60 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. [Pub. Doc. 



firm in flosli. It would seem that it ought to be possible to 

 tell beforeliand the approximate date at which the different 

 varieties of apples should be picked by knowing the mean 

 temperature of the growing season, and our dej)artment is 

 working on this problem at the present time. 



5. There is no question that soil and cultural conditions 

 exert a very profound influence on the keeping of apples. A 

 light soil will give fruit of poorer keeping qualities than a 

 heavier soil, and apples from a cultivated orchard are apt 

 not to keep so well as the smaller and firmer fleshed apples 

 from sod orchards. 



6. The type of package used will certainly exercise a 

 decided influence on the keeping of the apples. The writer 

 believes that the ideal storage package is a tight bushel box 

 with a tight cover, or so arranged that one box covers the 

 one below it. When barrels are used in comparison with 

 boxes it will almost always be found that the greater mass 

 of fruit in the barrel, generating, as it does, more heat and 

 having greater weight, will not keep as well as the same fruit 

 in a box, and for apples the ventilated package is certainly 

 not as good as the closed one. 



7. Lastly, a wrap will certainly help to prolong the life 

 of the a]iple. The speaker has frequently kept Baldwins in 

 ordinary storage in prime condition up to May by wrapping 

 each apple in paper. 



There are still many storage problems left to solve, — 

 what type of storage shall it be ; shall it be located in the 

 orchard section or in the city ; shall it be a large central plant 

 or smaller ones on the farm ? But this much is settled defi- 

 nitely in the speaker's mind, that some type of modern stor- 

 age, at least part of it refrigerated, is a prime necessity if our 

 orchard men are to get the most out of their crops. 



Mr. Tkull, I know we have all enjoyed the paper from 

 the attention I have seen you give it. Professor Sears will 

 be glad to answer any questions. 



]\Ir. Abnek Towne. Would it be practicable for a neigh- 

 borhood or a community to unite and have a common storage 

 plant? 



