I 



YIELDS 



129 



1. Selling. Cherries are sold through the usual market 

 channels. Fruit from the Pacific Coast is handled through 

 cooperative organizations ; such associations also function in 

 Wisconsin and Michigan districts. Some shipments of cases 

 by express difect to the consumer and retailer occur. Sales 

 of larger quantities are often made on track at the shipping 

 point. 



A few cherries from the Pacific Coast appearing on the 

 market very early in the season are shipped, in express cars, 

 in ice chests holding 10 to 12 standard boxes. Later ship- 

 ments are made in refrigerator cars. 



2. Cold Storage. Sour cherries, as Montmorency, in prime 

 condition will keep for about two weeks in cold storage. 

 Beyond this point they are likely to shrivel. Sweet cherries 

 of the black varieties may be held longer^ sometimes four 

 weeks, though this is variable with the variety and the district 

 where grown. The light-colored sweet varieties soon discolor. 

 The proper storage temperature for cherries is about 32° F. 



3. Frozen Fruit. Cherries for pies, soda fountains, etc., 

 are increasingly stored in the frozen state. They are cooled 

 in vats of water and ice, pitted by machine, and packed either 

 with or without sugar in barrels, tubs, pails, or cardboard 

 containers covered with paraffin. They are frozen at tem- 

 peratures around zero and then held in a frozen condition 

 until used. 



4. Yields. In the canning sections of the East, 3 to 4 

 tons per acre of sour cherries is a good yield, 6 tons are occa- 

 sionally secured, and larger yields are recorded. 



Figure 50 indicates the average yield now obtained from 

 Montmorency cherry trees of different ages in Michigan. 

 Minor irregularities in the graph should be disregarded, and 

 the general trend as indicated by the heavy line should be 

 noted. The period from 17 to 25 years is most productive, 

 but at best exceeds only slightly 50 pounds per tree, or some- 

 thing over 5000 pounds per acre. These figures include 

 orchards on good and poor soils, in good and poor locations. A 



