STORAGE OF FRUIT 359 



tests have been made to determine at what stage of maturity 

 a fruit will keep best in storage. It is well known that an 

 under-ripe apple will wilt and shrivel and an over-ripe one 

 will decay rather rapidly even when put in storage. It then 

 remains to determine what is the best time for storing in 

 order to secure the maximum keeping quality. This stage 

 has been detennined as "hard ripe," i. e., when the apple 

 has developed full size and good color for the variety. If the 

 fruit is left on the trees until the highest color is developed, 

 it will often be to the detriment of the keeping quality. The 

 proper time for picking is usually associated with a browning 

 of the seeds, but this is not always a reliable guide. 



An exception to this rule is noted when apples are grown 

 on young rapidly growing trees. Such fruit is likely to be 

 overgrown, and under such conditions the apples will usually 

 keep better if picked before fully grown. In general, as will 

 be seen later, light colored apples scald worse in storage 

 than do well-colored ones. The following striking results were 

 secured by the Department of Agriculture ^ which demon- 

 strate the value of storing mature fruit only. The variety 

 used in this test was the Rome Beauty, which by nature is a 

 long keeper, but subject to scald if conditions are favorable 

 for it. The immature pickings of fruit were made during 

 the last two weeks of September and the mature pickings 

 from October 2 to 20. 



1 Ramsey, H. J., A. W. INIcKay, E. L. Markell, and H. S. Bird. U. S. 

 Dept. Agr. Bull. 587. 1917. 



