14 



BULLETIN" 7U, U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 



improvement when possible in methods of harvesting, separating, 

 sorting, and packing cranberries. 



HAEVESTING. 



Careful exi^eriments in Avhich the keeping quality of hand-picked 

 cranberries was compared with that of scooped berries have not 

 shown any ver}' decided advantage in favor of eitlier method, pro- 

 vided the scoopers were not allowed to pick up dropped berries from 

 the ground. 



A series of tests in New Jersey in the fall of 1916 showed that the 

 keeping quality of these dropped berries was much inferior to that 

 of berries j)icked or scooped from the vines. The results of these 

 tests are summarized in .Table VIII. The experiment with Early 

 Black cranberries was conducted by Mr. Franklin S. Chambers. 

 Adjacent similar plats of each variety were marked on the bog; then 

 the berries from half the plats were picked by hand by experienced 

 pickers and the remainder harvested by experienced scoopers. All 

 berries were stored for two months in ventilated 1 -bushel boxes in 

 adjacent piles in a ventilated storage house. 



Table YIII. — Effect of different methods of harvesting upon the keeping quality 

 of cranberries, as shown by tests made in Neta Jersey in 1916. 





Method of harvesting. 



Total 



weight 

 (pounds). 



Condition noted (per cent). 



Variety. 



Immediately after 

 harvesting. 



Rotten 

 after 



being 

 stored 2 

 months. 



Rot 

 developed 

 in storage. 





Slightly 

 bruised. 



Rotten. 



Early Black 



Picked 



1,054 

 171 

 104 



38 

 425 

 3S4 



41 



(') 



(') 

 12 

 IS 

 34 



(') 



5 



6 



-1 



-1 



-1 



12 



14 



17 



12 



25 

 4.5 

 4.2 



18.1 





Do 



Scooped 







Picked 



11 



Do. 



Scooped 



7 



Do 



Picked up after scoopers . . 

 Picked 



19 



Howe . . 



3.5 



Do 



Scooped 





3.2 



Do. 



Picked up after scoopers . . 





17.1 









' Not determined. 



Berries picked up from the ground after scooping, as Table VIII 

 shows, bore a much higher percentage of the slight injuries men- 

 tioned above than did any of the other fruit, and, as was to be 

 expected, this was the cause of their poor keeping quality. It seems 

 from this evidence that if dropped fruit is picked up from the 

 ground it should be kept separate, in order not to lower the grade or 

 keeping quality of all the berries. 



It is probable that neither method of harvesting can be said to be 

 best under all conditions, but (hat factors other than keeping quality, 

 such as length and uniformity of pine growth, will influence or de- 

 termine the nu'tliod 1(j be i)i'er('ii('(l in any p.-irl iciilar locality. 



