THE KEEPING QUALITY OF CRAXBEERIES. 



9 



since the marsh has considerable acreages of a single variety, water- 

 raking is regularly practiced, and both barrels and half -barrel boxes 

 were available for the shipping tests. In all, 21 experimental lots, 

 includmg 76 boxes and barrels, were prepared, shipped to three 

 different markets, and examined at intervals from October 30, 1920, 

 to February 3, 1921. The results of these experiments are sum- 

 marized in Tables V and VI. 



Table V. 



-Average keeping quality of cranberries (Searls variety) harvested in various 

 ways. 



Date examined. 



Spoiled berries (per cent). 



Hand- 

 picked. 



Dry- 

 raked. 



Water-raked. 



Dried 



Sept. 

 14-17. 



Dried 

 Sept. 

 2510 



Oct. 1. 



November 4-6, 1920... 

 November 22-24, 1920. 



December 14. 1920 



January 4, 1921 



5.0 



8.3 

 15.2 



4.S 

 8.4 

 16.0 

 16.5 



10.6 

 17.0 



The figures given in Table V ^ are in all cases the averages of sev- 

 eral lots and include among the water-raked cranberries only those 

 which were dried as promptly as possible under the prevailing 

 weather conditions. The results indicate clearly the importance of 

 prompt drying. The water-raked berries dried during the very 

 favorable weather of September 14 to 17 showed practically the same 

 keeping cjuality as the hand-picked berries, though not so good as the 

 dry-raked fruit, while those harvested dm'ing the less favorable 

 weather were distinctly inferior. 



The effect of rapid drying is shown in still another way. Ten tests 

 were made in which several boxes of water-raked berries were sep- 

 arated into two lots, one lot being carefully placed in the diying 

 crates so as to permit rapid drying, while the other lot was put in the 

 drying crates rather carelessly, the crates being filled about half full 

 and the berries not separated in the middle of the crate. When the 

 various lots were examined early in November the carelessly dried 

 berries showed 1-4 per cent more rotten berries than those well dried. 

 This difference (9.6 per cent of the total carelessly dried berries as 

 compared with 8.4 per cent of the carefully dried berries) amounted 



' The superior keeping quality of the dry-raked cranberries, as compared with the hand-picked berries, 

 is probably due, at least in part, to the slight bruising which berries often sutler in hand-picking. Tho 

 importance of these slight bruises has been shown in other experiments (9, p. 13), and largo berries seem to 

 bo more easily injured by hand-picking than smaller ones, as was shown by comparative tests of hand- 

 picking and dry-raking made in New Jersey in 19lii, on the Early Black, Howe, and Centennial varieties. 

 In almost all tests dry-raked cranberries have kept somewhat better than those hand-picked (9, p. 14, and 

 5, p. 19S). On the other hand, in dry-raking, a considerable number of berries are lost. 



