PROCESS OF RIPENING IN THE TOMATO. 21 



total carbohydrates present, while in the last stage, that of ripe fruit, 

 soluble carbohydrates were in excess, amounting to 77.3 per cent of 

 the total. Nearly all of the total sugar in the tomato fruit is appar- 

 ently invert sugar, and this increases from 25.56 per cent in the case 

 of 14-day-old fruit to 48.32 per cent in ripe fruit, an increase of nearly 

 89 per cent. Starch decreases during maturation from 15.84 to 2.65 

 per cent. The most marked decrease, as would be expected, is no- 

 ticed during the period of transition from green to red. The progres- 

 sive decrease in starch during ripening is in striking contrast to the 

 increase in starch noticed by Albahary (2). 



Pentosans decrease during ripening, but only to a comparatively 

 slight extent. 



Total nitrogen decreases gradually during ripening and this fact 

 is rather interesting and important in the light of some recent investi- 

 gations of Kraus and Rraybill (28). They make the following 

 statements: 



On account of the wide differences in composition of different parts of any plant 

 grown under a given set of conditions, only similar portions are compared. With but 

 few exceptions, increased amounts 'of total nitrogen are associated with decreased 

 amounts of total carbohydrates. This condition holds fairly uniformly throughout 

 the plant with the exception of the lower leaves. 



Examination of Table IV (sec. B) shows that increased total nitro- 

 gen in the tomato fruit under the conditions used for the material in 

 this investigation is associated with decreased total carbohydrates. 

 The above investigators analyzed leaves and stems of the tomato 

 plant, while the data presented in the present paper furnish ana- 

 lytical figures for the fruit, thus yielding complete analyses of the 

 entire plant. The correlation between total nitrogen and total 

 carbohydrates holds with respect to the fruit as well as to the other 

 parts of the plant (excluding the lower leaves). 



All of the changes during ripening are represented in the diagram 

 shown as figure 3. 



COMPARISON OF THE COMPOSITION OF COMMERCIALLY PICKED 

 TOMATOES WITH TURNING AND VINE-RIPENED FRUIT. 



It is conceded by many commission men and by some of the 

 growers themselves that the tomatoes shipped to the North differ 

 very noticeably in flavor and palatability from normal fruit. The 

 chemical composition of Florida-grown tomatoes compares favorably 

 with the various analyses reported of such fruit grown in other locali- 

 ties, so the inferiority of the former can not be attributed to the kind 

 of soil or climatic conditions prevailing in Florida. Elimination of 

 these possibilities led the writer to look for other causes of the trouble. 

 It will be seen from the analytical data which follow that tomatoes 

 picked green and allowed to ripen exposed to air and light differ 



