102 



BITTER PIT INVESTIGATION. 



the Vienna Exhibition by the Society, the report was as follows, under date 6th June :— " The jury 

 came this morning, and was quite struck with the apples, pronounced them magnificent, and that 

 there was nothing to come up to them in the Exhibition." This was followed in 1881 by trial 

 samples being sent to India, Ceylon, and London, and of the latter it was reported— " The experiment 

 has proved beyond a doubt that Victorian fruit can be safely shipped to London, if due care be 

 taken on its transit." 



Now that cold storage is provided on board the ocean-going steamers, and cool stores erected 

 in many of the apple-growing districts, the fruit export trade has been placed on a sound basis. 

 But to insure that there is no development of Bitter Pit in transit, in those varieties liable to develop 

 it in store, it is necessary to take certain precautions. This was strikingly shown in connexion with 

 a case of apples of the Lord Suffield variety exhibited at the Fruit and Floral Carnival, held in the 

 Exhibition Building, Melbourne, towards the end of March. A miniature cool store was erected 

 there by Mr. French, and, among other samples placed in it, was the one above referred to. The 

 fruit came from the Doncaster district, and was picked for exhibition purposes, showing no external 

 sign of Bitter Pit. The case was kept in cool storage at a temperature of 31|-32° Fahr. for a fortnight 

 and then forwarded direct to the exhibition, being perfectly clean. But on the last day of the 

 exhibition, and after being in the miniature cool store for a week, it was observed that the great 

 majority of the apples were badly " pitted." 



I secured the case, and out of the 88 apples contained in it 72 were pitted, some badly, or a 

 proportion of nearly 82 per cent. The reason for this was easily explained. Under the conditions 

 of the exhibit, the temperature could not be regularly controlled, and it varied from 32-40° Fahr., 

 while the air circulating in the chamber was rather moist. The fluctuating temperature, combined 

 with the damp atmosphere, enabled the Bitter Pit to develop. The sixteen sound apples were 

 kept on a shelf in the laboratory, and in two and a half months six of them had developed the 

 disease. 



The conditions necessary for successful carriage are clearly given by Mr. French in his Annual 

 Report for 1910—" I would advocate, with every confidence, the dry air circulation system, by 

 means of fans and batteries of ammonia expansion coils. Under this system ventilation and 

 humidity are under perfect control. Humidity can be controlled by means of calcium chloride in 

 connexion with the battery. A uniform low temperature is essential to the successful storage of 

 fruit in transit. Another most important point to be noted is that the carbonic acid gas given off 

 from the fruit must*be drawn away by exhaust fans. Ventilating the packages so as to allow 

 of a perfect circulation of air through each package is also a matter deserving particular 

 attention." 



Esopus Spitzenberg Apples. 



This variety of apple was chosen for experiment, because it usually develops pit in store, 

 after being removed from the tree. The fruit was grown at Box Hill by Mr. Hatfield, and picked 

 on 10th April, when the fruit was on the turn — full grown and just beginning to ripen. Nine cases 

 apparently clean were reserved. Three were sent to the Doncaster Cool Stores on 12th April, and 

 kept at a uniform temperature of 30-32° Fahr. At the same time another case was sent for 

 pre-cooling, being reduced to a temperature of 34-35° Fahr., and the apples were carefully wrapped 

 in paper. This, along with another case similarly wrapped, but without pre-cooling, was 

 forwarded to London, per R.M.S. Osterley, which sailed on 18th April. The pre-cooled fruit was 

 forwarded to the steamer on the day of sailing, direct from the Cool Stores. 



The four remaining cases were kept at Mr. Hatfield's, two in the ordinary fruit-room, and 

 two in a well-ventilated chamber, cooled by the Meakin process. The intention was to examine 

 each of the seven cases, when the Osterley' s arrival in London was announced, and compare it with the 

 report received as to the two cases forwarded to the Agent-General in London. The three cases 



