126 MANUAL OF TROPICAL AND SUBTROPICAL FRUITS 



says that Alphonse can be kept two months, if properly stored. 

 Pairi, on the other hand, will only remain in good condition 

 for eight days. C. F. Kinman points out that the Indian 

 mangos have proved to be much better keepers in Porto Rico 

 than the native seedlings. The flavor and keeping quality of a 

 fruit depend, of course, largely on the degree of maturity at 

 which it is picked. For local use the. fruit, with the exception 

 of Sandersha, should be allowed to color fully and to soften 

 slightly on the tree, while for shipping to market it must be 

 picked before it is fully colored. Some varieties, such as Amini, 



develop an objectionable 

 flavor if left on the tree 

 until fully ripe. 



From Florida the In- 

 dian varieties have been 

 shipped successfully to 

 northern markets (Fig. 

 14). The fruit is picked 

 when it has begun to 

 acquire color, but before 

 it has softened in the 

 slightest degree. It is 

 then wrapped in tissue- 

 paper of the kind used in shipping citrus fruits, and is packed 

 in tomato baskets. Mangos of moderate size, such as Mulgoba, 

 will pack twelve to a basket. A small amount of excelsior is 

 used above and below them. Six of these baskets are placed in 

 a crate for shipment. Sometimes tomato baskets are dispensed 

 with and the fruit is packed in a crate with a partition in the 

 center, using an abundance of excelsior between each tier or 

 layer. 



Numerous storage tests have been made at the Porto Rico 

 Agricultural Experiment Station (Bull. 24). Mangos of 

 different varieties were placed in (a) warm storage at 80 to 



FIG. 14. Florida-grown mangos packed 

 shipment. 



for 



