CHEMISTRY OF Till- APPLE S()(\XD AM) PITTED. 



43 



Respiration does not cease, therefore, in cold storage ; it is simply less active. 



But it has been proved repeatedly at the Doncaster Cool Stores that, when sound apples are 

 placed in cool storage immediately and kept there at a constant temperature of 30-32° Fahr., their 

 vital activities are suspended, and there is no development of Bitter Pit. 



XVI. CHEMISTRY OF THE APPLE SOUND AND PITTED. 



The apple has already been considered from the botanical point of view, and it is important 

 to distinguish between the "core," which is the true fruit, and the fleshy succulent portion outside 

 of that, which is just an excessive development of the expanded top of the flower-stalk. It is the 

 aim of the orchardist to produce a luscious and edible apple, and to keep the core from monopolizing 

 too much of the nourishment, so much so that attempts have been made to grow a so-called 

 "seedless" apple, and thus get as large a proportion of flesh as possible. It is the vegetative 

 portion of the fruit which requires to be stimulated, and not directly the sexual organs, and, 

 therefore, those measures should be resorted to which tend to the production of foliage leaves, for 

 while the fruit remains green it transpires and respires and behaves exactly like a leaf. As ripening 

 takes place the colour changes, and chemical processes are set up of quite a different kind. It is 

 necessary, therefore, to understand in a general way the chemical changes which take place, both 

 in the unripe and ripe fruit. 



CHEMICAL COMPOSITION OF THE APPUv 



The analysis of the apple shows that it largely consists of water, the percentage usual I v 

 ranging from 82 to 80. Also of sugars, which are the most valuable of all the constituents, and 

 next to water in abundance. Then of acids and crude fibre, together with the residue which 

 remains when all the combustible material has been disposed of, viz., the ash. \\\ a perfectly ripe 

 apple there is no starch, since it has been converted into sugar. The chemical composition of the 

 flesh of the average ripe apple may be represented as follows, according to Browne (102) : — 



Tabu-: VII. Composition of Flesh of Average Ripe Apple. 





Percentage 



Water 



84-00 



Ash . . 



0-30 



Invert Sugar (Dextrose and Levulose) 



8-00 



Cane Sugar or Sucrose 



4-00 



Crude Fibre 



1-80 



Pectin Matter 



0-40 



Malic Acid, free and combined 



0-80 



Oil or Fat 



0-30 



Protein 



0-10 



Undetermined (Tannic Acid, &c.) .. 



0-30 



Total 



.. 100-00 



The ash or mineral matter of the apple, although small in quantity, is of great importance, 

 since the removal of large crops of apples every year means that the soil will in time become 

 impoverished unless the annual loss is made good. 



