— eee 
SOIENCE AND INDUSTRY. 
In field practice, this stage is judged by sight and feel (slight 
squeezing of a handful). This method was adopted throughout these 
experiments; but the judgment of the experimentalist was tested by 
further exposure of the dried fruit, for four hours, to note loss, if 
appreciable. ° 7 
(1) If this loss in clear dry weather amounts to 13 per cent., it 
may be assumed that the fruit at the first weighing was insufficiently 
dry. The variation in weight when fruit distinctly under-dried is 
exposed until distinctly over-dried amounts to 5 or 6 per cent. 
(2) The correet stage within this range depends on the judgment 
of the experimentalist, though he may be guided’ by the fact that the 
first step in loss of weight (from under-dried to suitably dried) takes 
place relatively more quickly than the second step (from suitably dried 
to over-dried). , 
(3) With the equipment of the laboratory at Mildura it will be 
possible in future work to secure uniform results by measuring the 
amount of moisture in the dried samples. 
The following results were obtained, and are typical of the general 
results :— 
cs 
A. SULTANAS. B. Zante Currants. 
ealannnmernending Weight of Green Fruit. BadmesReading! Weight of Green Fruit 
Weight of Dried Fruit. Weight of Dried Fruit. 
1 11.8* : 4.75 11* 4.87 
2 12. 1* 4,22 ! Sikes 4.10 
3 13.2 3.69 13.3* 4.17 
4 13.8 + 3.47 14.5 2.93 
5 14.15 3.40 14.75 2.80 
6 14,2 3.42 . - 16 2.52. 
7 14.75 3.31 16 2.58 
i 
. * Not paying. ‘ 
(4) Discussion of Results—To secure the maximum weight of 
dried fruit of good quality is obviously the aim of the viticulturist. 
The above results indicate that picking at an. early stage (under 13 
Baumé) is not a paying proposition in the case of sultanas. Generally 
speaking, the Baumé reading for currants is on a higher level (about 
1°) than that of sultanas. Results indicate that, in the case of Zante 
currants, a Baumé reading of 14 shows: the, minimum stage of ripeness 
at which they can be profitably harvested. 
Diprinc SrreNGTH FoR SULTANAS. 
In field practice it is customary to dip the buckets of fruit in a 
caustic-soda solution at or just under boiling point, or to dip at a 
lower temperature (190°-195° F'.), which involves the use of a ther- 
mometer. At the lower temperature, 15 to. 20 per cent. increase in 
quantity of caustic soda is required to give results similar to those 
obtained with the boiling dip. The desired condition prevails when 
the concentration of the dip is such that after immersion slight cracks 
626 
