was the temperature observed to go above 

 37° or 38° F. in this room, which was insulated from outside temperature 

 changes. In this series of tests one variety was used at a time, but all 

 were examined within a week, so in the table below the dates are given 

 for weeks instead of definite days in which berries were sorted. 



Table VIL — Keeping Quality of Cranberries. (Per Cent Sound Fruit.) 



