6 MISC. PUBLICATION 168, U. S. DEPT. OF AGRICULTURE 



The chemicals mentioned in the treatments are poisonous 

 to man and animals when taken internally. Some of them also 

 cause a rash if they come in contact vjith the human skin. There- 

 fore care should be taken in handling and storing them and in 

 disposing of any unused solution or unused chemical. 



APPLES 



Next to bad bruising, overripeness is the condition in apples 

 which retail consumers object to most. How often is heard the 

 criticism: "Nice-looking large red apples, but mealy and taste- 

 less." That always means overripe apples. How fast do apples 

 get overripe? The answer depends on the temperature — in a 

 retailer's store as well as in commercial storage or in the hands 

 of the grower after harvest. Apples ripen about twice as fast at 

 70° as at 50° F., twice as fast at 50° as at 40°, and twice as fast 

 at 40° as at 32°. If they are ripe when bought for resale, some 

 kinds (Delicious in particular) can become overripe and mealy 

 in 2 or 3 days at ordinary store temperatures and in even less 

 time if they are piled behind windows for display and are not 

 protected against hot sunshine. The safest procedure for a retail 

 merchant is to regard apples from cold storage late in the season 

 as being highly perishable and to move the apples into con- 

 sumers' hands before they become overripe and out of condition. 



Retailers often buy apples in larger lots than they can dispose 

 of before the fruit gets overripe. Unless refrigeration facilities 

 can be utilized, the merchant who would sell only apples in 

 prime condition should obtain fresh stock from cold storage at 

 intervals of not over 2 or 3 days rather than hold a surplus at 

 warm temperatures. Some stores have a special walk-in refrig- 

 erator for fruits and vegetables. Unless such refrigeration is avail- 

 able the retailer should purchase fruit often and in relatively small 

 quantities and hold it in a cool, well-ventilated place, such as a 

 stockroom where screened or barred windows can be left open, 

 or in a cool basement. He should avoid stacking fruit against 

 outside walls and thus reduce freezing hazard in winter and 

 heating in spring. 



Packed boxes should always be stacked on the side, never on 

 the top, which is bulged to hold the fruit in place. Only when 

 the top is removed, and pressure is thus released, is it safe to 

 let the boxes rest on the bottom. Bushel baskets should be stag- 

 gered by placing one basket on the edges of two others, to keep 

 all pressure away from the center of the lids. 



In displays, apples should be kept away from potatoes, 

 onions, and other crops from which they might absorb odors. It 

 is preferable to keep the stock in the original containers until 

 needed for display. Displays should not be set up near radiators, 

 stoves, or sunny windows. They should be of such a size that 

 normal sales would necessitate replenishing them with fresh 

 stock several times a day. 



(See US, 67,85,87,119.) 



PEARS 



The recommendations just made for the care of apples on the 

 market apply equally well to pears. Careful handling is especially 

 important for pears, because when in prime eating condition they 



