Sept. 1894.] 



COLD STORAGE OF FRUIT. 



5 



II— COLD STORAGE OF FRUIT. 



The first report, 1894, of the Department of Agriculture and 

 Forests of New South Wales, contains some particulars of the 

 results of a series of experiments in the cold storage of fruit, 

 carried out last year by the Fruit Expert of the Department, at 

 the cold storage rooms attached to the Government meat-market 

 at Darling Harbour. 



The system of cold storage employed was one in which an 

 even temperature combined with a constant influx of cold fresh 

 air was maintained, and this system, or rather principle, is, it is 

 said, the only satisfactory one for use in the case of fruit, as a 

 merely cold air, without the necessary ventilation and influx of 

 fresh air, has been proved to be insufficient to keep fruit in good 

 condition for any length of time. 



The fruits experimented with consisted of the following 

 varieties, viz. : — apples, pears, plums, peaches^ nectarines, grapes, 

 mangoes, pineapples, tomatoes, and passion fruit, and were 

 obtained from fruit-growers in various parts of the Colony. 

 Different materials were tried for packing, and the fruit was 

 tested under various conditions, wrapped and unwrapped, in 

 light cases and open well- ventilated cases, and in various st iges 

 or degrees of ripeness. The average temperature was 4174 

 degrees, and was very evenly maintained. The extreme limit 

 of variation ranged from 37 degrees to 51 degrees, and these 

 extremes were only reached on two or three occasions. The 

 ventilation was at all times satisfactory. 



The experiments are stated to have shown that apples, mid- 

 season and late variety of pears, solid-fleshed plums, and tough- 

 skinned fleshy grapes may be kept in perfect condition with(^ut 

 any appreciable loss for a period of two months, when stored in 

 a cold dry fresh air, maintained at an even average temperature 

 of 41 degrees to 43 degrees, provided that the fruit is carefully 

 gathered, handled, and packed, and that all blemished fruit is 

 discarded. It appears that apples will keep equally well if the 

 temperature is raised 10 degrees, but the other fruits require 

 the lower temperature. Two months allows for the extreme 

 outside time required to place the fruit on the English market. 



After beino^ removed from the cold storai2:e chamber, the fruit 

 is said to keep in good condition for a sufficient time to enable it 

 to be disposed of and consumed, with only a small per-centage of 

 loss, provided that previous to its removal from cold storage the 

 temperature of the store is gradually raised to that of the outside 

 air, as condensation of moisture, which would tend to create 

 decay, is thereby prevented. 



It was found that soft fruit, such as peaches and nectarines, 

 may be safely stored without deterioration from one to two 



