Evening journal., 1903-04-25
PRESERVATION OF
GROWING FRUIT
Changes Which Occur Dur
ing Various Conditions of
Growth
SEVERAL METHODS OF KEEPING II
Influence Of Oxygen and Carbon Upon
Fruits While on the Trees and After
ssparation-causes Of Decay of
Fruits.

ssparation-causes Of Decay of
Fruits.
The process Of the ripening OF fruits
and their preservation for certain
lengths of time are not thoroughly un-
derstood by many. Fruits do not act
In the air in the same manner as do
leaves. Fruits at every stage OF their
growth. both in light and darkness,
suffer loss of carbon. while leaves
absorb carbon. This loss Of carbon by
fruits is essential TO their ripening, for
should the function of the throwing of
of carbon be suspended (as demon
strated by experiment. the ripening
stops and the fruit dies or will dry
upon the tree. Fruits which are in
closed in shells ripen, however, as the
membranes which form the husks are
permeable to the air. the atmosphere
within the shell furnishing the same
quantities of oxygen and nitrogen as
the air we breathe. When fruits are
separated from the trees and placed in
an atmosphere deprived OF oxygen
they will not ripen. but the power Of
ripening is only suspended and may
be induced to act by placing the fruit
I'm an atmosphere capable OF taking
carbon from it, but IL left too long In
the deoxygenated situation It will lose
the power of ripening, even though il
preserves the same external appear
ance. NJ. Berard, of France, claims
that from these facts the inference is
plain that most fruits, and especially
those that do not require to remain
long on their parent trees may be pre-
served for a considerable time, and
their use prolonged. What is claimed
as a very simple process of preserving
fruit is TO form a paste of lime. sui
phatc OF iron (copperas) and water,
placing the same at the bottoms OF
glass or stone jars. and then introduce
ing the fruit pulled a few days before
it would otherwise become ripe. Such
fruits, however, are to be kept from
the bottoms of the bottles or other ves-
sells, and as much as possible from
each other and care taken to properly
close the jars tightly with corlSs and
cement The paste absorbs the oxygen
of the air, consequently tthe fruits viii
be preserved for a longer or shorter
time, according to circumstances,
peaches. apricots and plums from 20
days to a month and pears and apples
three months. II either Of these fruits
be Withdrawn from their confinement
after their respective periods) and be
exposed to the air. they will ripen, but
if these periods be much exceeded
they will undergo partial alteration and
viii not ripen at all. No water is used
In the jars or vessels except that re-
quired to make a paste of lime and
copperas. the proportion of which are
not stated. II will cost but a trihe to
experiment with one jar of fruit, but a.
trife to experiment with one jar OF
fruit. but keep in view the fact that
unlike canned goods. the fruit by this
process does not keep for an indefinite
period.
News and Views About the Farm.
Unclean seed has more to do with
the distribution Of weeds than all
other causes combined. These are
brought upon our farms in garden and
field seed from foreign countries. Rus
sian flaxseed is responsible for the in
PRODUCTION of the Russian thistle which
first appeared upon a single farm, and
now covers over 10000 square miles in
the United States. Alfalfa, beet, tur-
nip and other field and garden seeds
imported from Europe are the potent
cause for the contamination of our
lands with farm weeds. Nor are the
farmers of this country at all particu-
lar in saving their seeds, fields contain
ing weeds often being set apart for
seed crops, insuring the foulest seeds
in many cases. And then, in the par
chase Of seeds. the farmer is not care
full to buy pure seed only, but plants
whatever some dealers offer him. Until
these methods are done away with we
must expect to have new pernicious
weeds constantly appearing among our
crops.
The finest and softest wool is always
on the shoulders Of sheep. An expert
in judging sheep always looks at the
wool on the shoulders first Assuming
that the wool to be inspected is really
fine. the shoulders are first examined
as a part where the finest wool is to be
found. which is taken as "A standard,
and is compared TO the wool from the
ribs. the thigh the rump and the
shoulder parts, and the nearer the wool
from the various portions of the ami
NAL approaches the standard the bet
ter.
one Of the most neglected crops sf-
ter the harvest is over is the black
berry. Perhaps no crop entails so 1T
tie labor ina proportion to the revenue
derived therefrom. yet it will pay 70
keep the canes free from weeds and
grass. and to apply fertilizer as we'll
When a portion of the canes have been
winter killed a good crop may be OBJ
tanned from the remainder If the canes
receive good treatment the previous
year, but. as a rule. the canes are left
until it becomes time to cut them
Many blackberry fields that have borne
good crops year after year, and ther
begin to fail and die out. are simply
yielding to starvation and neglect.
Il has been demonstrated conclu-
sively that when an animal is fed on 9
variety. instead OF on corn exclusively
a greater gain in weight is secured
Corn will excel IN the production o.
fat, but bone and lean meat sell in th'
live animal as well as fat rapid growtl
being a gain i'm weight.
In regard to cutting potatoes verl
large number of experiments hav