SPOILAGE OF CRANBERRIES AFTER HARVEST. 9 
and unreliable results because of severe frost injury. Further ex- 
periments along this line are necessary and are in prospect. 
The use of Bordeaux mixture with resin-fishoil soap, which has 
been found to be the most effective fungicide for cranberries, is 
recommended. One application should be made just after the blos- 
soms begin to open and should be repeated every two weeks until 
August 15. 
In Massachusetts small plats of berries on the State bog which 
were sprayed with Bordeaux mixture for several years in succession 
have shown some injury to the vines. More experiments are neces- 
sary in order to determine the cause of this injury. As no injury 
of this kind has been observed in New Jersey or on Long Island, 
the writers feel that where losses from rot either before or after pick- 
ing are heavy the benefit from spraying will more than offset any 
probable injury. 
Dry Picking. 
Experiments conducted on a number of bogs in New England 
have indicated that cranberries should be picked dry. The results 
shown in Table III are summarized from tests made in 1917. In 
each case from 4 to 10 bushels of berries were picked early in the 
morning while still wet with dew and an equal quantity taken from 
an adjacent portion of the bog as soon as the berries were thor- 
oughly dry. 
Table III. — Comparative 
results of storing cranberries that were picked wet 
and dry in 1911. 
Variety. 
Locality. 
Days in 
storage. 
Percentage ol rotten 
cranberries. 
Picked dry. 
Picked wet. 
Early Black 
East Wareham, Mass 
56 
44 
24 
60 
32 
13 
a 17 
2.4 
51 
Howe 
do 
40 
Early Black 
a 20 
Madrid, Me 
6.0 
a Contained about 10 per cent of rotten berries when picked. 
That the inferior keeping quality is due to the fact that the berries 
were wet and not to any injury received in picking is indicated by 
the fact that similar deterioration in keeping quality followed where 
boxes of berries which had been picked dry were wet with clean 
water. 
During the latter part of the shipping season cranberries are some- 
times removed from a cool storage house to a warm room for sort- 
ing and packing. If the humidity of the air is high, moisture fre- 
quently condenses on the berries to such an extent that they become 
wet and sticky. This is injurious to their keeping quality and should 
be carefully avoided. Cranberries should never be barreled or 
shipped in this condition. The desirability of packing and, if pos- 
61728°— 18— Bull. 714 2 
