EXPERIMENTS WITH A VIEW TO CONTROLLING THE DISEASE. 



105 



In every box some apples were wilted and shrivelled, but a greater proportion 

 in numbers 1 and 4, and they were all more or less heated and sweating. I did not 

 observe on the boxes any indication as to which had been pre-cooled or those that were 

 shipped under ordinary conditions. This fruit had been subjected to a severe and 

 unusual test, as the ship had been held up at Plymouth for nearly three weeks before 

 she could proceed to Tilbury. In consequence of the strike, no berth could be found 

 for her." 



Cool Storage. — On receipt of the above report, the three cases in the, Doncaster Cool Store 

 were carefully examined in the presence of the Officer-in-charge and Mr. Hatfield. The apples 

 were all marketable with the exception of three that had rotted in one case. An occasional pit 

 appeared on the surface when carefully looked for, more particularly in the larger-sized apples. 

 They had neither heated nor sweated, and, while not exactly shrivelled, some of them were " a little 

 bit loose on the skin," as described by one of the examiners. On tasting the apples, thev were 

 found to have their full flavour. 



Fruit-room. — The three cases in ordinary storage were examined the same day. The pitting 

 was so slight that not a single apple was unmarketable from that cause, but some of them were 

 slightly shrivelled, and a considerable proportion had rotted. In No. 1 case 17 per cent., No. 2 

 case 11 per cent., and No. 3 case 23 per cent, had rotted. As compared with those kept in cold 

 storage, the apples were much more highly coloured, and had ripened. The flavour was first class. 



Cold storage at a sufficiently low temperature has thus the effect of retarding changes in the 

 fruit, such as ripening, shrivelling, and rotting. It was very noticeable that the fruit in the Cool 

 Store remained about the same stage of ripeness as when it was put in, while that in ordinary storage 

 had ripened considerably. In order to guard against the development of Bitter Pit, the apples 

 should be picked when on the turn, as it were, just when they have reached their full size and on 

 the green side, and placed in cold storage without delay. 



General Results. 



The results of these experiments clearly show that a sufficiently low temperature kept uniform 

 retards the development of Bitter Pit, and, in order that apples should arrive at their destination 

 in the same freedom from disease as that in which they were shipped, it is necessary to avoid 

 fluctuating temperatures. There will require to be a linking up of cold storage from the vicinity 

 of the orchard to the ship's hold. The fruit should be pre-cooled to the necessary temperature in 

 the cool store of the district as soon as possible after picking, then placed in cold air trucks, and 

 conveyed to the wharf, where it should be kept in cold storage, and then loaded. 



By adopting this thorough system of keeping the fruit uniformly cool, the development of 

 Bitter Pit in transit will be a thing of the past. 



It is satisfactory to find that this is also the experience in the United States, for F. W. Morse 

 (113) in his Bulletin on ''Chemical Changes in Apples during Storage," writes: — "It is evident, 

 therefore, that the lowest possible temperature at which apples may be kept without freezing is 

 necessary to most effectively retard changes in the fruit, which are entirely independent of the 

 attacks of fungi, but are the results of activity within the cells of the apple itself." 



During the past season there have been numerous complaints regarding Bitter Pit in the 

 fruit shipped, and I will take as an example the report of a Hamburg firm on 7,455 boxes of Australian 

 Apples shipped by s.s. Oberhausen, and sold in Hamburg on 23rd April. " Bitter Pit was very 

 much in evidence, more than we have ever] seen before. Some lots looked terrible, and again 

 Munroe's Favorites showed it more than any other variety. However, many lots of Cleopatras, 

 Dunn's Seedlings, Five Crowns, Esopus Spitzenbergs, Reinettes de Canada showed it as well ; 

 while Jonathans were not so badly affected. The most a tie c. ted lots originated from Victoria, but 



