The Bridgeport evening farmer., 1914-09-30

urallys if the relief will be permanent or will the suffering return with its season. Now, while it is true that there seems to be special season for Hay Fever 1t is not really the season that causes it's return. The dust and handling methods that largely deter mine its vitality, freedom from dis ease, and general condition when stor- ed Cold storage is not a remedy, or, restorative for poorly developed. , weak, imperfect fruit, but is the most effective method of preserving the quality, flavor and appearance pos- sessed by the fruit at time of picking. The first step in successful cold storage of apples has been found to lie in the practice of such cultural. spraying and pruning methods as in sure production of sound, healthy well coIoredf fr1sit, free from disease. As suming this as the first requisite, the following factors have been found to the fruit. and furnish best conditions for long storage:
 l. Proper maturity at time of picking.
 ?. Care, in all handling operations
 8 Prompt storage after picking. l s4 4 proper storage temperature
 Maturity Tests.
 Careful and extensive investigations have demonstrated that fruit picked at full maturity can be held for a longer period in storage, and is less affected by scafd and decay than that picked when somewhat immature. Two important merciaI varieties, Rome5 Beauty and Winesap, have been found to be especially suscep~ tib1e to scald during storage, if pick ed prematureI There is no doubt that several thousand dollars are lost to the industry each year through the improper picking of these two varie- lies a1nne The rAsIlItes n1n69 size strongly that more care and attention should be paid to this detail of the harvesting operations than is usually the case.
 meant over-maturity, which may cause fully as heavy losses as imma- turity. Each grower should study his own fruit and his own conditions in order to determine the proper pick ing stage. Probably the most reliable single indication of maturity is the whitening or slight yellowing of the ground color of the fruit. S This is the color underlying the blush, or red color and should not be confused with the latter.
 Careful Handling.
 Care in all handling operations is the second important requisite of suc-' cessful storage. A class of fungi, of which the common blue mold is an example, are known to be unable to attack and cause decay of healthy, un- injured fruit. In spite of this fact, very serious rots both in storag and in transit to market are the work of fungi of this type, and the largest con- tributory cause in all cases is bruis- ing or skin breaking suffered by the fruit in the picking and packing op- erations. Microscopic bruises and breaks in the skin are large enough to afford entrance to the spores of these frs 1ei nj n " nT- mo ssty the handling of the fruit to avoid more urgent than most growers real ize.
 Prompt Storage.
 There is marked difference in condition between fruit stored promptly after picking, say not more than two days later, and otherwise comparable lots of which the stor- age is delayed ten days or two weeks Such delay is especially injurious dur- ing a period of warm, humid weather. The delayed fruit at withdrawal from storage is riper, yellower and duIIer than the corresponding i'm mediate stored fruit and in addition develops more serious scald and de- cay. The importance of eliminating all avoidab1e delay in storing cannot be too strongly emphasized.
 Storage Temperatures.
 31 degrees to 32 degrees Fahrenheit is the standard storage temperature for apples, and this has been found to be the best for long keeping of the fruit. Higher temperatures permit the r1Dening of the fruit to advance