334 THE APPLE 



worth more money than one picked in a green condition. An 

 exception to this statement seems to exist in the case of certain 

 varieties when borne on rapidly growing young trees. Such fruit 

 is likely to be overgrown, and under these conditions the apples 

 may need picking before they reach their highest color and fullest 

 development. 



Uniform color may be secured by pruning to let the sunlight 

 into the top of trees, by cultural conditions that check the growth 

 of the tree early in the fall, and by picking over the trees several 

 times, taking in each picking the apples that have attained the 

 desirable degree of color and size. 



Apple storage is not always profitable. When the picking season 

 is very hot and there are delays in getting the fruit into storage, 

 the subsequent losses are sometimes very heavy. On the other 

 hand, the autumn may be unusually cool and favorable for storing 

 large quantities of apples in common storage. As a result, the 

 markets will be well supplied with this fruit through the winter, 

 causing the cold-storage stock to be held back till late in the season, 

 when it has to be rushed onto the market and sold at a sacrifice 

 on account of the approaching warm weather and the use of early 

 apples from the South. 



Apples should be stored as quickly as possible after picking. 

 The fruit ripens rapidly after it is gathered, especially if the weather 

 is hot. The ripening that takes place between the time of picking 

 and storage shortens the life of the fruit in the storage house. The 

 first stage in this ripening is the transformation of starch into cane 

 sugar, then the change of cane sugar into invert sugar, and finally 

 a slow decrease in the total quantity of sugars. The acid content 

 gradually grows less, there being most in the unripe fruit. 



The best fruit keeps best in storage. When the crop is light, it 

 may pay to store fruit of inferior grade, but in this case the grades 

 should be well established when the fruit is picked. The bruising 

 of fruit leads to premature decay. 



Temperature for storage. A temperature of 31 or 33 degrees F v 

 depending on the condition of the fruit and the variety, retards the 

 ripening processes and favors the fruit in other respects, such as 

 quality, aroma, and flavor, and when removed from storage the 

 fruit keeps in good condition for a longer period. 



