PREFACE . 



Perhaps there is no subject that is of any more im- 

 portance to the fruit growers than that pertaining to ik 

 the keeping qualities. It is a suhjeot that is of in- 

 terest more or less in all portions of the coxmtry. Use- 

 ful experiments hare been carried out along this line by- 

 experiment stations and private firms that have broxoght 

 to light ways in which to prolong the marketing season 

 and thus conducing to a better distribution of the pro- 

 duct, as well as by indicating some of the risks that ax 

 are involved in the attempts to hold such products lon- 

 ger than their physical characteristics will permit. 



So in presenting this to the facility as my minor 

 thesis for a masters degree, I feel satisfied that it is 

 a subject that cannot be studied any too much for there 

 is much to be learned that will be new and valiiable to 

 us all, not only from the commercial standpoint but 

 from the pleasure side as well. In my experiment with 

 apples and pears that I have been carrying on this win- 

 ter, a good many valiiable points have been brought to 

 light that had never come londer my personal observation 

 before. Yet I regret very much to say that one-half of 

 the experiment had to be entirely discarded in the ear- 

 ly winter on the account of the cold storage room not 



