EXPERIMENTS AT MACCLENNY, FLA. ll 
noted in the case of Triumph and Hachiya occurred with the proc- 
essed fruits of the Tane-nashi variety. When soft the processed 
specimens could not be distinguished from those that had softened 
normally. 
Zengi.—Two groves of persimmons at the Griffing Bros.’ nurs- 
eries at Macclenny bear fruit resembling Zengi but differing from it 
as ordinarily described in:‘that most of the fruit is yellow-fleshed and 
seedless as well as much larger in size. It closely resembles in habit 
of tree, lateness, and size and shape the variety known as Taber’s 
23, and indeed the fruits of the two varieties can not be distinguished. 
A large number of these Zengi persimmons were gathered and 
placed in process on September 25. Two days later the fruit was 
found to have become sweet. The processed specimens, together with 
the controls, were expressed to Washington, D. C., on September 27 
and were examined on October 2. In marked contrast to all the other 
lots experimented with in Florida, the processed fruit as well as the 
controls endured the shipment without softening. From this time 
on counts were made of the firm and softened fruits at intervals until 
October 20, when the fruit had dried out to such an extent that the 
counts became uncertain. The figures are shown in the following 
table: ; 
TaBLE I1.—Rate of softening of processed and unprocessed Zengr persimmons shapped 
to Washington from Macclenny and kept at a temperature of about 69° F. 
Percentage of softened fruit. 
Watel Interval after 
picking. Processed (447 | Control (253 
specimens). specimens). 
1911 Days. 
OCtiee sro 13 28 30 
NO Senseo ne 15 39 44 
LS eee ieeae roe 19 46 50 
ORs sae ee 22 63 55 
I feta eae 5 24 69 57 
PANES Greener 26 72 60 
It is evident that although processing perceptibly accelerates soft- 
ening, the effect is but slight and not apparent until 22 days after 
picking. The natural excellent shipping qualities of the variety 
were therefore uninjured. No deterioration in flavor or color occurred. 
The processed persimmons were excellent in flavor at all times before 
and after softening. 
Hyakume and Yemon.—But three and two specimens, respectively, 
of these varieties were available for study. They were processed in 
desiccators, becoming nonastringent in 36 hours. It is regretted that 
it was not possible to secure more specimens so as to determine the 
effect of processing on the rate of softening. Both varieties are of 
distinct promise in view of the fact that they become nonastringent 
very readily. 
