EXPERIMENTS OF 1910. 11 



The Tane-nashi variety processed in from eight to nine days when 

 alcohol stronger than 10 per cent by volume was used. Again, as 

 with Hyakume, the rate of softening was neither hastened nor retarded 

 by the treatment. 



The Hachiya variety yielded less readily than Hyakume and 

 more readily than Tane-nashi. At the end of four days the tannin 

 had disappeared from the fruit held in kegs whose walls were saturated 

 with alcohol of 15 per cent strength or stronger. The rate of soften- 

 ing was distinctly accelerated by the processing. 



In these experiments alcohol of 40, 25, and 15 per cent by volume 

 processed more rapidly than alcohol of 5 or 10 per cent. Alcohol of 

 40 per cent strength had practically the same effect on the rate of 

 disappearance of the tannin as alcohol of 25 or 15 per cent and pro- 

 duced no noticeable injurious effects. 



A number of other varieties were also experimented with, using 

 25 per cent alcohol. Yemon and Taber's 23 processed in three da}^s, 

 these varieties resembling Hyakume in this respect. An unnamed 

 late-ripening Japanese persimmon grown at Rosslyn, Va., processed 

 successfully, requiring, however, six days. Costata was tried again 

 this year. It yielded slightly to the treatment, but softened consid- 

 erably in process. Tsuru failed to yield perceptibly after 12 days 

 in process, and also softened. A number of named varieties of 

 native persimmons were tried, with unsuccessful results. Josephine, 

 Miller, and Ruby all softened in from three to five days and did not 

 become nonastringent until soft. 



The results of the season, taken as a whole, were fairly satisfactory, 

 as a number of important varieties gave good results. 



Experiments of 1909. — In the experiments of 1909 the effort was 

 made to simplify the method as far as possible. Five-gallon kegs 

 were used, made tight by soaking the walls with water. They were 

 wiped dry just before use and filled with fruit. A pad of paper pulp 

 wet with 25 per cent alcohol was then placed in the upper part of 

 each keg, resting on the fruit. In these experiments the fruits 

 softened in advance of the check lots and it became evident that such 

 softening must be controlled if processing was to be a success on a 

 commercial scale. Deterioration due to cracking of the epidermis 

 was not encountered during 1908 or 1909, probably because the fruit 

 was less turgid than the freshly gathered fruit used in 1907 at Dins- 

 more. 



EXPERIMENTS OF 1910, 



At the beginning of the experimental work of 1910 two problems 

 awaited solution. First, the fruit must be kept firm while in process. 

 Prinsen-Geerligs 1 has observed that on keeping bananas in an atmos- 



i Intern. Sugar Journal, 1908, No. 116, 10: 372. 



