18 



BULLETIN 714^ U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTUBE. 



October 26 and examined in Chicago on November 15, 1917. The 

 results are given in Table XI. 



Table XI. — Comparative itsvUs of f^hipping cranberries "before and after clean- 

 ing, as shoion by tests made in 1917. 





Condition when shipped. 



Shrinkage noted (per cent). 



Variety. 



In first 

 cleaning. 



In sepa- 

 rating at 

 Chicago. 



Total. 



McFarlini 



In chaff 





28.7 

 10.2 

 27.0 

 15.5 



28.7 



Do 



Separated and sorted 



20 



30.2 



Middleboro 



In chafi 



27.0 



Do 



Separated and sorted 



20 



35.5 









' Contained more than 10 per cent of frozen berries. 



It ^vill be noted that with both varieties the total loss of berries 

 was greater with those cleaned before than with those cleaned after 

 shipment. This is particularly marked in the case of the Middleboro 

 variety, which contained no frosted berries and therefore gave a 

 more accurate test. 



Shipping in the chaff naturally involves the extra expense of 

 freight charges and containers for the chaff and decayed berries 

 which would be taken out in cleaning. On the other hand, if fruit 

 is shipped in the chaff it may be held in storage and run through a 

 separator as sold. Under these conditions hand sorting will not 

 be necessary and the cost of preparing for sale is materially reduced. 

 In deciding whether to attempt shipping in the chaff each grower 

 will have to take into consideration his own expense of separating 

 and sorting, the probable keeping quality of his berries, and whether 

 the consignee has adequate facilities for separating the fruit. Ship- 

 ping in the chaff will then be confined to consignments to large 

 dealers and will be most profitable in the case of fancy fruit of rela- 

 tively poor keeping quality. 



SUMMARY. 



Recent observations and investigations have shown that about 15 

 per cent of the cranberry crop is lost between the field and the con- 

 sumer. The losses are due in part to fungous rots and in part to 

 smothering. 



Bruising of the fruit occurs in the operations of picking, separat- 

 ing, sorting, and packing. Such injury is not only a direct cause of 

 spoilage, but renders the fruit much more liable to decay. Much 

 more rot has been found in roughly handled or bruised fruit than 

 in carefully handled fruit. 



Xo direct relation has been found between the humidity of the air 

 in which the fruit is kept and the amount of rot which develops. 

 Death and spoilage of cranberries will finally result from natural 

 ripening of the fruit. This process is hastened by high temperatures 

 and reduced by low temperatures. 



