STORAGE, RESPIRATION, AND GROWTH. 15 
Lechartier and Bellamy” published two papers which give results 
of experiments with apples stored in sealed vessels. Large quanti- 
ties of carbon dioxid gas were evolved during the long periods of time 
in which the fruit was under observation. Very considerable quanti- 
ties of alcohol were found, and the presence of yeast cells in the par- 
enchyma cells of the sound apple is noted. These observations have 
never been confirmed, neither alcohol nor yeast celis occurring in an 
apple whose skin is intact; however, so far as is known no work has 
been done since on apples held in sealed chambers. 
Pfeiffer’? gives a review of the chemical study of fruits. In the 
same paper are given the results and a discussion of the study of the 
orowth of apples and pears. Crude fiber, ash, protein, sugar, acid, 
water, and pectin and dextrin, are all shown to increase during growth, 
the constituents of the apple increasing more rapidly in the three 
varieties studied than those of the pear, of which two varieties were 
used. 
Mach¢ carried on work on the growth and ripening of grapes and 
later” extended the work to other fruits, viz, apples, pears, mulber- 
ries, strawberries, red and black currants, cherries, and peaches. 
With grapes he found that the fruit grows rapidly in size until it 
begins to color, then grows more slowly. Sugar develops slowly at 
first, but after the coloring of the grape, very rapidly. The percent- 
age of acid remains about constant till ripening begins, when it falls. 
Tannin is present in the largest quantity at first. Starch is present in 
the growing shoots in the leaves and in the grape stems. It disap- 
pears, however, as the fruit ripens. Unfortunately, with the other 
fruits studied, no determinations of sucrose are made. 
Ricciardi’ followed the ripening of bananas, the starch being found 
to give rise to sucrose. The author agreed with Buignet/’ that in the 
banana ripened on the tree there is no invert sugar, but this point is 
not brought out in the analysis given. No alcohol was found in the 
over-ripe fruit. 
The work of De Luca is used as a basis for further work by Gerber’ 
on the ripening of olives. In De Luea’s paper” a table showing the 
growth of the olive from June to February is given. Thirty-four 
examinations were made on different dates to determine the average 
weight and density. Picked olives yielded more oil when they were 
allowed to stand in oxygen, or in air in daylight, than when analyzed 
at once or after they were kept in carbon dioxid. The presence of a 
bitter principle was noted in green olives, removable by prolonged 
soaking in water. Mannite was found in considerable quantity in the 
fruit and leaves of the olive tree and was isolated by extracting with 
«Compt. rend., 1869, 69: 356, 466. €Compt. rend., 1882, 96: 393. 
6 Ann. Oenol., 1876, 5: 271. Oc elte 
¢Ibid., 1877, 6: 409. g Compt. rend., 1897, 125: 658. 
@ Ibid., 1879, 8: 46. h Tbid., 1861, 53: 380. 
