94 BULLETIN 196, U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 
more fully. The figures in the table also indicate why the figures which are given by 
the packer may not agree with those obtained by a purchaser or a food official. The 
packer does his testing soon after the pack is made and the broker or customer at a 
later date. 
The rate of heating soft fruits has a marked effect upon the fill. This is shown very 
clearly in the packing of cherries. When a hot 50° or 60° sirup is placed upon Royal 
Anne cherries, exhausted and processed in the usual way, it causes heavy shrinkage 
and decided toughening. If the same sirup were applied partly cooled and were then 
gradually heated to the boiling point, taking from 45 to 60 minutes, there would be 
very little shrinkage or toughening of the fruit. The same principle holds true with 
other fruits, much of the shrinkage being due to the rapidity with which the work is 
done. 
EFFECT OF SHIPPING. 
One lot of fruit was sent from San Francisco to La Fayette, Ind., by express; another 
by freight directly, and a third by freight via Panama and New York, while a fourth 
was held as a control. These lots contained apricots, blackberries, grapes, peaches, 
plums (green gage and yellow egg), and apples. The grades were water, standard, 
and extra standard for each line. Later the experimental pack was shipped to Wash- 
jngton. Fruits having a fairly strong skin, such as grapes and green gage plums, were 
affected to a slight extent by shipping, while very soft fruits, such as loganberries and 
yellow egg plums, suffered considerable mashing, so that upon draining the solids 
occupied less space and weighed less than in the control lots. The loss in weight on 
solids varied from 15 to 90 grams (one-half to 3 ounces) on the very soft fruits, the 
heaviest loss always being in water or sirup under 30° Balling. 
EFFECT OF TIME OF HOLDING. 
There seems to be a general impression that canned foods deteriorate with age, but 
upon this point little direct experimental evidence appears. In these experiments 
some products have shown deterioration by losing color and flavor and becoming 
more or less flabby. There is nothing to indicate that they have been injuriously 
affected, but they are lacking in attractiveness, which, after all, is an element of value 
in food. Other products have shown a marked improvement on standing, particu- 
larly in the development of a fine flavor. Just how much of these changes is due to 
time has not been determined. Without doubt the process applied, the practice in 
regard to cooling, whether promptly or not at all, and the temperature at which the 
foods are held in storage are much more active forces in causing change, and it would 
require a special set of experiments to determine the effect of time alone. The most 
marked improvement in flavor was noted in apricots packed at a low temperature, 
with very appreciable improvement in peaches, blackberries, and strawberries 
packed at a low temperature and held for two years. A sirup of 20° or more served in 
some cases as a protection in holding the fruit in a whole condition. The heavy sirup 
was sufficiently viscous to prevent injury from jarring. The water-packed fruits 
showed more breaking, increased turbidity of the liquor, and a tendency to settle to- 
gether more than those with a medium or heavy sirup. The packer seldom has an 
opportunity to see his product after it has traveled a long distance, and would prob- 
ably be greatly surprised at the condition of his lower grades as compared with their 
appearance when they leave the warehouse. 
SIRUP. 
A proper sirup is a necessity in the packing of most fruits, and has become as much 
an essential of the grade as the size and quality of the pieces. The sirup may vary 
from very light to very heavy, or between 10° and 60° on the Balling scale. By com- 
mon consent the sirups are generally made to be 10°, 20°, 30°, 40°, 50°, or 60° Balling, 
