Jasper County Democrat, Volume 11, Number 6, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 9 May 1908 — COLD STORAGE EXPERIMENT. [ARTICLE]

COLD STORAGE EXPERIMENT.

In company with a number of north lowa horticulturists the writer recently went to Mason City to witness the final inspection of some twenty-five different varieties of fall and winter apples which have been carried through ths winter in a joint cold storage experiment which has been conducted by the United States department of agriculture in co-operation with the horticultural department of the State Agricultural college at Ames. The apples th question bad been kept in refrigeration at a temperature of about 32 degrees F. since the time of their storage last September and October, some of the fruit being put in storage immediately upon picking, some a week after picklug and the remainder three weeks after it had been taken from the trees. The results of the experiment were summarized briefly by Mr. L. 8. Tenney, specialist in charge of the pomologlcal experiments carried on in connection with the government’s horticultural extension work. Among the valuable points noted in the results of the experiment were the following:

First, it was noticeable that that fruit kept best which was put into storage as soon As possible after picking and which was likewise handled with most care from the tree to the package in which it was stored. Again, It was observed to be true with all varieties, and especially with the tender Wealthy and Jonathan, that those apples were in the best condition of preservation at the end of the experiment which were not picked until they were fully ripe. Underripe fruit of these varieties showed much shriveling during the period of storage. Where apples were wrapped-separate-ly in pieces of paper they kept much better than when put together loose in the box. Wealthies, which are but a fall variety, came through in splendid shape whcn handled in this manner and'were in excellent market condition. ThO-Colorado Orange, Delavan and Northwestern Greening showed up in fine shape. The Malinda scalded badly during the period of storage and was not in a marketable condition. In emphasizing the necessity of a more careful handling of fruit Intended for shipping or storage Mr. Tenney, who had just come from a six weeks’ tour of inspection through the orange districts of California, stated that experiments which had just been concluded by the government seemed to show that virtually all of the loss which has been sustained for years past as a result of the spoiling of lemons and oranges in transit, amounting in some seasons to $3,000,000, has been due to a bruising of the fruit as a result of careless handling, and he stated that what was said with reference to the citrus fruits was equally true of apples. ABOUT IMPORTED CORN. Among the many valuable facts which have been learned as a result of corn growing experiments which have been conducted by experiment stations in various parts of the country one of great importance is that imported seed, no matter of how good a variety or how favorable the conditions under which it has been matured, will not produce so large or so well matured a crop as seed from ears which have grown in the immediate locality. Different conditions of soil and ty some extent of climate seem to place the imported seed at a disadvantage, a handicap which it does not overcome short of several years of acclimatization. During these years it seems to get adjusted to its environment and is in shape to produce the maximum crop of which it is capable. For the reasons above cited it is always advisable for the farmer to se cure his seed just as near home as possible, from his own field or from that of a near neighbor. The disadvantage one is under in sending to a distant bouse for his seed, in addition to that mentioned above, is that the seed is likely to be of a larger variety of corn than will mature well in the locality, in which case an early frost would mean the ruin of the whole crop.