FRUITS AND NUTS 99 



various stages of growth from green to fully ripe. In the 

 room held at a temperature of 32° F. after one month, ripe 

 pineapples showed a slight deadening of the normal yellow 

 color. The rind was otherwise in perfect condition and the 

 flavor was excellent, being equal in most cases to that of the 

 pineapple freshly cut from the plant. In a few cases the acidity 

 seemed to be less than before refrigeration. After about 45 

 days a slight withering began to occur. Essentially the same 

 results were obtained in the room held at a temperature of 36° 

 F., except that the flavor of the pineapple began to deteriorate 

 after 35 days in the case of fruits placed in refrigeration in a 

 perfectly ripe condition. These findings of the Hawaii Experi- 

 ment Station have been put into practice by the pineapple grow- 

 ers of Florida with great advantage to their industry. The 

 pineapple industry had been somewhat on the decline in Flor- 

 ida, no large canning establishments were located there, and 

 fruit consumers did not take very kindly to the sour pine- 

 apples which appeared on the northern markets. By means of 

 cold storage, however, it has been found possible to ship ripe 

 fruits to the northern markets, and fruit buyers have been glad 

 to pay $1 a crate more for this fruit than had been the ruling 

 price for pineapples before the use of refrigeration. 



The shipments of fresh pineapples from Porto Rico are 

 already large and are increasing from year to year. The fresh 

 Porto Rican pineapples are all shipped into New York. A 

 large percentage of the Florida crop of pineapples is also sent 

 to New York. Recently an impetus has been given to the 

 shipment of fresh pineapples from Hawaii by the activities of 

 the territorial marketing division, which is carried on under 

 the supervision of the United States Department of Agricul- 

 ture. It has been found that the pineapple rot which caused 

 serious losses in some previous shipments of fresh pineapples 

 from Hawaii is very prevalent in certain localities, while other 

 plantations are relatively free from the disease. Shipments 

 have therefore been obtained largely from plantations where 



