ELEVENTH ANNUAL MEETING. 121 



ities. I mean, how shall we judge of the degree of ripeness 

 that they should have in order to be put in cold storage with the 

 best results? 



Mr. Hart : From the point at which the tissues of the apple 

 are filled up. If the apple is gathered before that it will shrivel 

 more and it will not keep as well. It should not be quite 

 ripe. It should be comparatively green but advanced suffi- 

 ciently towards ripeness so that the flesh or tissues of the apple 

 are well filled out. 



Mr. Innis : Do you find any difference in the keeping quali- 

 ties of fruit when there is a difference in the temperatures at 

 which it is gathered? For instance, if you gather fruit on a 

 cold day and put it into cold storage or gather it on a warm 

 day, is there any difference in the keeping qualities? 



Mr. Hart: That varies with varieties. Generally speaking, 

 it is better for the fruit to be gathered on a cold day, and to 

 be kept cold until put into storage. I think as a general thing 

 it is always well to be careful to place the package on the 

 north side of a tree where the sun will not strike it, and to 

 keep it in the shade until it is under cover. I have always done 

 that. I would rather fruit would be out two nights than one 

 day, especially if it is very warm. 



Mr. Fenn : I would like to ask Mr. Hart if the density of 

 the atmosphere in ice-cold storage is not objectionable some- 

 what as compared with the dry atmosphere which we have 

 found in the plant which we visited yesterday. (The Hartford 

 Cold Storage Company.) 



Mr. Hart: There is much to be learned in regard to that. 

 I saw a quantity of fruit stored in a storage house in New 

 York in which there was a great deal of dampness, and yet 

 it was keeping well, and would not be opened for some time. 

 The atmosphere, however, ought to be dry. It is best to con- 

 fine the fruit in a dry atmosphere ; that is, ice-cold storage 

 should be so dry that you can lay a match on any piece of wood 

 in the building, and that is the case in a small storage plant I 

 know of at Highland, N. J. It is always dry enough to light 

 a match anywhere on any piece of wood. That is the object 

 sought for in mechanical plants, and with ice-cold storage, 

 while' of course, it may not be practicable to obtain the same 

 degree of dryness, yet it should be obtained so far as possible. 



