186 PROCEEDINGS OF THIRTY-SIXTH FRUIT-GROWERS ' CONVENTION. 



for the careful pack at the same time are 1.95 per cent and 4.51 per 

 cent. Five days after arrival we have 12.68 per cent and 18.88 per cent 

 for the bottom and top tiers in the commercial pack and 3.67 per cent 

 and 8.73 per cent for the careful pack, respectfully. Seven days after 

 arrival the commercial pack had increased to 18.66 per cent on the 

 bottom tier and 21.78 per cent on the top tier, while the careful pack 

 had reached only 6.53 per cent and 13.35 per cent, respectfully. The 

 effect of careful handling shows in the fruit after it reaches the Eastern 

 market, and this is an important factor when the possibility of extend- 

 ing the markets for California grapes are considered. The carefully 

 handled lots only slightly exceeded the commercial limit of soundness 

 five days after arrival while the commercially packed crates were just 

 at the limit or a little above on the day of arrival. Fruit in the one 

 case could be reshipped to smaller markets in less than car load lots, 

 while in the other case it would have to be used quickly. These figures 

 show the same relationship as those found in the season of 1908 and we 

 may be sure that the differences are due wholly to the handling. We 

 have eliminated the other factors by taking fruit from different sections 

 of the district and extending the shipments through the whole season. 



An examination of the decayed or moldy berries cut from the various 

 lots shows that fully 95 per cent of the decay started at the pedicel or 

 point where the stem and berry join. This is the weakest point of the 

 grape berry and the slightest crack or loosening at that place will allow 

 the mold spores to gain entrance and start the decay. With the larger 

 fruits it is comparatively easy to detect injuries and to eliminate them ; 

 grapes are not only more easily injured but the injuries are m'ore diffi- 

 cult to detect. The necessity for care in handling grapes becomes there- 

 fore doubly important, not only in the packing, but in the picking and 

 all handling operations. The handling should be reduced to a minimum, 

 for every time a bunch of grapes is lifted there is liability to injury 

 unless it is done with the utmost care. 



It will occur to some that grapes grown under different conditions 

 (soil or otherwise) or from young vines, will vary much in their keep- 

 ing quality. This is undoubtedly true. Our records, however, are 

 based on shipments made from sandy soil vineyards, from heavy soil 

 vineyards and from old and young vines, and all are included in the 

 tables. We have eliminated to a large extent the effect of these factors. 

 Where fruit is tender and more liable to injury, it must be all the more 

 carefully handled. We have had some lots from old vines show more 

 decay than younger and some heavy land fruit show heavier decay than 

 corresponding lots from sandy soils. Moreover, in our carefully handled 

 series and cork and sawdust packs we have used the same fruit and thus 

 are able to show that even the weaker fruits, carefully handled and 

 uninjured will not decay, other things being the same. 



So far we have not referred to the results obtained from the cork and 

 sawdust packs. These were used as a check to determine whether 

 grapes could be handled, packed and shipped in good condition. A 

 glance at the tables and charts shows how well the fruit carried. An 

 average of all the lots packed in cork shows 1.45 per cent decay on 

 arrival and 2.68 per cent, 4.65 per cent, and 5.73 per cent, respectively, 

 three, five and seven days after arrival in Xew York. The lots packed 

 in redwood sawdust showed much less decay, being only .32 per cent 



