February 7, 1913] 



SCIENCE 



229 



while of Taber 2S, 68 fruits were processed, Yl 

 serving for control. The three Hyahume were 

 treated in vitro; the Taher 23 in the metal 

 receiver. 



With conditions thus similar to those of my 

 own experiments, Gore found that under nor- 

 mal pressure of carbon dioxide the Taber 2S 

 became nonastringent in two days and the 

 Hyakume in 36 hours." Previously* these had 

 been found to yield to treatment in three 

 days' exposiire to vapor of alcohol of 5 per 

 cent, and 25 per cent, strength in wooden tubs, 

 the alcohol replacing, in this experiment, the 

 sake of the empirical method of the Japanese. 

 This result of Gore's I had overlooked at the 

 time of my previous communication, or other- 

 wise I should have been compelled to point out 

 a discrepancy as between Gore's data and my 

 own obtained with alcohol vapor for which I 

 could not at that time have suggested an ex- 

 planation. The discrepancy lies in the period 

 required to render the fruit nonastringent with 

 either carbon dioxide or alcohol vapor. Set- 

 ting aside the Taber 23 used by Gore as differ- 

 ent from the Taber 129 used by me, and there- 

 fore not comparable, the Hyakume in Gore's 

 experiments yielded, under similar conditions, 

 in less than one fourth the time required in 

 mine; and, with reference to carbon dioxide 

 alone. Gore succeeded in processing this va- 

 riety under normal pressure in 36 hours, just 

 the time, as it eventuated this year, required 

 for apparently the same variety under 15 

 pounds. I do not argue from this that any 

 doubt is thrown on Gore's work, nor would it 

 be just to maintain the converse. It seems en- 

 tirely probable rather that he and I have been 

 working on different kinds. I have lately 

 found that Japanese nurserymen on this conti- 

 nent recognize two subvarieties (using this 

 term ' as a convenience) of Hyakume, the 

 fruit of one of which becomes nonastringent 

 while still firm and on the tree, while that of 

 the other does so only after softening. It can 

 scarcely be doubted that the former would ap- 



* Gore, H. C, "Experiments on the Processing 

 of Persimmons to render them Nonastringent, ' ' 

 U. S. Dept. Agri., Bur. Chem., Bull. 141, Septem- 

 ber 29, 1911. 



pear to yield to the carbon dioxide treatment 

 more readily than the latter. Furthermore, 

 these physiological differences may not be eon- 

 fined to different races of the persimmon 

 only, but may be highly individual, and dif- 

 ferent even in the same individual from year 

 to year. In support of this I have to cite an 

 important observation on the fruit of Taber 

 139 growing at Auburn, Ala., on the station 

 grounds. There are two trees, from which was 

 obtained all the fruit for my experiments in 

 1911 and 1912. In 1911 the fruits from both 

 the trees were, unless processed, uniformly 

 highly astringent until softening was ad- 

 vanced. To render them nonastringent while 

 still firm and crisp occupied 6 days in carbon 

 dioxide alone at normal pressure. The fruit 

 was tested each day, and there can be no doubt 

 of the substantial correctness of the state- 

 ment. In 1912, much to the surprise of both 

 myself and my former colleague. Dr. F. A. 

 Wolf, who aided me in carrying out the ex- 

 periments to be presently mentioned, the 

 Taber fruit apparently yielded to carbon diox- 

 ide at whatever pressure used, however low, 

 and no matter how brief the treatment. But 

 it was soon discovered that the real fact of 

 the ease was that all the fruit was already non- 

 astringent on the tree, and this was true 

 equally of fruits which were quite green and of 

 those which were more or less of the definitive 

 color, from yellow to deep orange. There were, 

 moreover, in these fruits a very large number 

 of reddened tannin masses, so that the inner 

 poi-tion of the mesocarp looked quite brown. 

 That, however, this reddening of the tannin, 

 due to oxidation, was not the cause of nonas- 

 tringency is shown by the fact that the pulp 

 was equally nonastringent where the oxidiza- 

 tion had not occurred at all. I had previously 

 ventured the opinion that the apparent absence 

 of tannin from the nonastringent varieties 

 might be due to the oxidized condition of the 

 tannin, since I had been informed by Mr. Geo. 

 C. Eoeding, of Fresno, Cal., that the flesh of 

 such kinds is freely interspersed with reddened 

 cells. It now appears more probable that the 

 reddening of the tannin masses is consequent 

 on the nonastringency, and is not the cause of 



