26 THE APPLE IN COLD STORAGE. 



Late in the spring the fruit is far advanced in its life and the weather 

 is becoming warmer. All apples similarly ripe, whether in cold storage 

 or not, break down more quick] j at this time than in the winter. 



In commercial practice the dealer often holds the apples for a rise 

 in price, and finally removes them from the warehouse, not because 

 the market has improved, but for the reason that he finds that a longer 

 storage would result in serious deterioration from fruit rots and over- 

 ripeness. When a considerable amount of stock is decayed on removal 

 from the warehouse the evidence is conclusive that the apples should 

 have been sold earlier in the season. In the purchase of cold-storage 

 stock the consumer will have little cause to complain of the rapid 

 deterioration of the fruit if he exercises good judgment in the selection 

 of apples that are still sound and firm. 



THE IMPORTANCE OF GOOD FRUIT. 



Apples do not improve in grade in cold storage. In handling a crop 

 too much care can not be given to grading the fruit properly before it 

 enters the storage house. The contents of many packages are injured 

 by the spread of disease from a few imperfect apples. Rots enter the 

 fruit most easily wherever the skin is bruised or broken, and in the 

 early stages of the rot development it is common to see the diseases 

 manifesting themselves around worm holes or bruises occasioned by 

 rough handling, from nails that protrude through the barrels, or from 

 other causes. 



When the crop is light it may pay to store apples that are not of the 

 first grade, but such fruit should be rigidly eliminated from the best 

 stock and stored where it can be removed earlier in the season than 

 the better qualities. 



The attractiveness and the value of the best fruit is often injured 

 by careless handling. A bruised spot dies and discolors. Finger 

 marks made by pickers, graders, and packers, and injuries from the 

 shifting of the fruit in transit or from rough handling, become more 

 apparent as the season advances. In fact, all of the investigations of 

 the Department of Agriculture emphasize the fundamental importance 

 of well-grown, carefully handled fruit in successful storage operations. 



Plate III, fig. 2, shows a barrel of Northern Sp} r apples poorly 

 packed. On the right is shown a barrel of Esopus well packed. A 

 great deal of fruit is taken from storage "slack," the fruit not being 

 firmly packed in the barrels in the orchard. 



APPLE SCALD. 



When some varieties of apples reach a certain degree of ripeness 

 the part of the fruit grown in the shade often turns brown, not unlike 

 the color of a baked apple. This difficulty does not extend deep into 



