28 BULLETIN 859, U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 



a quick sale. In consequence of many handlings the fruit becomes 

 soft and injured and is more liable to fungous attacks through the 

 germination of adhering spores. It is clear that, if possible, only fruit of 

 the same age should be packed in a single container. No criterion for 

 determining age exists except at the time of turning from green to pink. 

 If turning tomatoes could be packed instead of green ones, this particular 

 commercial difficulty would be solved. Since it has been shown, 

 moreover, that Florida tomatoes are lacking in certain fundamental 

 qualities as to taste, which would likewise be remedied by picking 

 more mature fruit, the writer turned his attention to determining the 

 feasibility of shipping "turnings." It was found, as would of course 

 be expected, that the riper the tomatoes the shorter the time it is pos- 

 sible to hold them, but the fact was ascertained that " turnings" can 

 be kept in good condition at a temperature approximating that ob- 

 tained in refrigerator cars (50° to 55° F.) long enough to ship them and 

 to sell them to the consumer. Turning tomatoes held in the refrigerator 

 for 10 days and then kept at a temperature of approximately 75° F. 

 for 5 days longer were found to be in an excellent condition. Other 

 fruits remaining at the lower temperature for 15 days were still firm 

 enough to be held at room temperature for a few days. At lower 

 temperatures than those used it is possible to hold tomatoes even 

 longer than 15 days. Iced shipments in pony refrigerators sent by 

 express from Miami, Fla., to Washington, D. C, arrived in excellent 

 condition. One commission man who has been shipping fruit under 

 ice for a number of years states that these tomatoes reach the market 

 in excellent condition and bring higher prices than uniced fruit. The 

 above statements are not offered as recommendations for picking and 

 shipping turning tomatoes under ice. There are, however, many good 

 reasons for suggesting that turning fruit may be picked and shipped 

 under an initial icing. One of these reasons has already been men- 

 tioned, namely, that it would be possible to pick fruit at the same stage 

 of maturity which would ripen uniformly and save considerable of the 

 loss which is at present experienced. Furthermore, chemical analysis 

 has shown that turning fruit compares favorably with normal or vine- 

 ripened fruit in composition, taste, and palatability. Other investi- 

 gators, Powell (38), Ramsey (39, 40, 41), Stevens and Wilcox (47, 

 48), Ridley (42), and others, have shown that fruits are more liable to 

 fungous infection when they are wounded than when uninjured. This 

 is what one would expect in the light of some recent investigations 

 which show a high correlation between susceptibility to infection and 

 the resistance offered by the fruit to mechanical puncture. 



The investigations of Rosenbaum (43) on the origin and spread of 

 tomato fruit rots in transit have demonstrated that overripeness, 

 bruises, and other injuries favor the appearance of these rots. Since 

 the resistance of the epidermis shows the relative ease with which a 

 fruit may become infected by means of a mechanical entrance of the 



