25 



To test the effect of cutting the stems too short when harvesting, 

 two lots of 100 fruits each, which had colored but had not started to 

 soften, were taken from the tree, wrapped in newspaper, and stored 

 at a temperature ranging from 80 to 83° F. Long stems were left 

 on one lot wfiile the fruit stalks of the other were cut near the fruits. 

 Six days later an examination showed that 12 of the fruits with long 

 and 61 with short stems were decaying. The bending of the long 

 steins in handling probably caused injury, as a number of the decay- 

 ing specimens were affected at the base. A large percentage of the 

 fruits had small discolored skin spots at the time of examination, 

 which is characteristic of this and other native types of mangoes a 

 few days after harvest. When fruits are allowed to ripen on the 

 tree the internal pressure is so reduced as to make the length of the 

 stem unimportant. 



WRAPPING FRUIT FOR STORING. 



To determine the value of a few common materials for use in wrap- 

 ping fruits for storage, lots of 100 fruits of the common variety 

 Blanco were wrapped in each of the following materials: Orange 

 wrapping paper, newspaper, oil paper, and coconut fiber. One lot 

 of fruit was exposed to the open air as a check. The fruits were two- 

 thirds colored when harvested and would have begun to soften in 

 a very few days if they had been left on the tree. 



Results of tests tvith different wrapping materials. 



Wrapping materials. 



Eighth day. 



Number 

 of fruits 

 partly 

 green. 



Number 

 of fruits 

 yellow. 



Number 

 of fruits 

 decaying, 



Eleventh day. 



Number 

 of fruits 

 yellow. 



Number 

 of fruits 

 decaying. 



Orange wrapping paper 



Newspaper 



Oil paper 



Coconut fiber 



Check 



The above table shows that the fruit in the orange wraps ripened 

 more slowly and remained in good condition longer than the other 

 lots and that the fruit packed in coconut fiber ripened more quickly 

 and decayed earlier than the other lots. There was no marked effect 

 of the other materials on the keeping qualities of the fruit. 



MANGO STORAGE. 



From observations on the few imported mangoes which have 

 fruited in Porto Rico, it appears that the flavor and keeping quali- 

 ties of different varieties depend very much upon the stage of ripe- 



