24 CIRCULAR. 2 7 8, U.S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE 



34° to 36° F. For this reason celery intended for storage should be- 

 free from decay so far as can be determined by reasonably careful 

 examination, and if held only in rooms where a uniformly low tem- 

 perature can be maintained, it should keep from 2 to 4 months. It 

 is best stored at a temperature of 31° or 32°, with a humidity high 

 enough to prevent wilting (90 to 95 percent), and with sufficient air 

 circulation to keep the temperatures at the top and bottom of the 

 room as nearly equal as possible. Considerable heat is given off by 

 celery because of active respiration and the air at the top of a storage 

 room is likely to be 3° to 4° warmer than at the bottom unless special 

 precautions are taken to avoid such a condition. Air circulation can 

 be maintained around the crates by using 1 by 2 or 2 by 2 inch dun- 

 nage strips between the crates, which should be stacked so as not to 

 touch at the sides. 



Celery should not be piled more than four crates high in storage, 

 otherwise there is danger of overheating even with stock that is in 

 prime condition. If it is piled 5 to 8 crates high, as is sometimes 

 done, the room should be watched carefully to see that overheating 

 does not occur. 



Some growth takes place in celery while in storage. The central 

 stalks lengthen considerably, obtaining their food at the expense 

 of the outer stalks and the roots. Blanching of the stalks also takes 

 place in most varieties that are put into storage. Some celery is 

 trimmed and washed as it comes from storage, but probably the 

 larger part is shipped out in the original crates in which it was 

 received {27). 



CORN (GREEN) 

 (Temperature, 31° to 32° F. ; relative humidity, 85 to 90 percent) 



Green corn is seldom stored, although there are occasions during 

 the southern shipping season when it might be desirable to put an 

 excess supply of this commodity temporarily into cold storage. 

 Experimental lots of green corn, fresh from the field and chilled in 

 ice water, have been held in cold storage at 32° F. for 30 days without 

 impairment of quality or flavor. The sugar content which so largely 

 determines quality in this product and which rapidly decreases at 

 ordinary temperatures was not reduced. In order to keep this loss 

 of sugar to a minimum and preserve the flavor, corn in the husks as 

 it comes from the field for consumption in the fresh state should be 

 cooled down to 32° to 36° as quickly as possible. This is best 

 accomplished by submerging it in tanks of ice water for at least 

 30 minutes immediately after removal from the field. 



Corn should not be handled in bulk because of its tendency to heat 

 but should be put in baskets or crates which allow air circulation, in 

 order to remove field heat and heat produced by respiration. This 

 commodity as it usually arrives on the market should not be expected 

 to keep in cold storage for more than 4 to 8 days. 



CUCUMBERS 

 (Temperature, 50° to 60° F. ; relative humidity, 80 to 85 percent) 



Cucumbers are usually held in storage only for short periods and 

 cannot be expected to keep satisfactorily for much over 6 to 8 days. 



