PKOCESS OF RIPENING IN THE TOMATO. 23 



was taken from as representative a lot as could be obtained, portions 

 of approximately 20 tomatoes being used. These had been ripened 

 by exposure to air and light in the laboratory until they assumed a 

 characteristic ripe appearance, as judged by the color. They were 

 sampled 13 days later. Turning tomatoes were taken to the labora- 

 tory after being picked and one lot sampled ; another lot was set aside 

 to ripen. Four days later they showed a red color and were therefore 

 sampled. Vine-ripened fruit was, of course, sampled as soon as it 

 was brought into the laboratory. Table VI summarizes the analyt- 

 ical results obtained. Comparing the analyses of commercially 

 picked green tomatoes with those given in Table IV, it will be seen 

 that green fruits are not mature, for the chemical transformations 

 of ripening have not been completed. The sugar-free solids are com- 

 paratively high, while the sugars are correspondingly low. The total 

 amount^ of carbohydrates is still low compared with that in mature 

 fruit. Taking composition as a criterion of maturity, one must con- 

 clude that commercially picked green fruits are immature and there- 

 fore inferior. When green fruit is commercially ripened, however, 

 changes take place, which, although corresponding in general trend 

 to those of normal vine ripening, nevertheless fail to bring the fruit to 

 the same degree of ripeness attained normally. The artificially 

 ripened tomato is lower in total sugar than vine-ripened fruit (46.23 

 per cent of the dry weight in the former, as contrasted with 48.32 per 

 cent in the latter) and higher in acid (8.34 per cent, as contrasted 

 with 7.62 per cent). The ratio of sugar to acid in the former is 5.54, 

 while in the latter it is 6.34. In other words, the artificially ripened 

 fruit is different in taste, due to the lack of one constituent and an 

 excess of the other. In spite of these differences, however, the taste 

 is not as bad as that of fruit which reaches the market. If some way 

 could be devised to place on the market fruit having substantially the 

 same flavor as that found in tomatoes ripened like the samples used, 

 there would be little likelihood of complaint. 



When the data for turning tomatoes (Table VI) are examined, it 

 is found that they compare more favorably with vine-ripened ma- 

 ture fruit than the commercially picked green fruits. In the interval 

 between the time when green tomatoes are picked in commercial 

 practice and the time of turning red on the plant, sugar-free solids 

 normally decrease considerably, while sugars increase in proportion. 

 Since in turning tomatoes there is very little starch present which can 

 be converted into sugar, it is seen that there is not so marked an in- 

 crease of soluble carbohydrates in further ripening as in the artificial 

 ripening of green-picked fruit. The acid content changed from 7.15 

 to 6.86 per cent during ripening, but the latter figure is below that of 

 normal fruit. The total amount of sugar is also below normal, but 

 not as much so as in artificially ripened green tomatoes. The ratio 



