BULLETIN *o$. U. S. DEPARTMENT OE AGRICULTURE, 
a quick sale. In consequence of many handlings the fruit "becomes 
soft and injured and is more liable to fungous attacks through the 
germination of adhering spores. It is clear that, if possible, only fruit of 
the same age should be packed in a single container. No criterion for 
deteiTdhiing age exists except at the time of turning from green to pink. 
If turning tomatoes could be packed instead of green ones, this particular 
commercial difficulty would be solved. Since it has been shown, 
moreover, that Florida tomatoes are lacking in certain fundamental 
qualities as to taste, which would likewise be remedied by picking 
more mature fruit, the winter turned his attention to determining the 
feasibility of shipping u turnings."' It was found, as would of course 
be expected, that the riper the tomatoes the shorter the time it is pos- 
sible to hold them, but the fact was ascertained that ■"turnings'' can 
be kept in good condition at a temperature approximating that ob- 
tained in refrigerator cars (50° to oo z F. I long enough to ship them and 
to sell them to the consumer. Turning tomatoes held in the refrigerator 
for 10 days and then kept at a temperature of approximately 75' F. 
for 5 days longer were found to be in an excellent condition. Other 
fruits remaining at the lower temperature for 15 days were still firm 
enough to be held at room temperature for a few days. At lower 
temperatures than those used it is possible to hold tomatoes even 
longer than 15 days. Iced shipments in pony refrigerators sent by 
express from Miami. Fla.. to Washington, D. C. arrived in excellent- 
condition. One commission man who has been shipping fruit under 
ice for a number of years states that these tomatoes reach the market 
in excellent condition and bring higher prices than uniced fruit. The 
above statements are not offered as recommendations for picking and 
shipping turning tomatoes under ice. There are. however, many good 
reasons for suggesting that turning fruit may be picked and shipped 
under an initial icing. One of these reasons has already been men- 
tioned, namely, that it would be possible to pick fruit at the same stage 
of maturity which would ripen uniformly and save considerable of the 
loss which is at present experienced. Furthermore, chemical analysis 
has shown that turning fruit compares favorably with normal or vine- 
ripened fruit hi composition, taste, and palatability. Other investi- 
gators, Powell (38), Ramsey (39. 40. 41). Stevens and Wilcox (47, 
48), Ridley (42). and others, have shown that fruits are more liable to 
fungous infection when they are wounded than when uninjured. This 
is what one would expect in the light of some recent investigations 
which show a high correlation between susceptibility to infection and 
the resistance offered by the fruit to mechanical puncture. 
The investigations of Rosenbaum (43) on the origin and spread of 
tomato fruit rots in transit have demonstrated that overripeness, 
bruises, and other injuries favor the appearance of these rots. Since 
the resistance of the epidermis shows the relative ease with which a 
fruit may become infected bv means of a mechanical entrance of the 
* 
