STORAGE OF APPLES IN THE PACIFIC NORTHWEST. 17 
TABLE I1—Comparison of mature and overmature Hsopus. (Spitzenberg) apples 
with regard to the percentage of physiological and fungous decay at with- 
drawal from storage and with regard also to the percentage of decay after a 
10-day holding period under market conditions, one experiment, 1913-1}. 
(The first pick was made September 25 and stored September 26, 1913; the second pick was made 
October 10 and stored October 11, 1913.] 
First withdrawal, | Second withdrawal, | Third withdrawal, | Fourth withdrawal, 
. Jan. 12, 1914, Feb. 19, 1914. - Apr. 1, 1914. May 4, 1914, 
Condition. 
First Second First Second First Second First Second 
pick. pick. pick. pick. pick. pick. pick. ~ pick. 
Decay: 
At withdrawal... 0.0 283 0.9 9.1 ee 4.0 28 14.0 
10 dayslater...... 1.3 2.3 1.3 25.0 2.7 26.0 6.7 36.0 
At the second withdrawal, February 19, which is somewhat later 
than the usual commercial storage limit for this variety, the first 
picking was free from decay or other storage troubles, while the later 
picking had developed 9.1 per cent decay. After being held outside 
for 10 days, a pericd approximating the usual length of time from 
storage to consumption, the decay in the late picking increased to 
25 per cent. The first picking developed only 1.3 per cent in the 
same period. In other words, one lot was in prime market condition 
and the other in very poor condition. The later inspections are well 
past the commercial limit for the variety, and the decay is corre- 
spondingly heavier, though still consistently less in the first picking. 
The fact that less decay was found in the second picking at the third 
withdrawal than at the second withdrawal over a month before is 
an inconsistency which sometimes arises where only one series of 
observations has been made. Inconsistencies of this nature are 
largely eliminated when the results of several experiments are 
averaged. 
Although decidedly inferior in keeping quality, the second picking 
was strikingly superior in color. This factor, however, did not add 
to the value of the fruit sufficiently to counterbalance the difference 
in amount of decay. Possibly a picking made between the two would 
be superior to either and might have possessed the keeping quality 
of the first picking with a large portion of the color of the second. 
CAREFUL HANDLING. 
No special investigations have been conducted with the apples of 
the Northwest relative to the effect of careful handling in lessening 
injuries which render the fruit liable to attacks of blue mold and 
other saprophytic fungi. Extensive experiments by the Bureau of 
Plant Industry, however, have demonstrated conclusively that care 
