16 BULLETIN 587, U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 
ripe, as in nearly every case an eating-ripe apple is overmature for 
storage. The individual growers should study their own fruit and 
their own conditions and whenever possible should make experiments 
to determine the stage of maturity at which the varieties they grow 
hold best in storage. The color of the seeds gives some indication, 
yet in spite of many opinions to the contrary it is an unreliable 
index to the maturity of the fruit. Many factors may cause the 
color of the seeds to vary without affecting materially the time at 
which the fruit reaches full maturity. The blush or red color of the 
apple taken by itself also is unreliable. Both of these factors should 
be taken into consideration, however. Perhaps the most reliable 
single indication is the “ground” color of the fruit; that is, the 
color which underlies the red color or blush. The “ground” color, 
which is green when the fruit is immature, begins to whiten or 
yellow slightly as it approaches full maturity. Plates I and III 
illustrate very well immature and mature Rome Beauty apples at 
time of picking. Asa rule, in a mature apple the green color should 
be largely replaced by a white or ight-yellow color. <A dark yellow, 
on the other hand, usually indicates overmaturity. Allowances, of 
course, should be made for the natural color of the variety, the 
amount of exposure to sunlight, etc. Experience will enable a 
grower to give the proper weight to each one of these factors and 
properly to coordinate them. 
EFFECT OF OVERMATURITY. 
It may be stated that certain varieties, of which Rome Beauty and 
Winesap are examples, are, as a rule, picked too early to keep in the 
best condition in storage. Some other varieties, however, such as 
Jonathan and Esopus (Spitzenberg), sometimes are left on the trees 
later than is advisable. It should be understood clearly that ma- 
turity does not mean overmaturity, and that overmaturity may 
cause losses as serious, or even more serious, than those due to imma- 
turity. As might be expected, the storage troubles resulting in this 
case are physiological and fungous decays. An apple allowed to 
remain on the tree until overripe is much farther advanced in its 
life processes than it is if picked at proper maturity and breaks 
down just so much faster in storage. The final breakdown may be 
due either to premature physiological decay or to a fungous rot 
which the weakened fruit can not resist. The complete destruction 
of the fruit follows in either case. Trouble of the kind in Esopus 
(Spitzenberg) is shown in Table IJ, the last picking of which was 
made when the fruit was overmature. Plate V illustrates the condi- 
tion after removal from storage of Esopus apples picked when 
overmature. 
