16 



POMOLOGY 



Table VII 



ANALYSIS OF FLESH OF THE PEACH (AFTER BIGELOW AND GORE) 



Ash 



Average . 



Market ripe 

 Full ripe 



While not indicated in the table, there was not much 

 change in the percentage of flesh, stone, and kernel. There is 

 some increase in the percentage of sugar, while that of marc 

 and acid decreased slightly. It may also be pointed out that, 

 comparing the composition of the flesh of the peach with 

 that of the apple, there is practically no starch in the former 

 (only at the veiy beginning), while the latter is quite high 

 in starch until later in its development. 



13. Ripening process in pears. — The pear is unique in its 

 requirements for proper ripening. While many other fruits 

 may be picked when ready for use or when "hard" ripe in 

 order to lengthen their keeping, the pear must be picked 

 much earlier relatively in order to allow the ripening process 

 to proceed off the tree. This produces a fruit of much higher 

 quality for all purposes than when it ripens entirely on the 

 tree. Hence a study of the changes which occur in ripening 

 is of more than ordinaiy interest, and the work of Magness ^ 

 may be cited in this connection. 



Fruit which had been produced in three of the principal 

 pear-growing sections of the Pacific Coast and picked at 



^ This term applies to the total insoluble matter of the flesh of the 

 peach, including the skin. 



2 Magness, J. R. Investigations in the ripening and storage of Bart- 

 lett pears. Jour. Agr. Res. 19: 473-500. 8 fig. 1920. 



