No. 574] 



VARIATION IN THE APPLE 



631 



if possible, upon the relation of chemical composition to 

 the other characters of the apple and to determine 

 whether the composition is influenced by the environment, 

 the juice of the various samples of Grimes, Jonathan, 

 Winesap and Yellow Bellflower was analyzed by the de- 

 partment of chemistry. 



The juice of the Grimes and Winesap contains, as a 

 rule, a decidedly higher percentage of total solids than 

 that of the Jonathan and Yellow Bellflower. It i> aNo 

 generally higher in specific gravity and has a greater 

 viscosity. In Grimes and Yellow Bellflower the juice of 

 the eastern-grown fruit contains a large proportion of 

 total solids than that of the Washington grown fruit, 

 though this rule does not hold good in the other varieties. 

 The apples from the irrigated valleys and western Wash- 

 ington were low in total solids with the single exception 

 of the Winesaps from ( 1 ashmere. The analyses fail to 

 show any constant difference in sugar content in favor of 

 the fruit produced in the sunny climate with long hours 

 of daylight characteristic of the apple-growing sections 

 of the state. 



In Grimes the total sugars are fairly high and the pro- 

 portion of sucrose is especially large. The acid content, 

 on the other hand, is low as a rule. The result is a rich, 

 mild or nearly sweet flavor. A sample from l'uyallup 

 showed the lowest sucrose content combined with the 

 highest acid content, and this was the least rich as well as 

 the most acid in flavor. 



Jonathan, on the other hand, displays a low content of 

 total sugars and especially sucrose, while the acid content 

 is slightly higher than in Grimes, indicating a subacid 

 apple, lacking in richness. The lots from Missouri and 

 Indiana were highest in sucrose but were of scarcely as 

 good quality as the Jonathans from West Virginia. The 

 latter were low in both sucrose and acid, but displayed a 

 good balance between these constituents, indicating an 

 apple with rather thin juice, not very rich, but pleasant 

 and refreshing. Its evident superiority resulted largely 



