186 Zessons in Fruit Grovnng. 



skin of fruits, however, tends to prevent the access of bac- 

 teria or their spores to the juices beneath. It follows that 

 the least breakage of the skin of a fruit invites rapid decay. 

 Moisture on the skin of a fruit favors the germination of 

 the spores of bacteria, and hence promotes decay. A moist 

 atmosphere is probably not, in itself, detrimental to the- 

 keeping of fruit, but it endangers dampening of the skin. 

 A low temperature retards decay because it retards both 

 the ripening of fruit and the multiplication of bacteria. 



289. How to promote the keeping of fruit. From the 

 three preceding paragraphs it is evident that the keeping 

 of fruit is promoted, (a) by gathering the fruit before it is 

 fully mature, (b) by avoiding breakage of the skin, (c) b^'" 

 gathering the fruit when it is dry and keeping it dry, and 

 (d) by placing it in a temperature low enough to retard it& 

 maturity and the development of bacteria. 



290. Fruit may become moist in storage. When a pack- 

 age of warm fruit is placed in a cool apartment the air be- 

 tween the fruits in the package may become so far saturated 

 with moisture before the fruit cools to the temperature of 

 the room, that a part of its moisture will be condensed 

 upon the skin of the fruit. This must happen if the tem- 

 perature of the apartment is as low as the dew point 

 of the air in the package. The warmer the fruit is, and the 

 cooler the apartment, the greater is the danger of the fruit 

 becoming damp. Fruit thus dampened is slow to become 

 dry, unless it is removed from the package. Wrapping the 

 fruits individually in absorbent paper tends to prevent the 

 injurious condensation of water. 



To prevent fruit from becoming moist in the package, 

 it is probably best to carry it as fast as gathered to a cool,, 

 dry room, and expose it to the air, in the vessels in which 



