STUDIES OF CRANBERRIES DURING STORAGE. 



79 



from Washington several lots of Howes berries that had been stored in 

 small cans from which the air had been displaced by carbon dioxide gas. 

 The fruit had been held in these cans for two months at different tem- 

 peratures, ^iz., 0°, 5°, 15° and 20° C. (32°, 41°, 59° and 68° F.). Some 

 berries at each temperature still remained firm and sound, although at 

 20° C. there were not enough for a satisfactory analysis. The softened 

 berries had been attacked by the end rot fungus in most cases, but from 

 the lot held at 0° C. enough typically asphyxiated berries were secured for 

 chemical examination. The analyses of the sound berries showed a slightly 

 lower sugar content at the higher temperatures, with practically no 

 changes in water and acidit3^ The asphyxiated berries, although kept at 

 the lowest temperature, contained much less sugar than any of the sound 

 berries, indicating a much more destructive action on the fruit sugar when 

 oxygen was lacking. 



A small sample of asphyxiated berries with but little evidence of rot 

 about them was selected from the combined lots stored at 15° and 20° C. 

 The determination of sugar in this sample showed but 2.04 per cent. 



It is a common practice in the household to preserve cranberries by 

 sealing them in jars filled with water. One experiment was tried to deter- 

 mine the effect of such treatment on the composition of the fruit. 



Two fruit jars were filled with cranberries from the lot of Howes re- 

 ceived from the Experiment Station bog in October. Distilled water was 

 added to the jars until they were brimful, when the covers were put on 

 and clamped as in canning fruit. The jars were set away in a cool room 

 and allowed to remain until February. When the jars were opened the 

 water was found to contain carbon dioxide which escaped in bubbles as 

 soon as the pressure on the covers was released. The fruit showed no 

 signs of rot, but every berry was softened and felt like rubber. The water 

 contained acid, sugar and coloring matter that had diffused from the 

 fruit. The berries contained 10.36 per cent dry matter, 2.85 per cent 

 sugar and 1.87 per cent acid, — quantities considerably less than in the 

 same kind of berries stored in a cool room. While decay had been pre- 

 vented, the absence of air had produced results similar to the asphyxiated 

 fruit previously described. 



The results of these different experiments show a steady loss of sugar 



