4 



BULLETIjST 960, U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGEICULTUEE. 



leaves carefully removed, and the crates piled in a favorable location. 

 It goes without saying that the more quickly the berries are placed 

 in the drying crates after they are harvested the better. It is im- 

 portant, too, that they be handled as carefully as possible to avoid 

 bruising, for even slight injuries have been shown to increase decay 

 (9, p. 13). In this respect there is some advantage in placing the 

 berries directly in the crates in which they are to be stored. 



INJURY DURING SUBMERGENCE. 



That cranberries are injured and may be whoUy spoiled by long- 

 continued submergence is well known (9, p. 5, and 6, p. 117). The 

 extent of the injury which will occur in a given time is governed by 

 various factors, among which are the age of the berries, the tempera- 

 ture of the water, and the oxygen content of the water. It is highly 

 probable that the variety of the berry and the fungi present may 

 influence the amount of injury, though no definite statements on this 

 point are possible at present. 



AGE OF THE BERRY AT THE TIME OF SUBMERGENCE. 



In general, any factor which influences the oxygen requirement of 

 the cranberry affects the extent of the injury due to smothering. 

 Green berries respire more rapidly than ripe ones, and green berries 

 are therefore the first to suffer from smothering when flooded. (See 

 also 6, p. 118.) This is well shown by the relative percentage of 

 spoilage in green (not fully colored) and ripe (fully colored) water- 

 raked berries examined at Chicago and Minneapolis in 1918, as shown 

 in Table I. 



Table I. — Keeping qvxility of green and ripe water-raked cranberries grown on the same 



hog in Wisconsin in 1918. 



Variety. 



Where examined. 



Date examined. 



Spoiled ber- 

 ries (per 

 cent). 



Green. Ripe, 



Metallic Bell. 



Do 



Searls 



Chicago, III Oct. 27. 



do Dec. 7.. 



Minneapolis, M inn Dec. 9. . 



In the case of the Metallic Bell variety the first counts were made 

 when the barrels arrived at Chicago, and the second were from the 

 same barrels about six weeks later. The two lots of the Searls 

 variety examined were stored in barrels under the same conditions. 

 The green berries were under water at the time of flooding not more 

 than two and a half days, while the late-picked berries were in the 

 water for three to five days. Notwithstanding this fact, the late- 



