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Show PRESSURE TESTER IS OF BIG VALUE (rreraitd by the l'nttol States Department Depart-ment uf Agriculture.) In Uctermiuing the proper date for picking apples the adherence of the fruit to the tree, the ground color or color of the unblushed portion of the fruit, and the firmness of the tlesh are all important considerations, says the United States Department of Agriculture. Agricul-ture. Under some conditions and with many varieties the time of blooming largely determines the picking date. These facts have been proved by tests and observations by the department depart-ment carried on simultaneously in experimental ex-perimental orchards at Amherst, Mass, ; Ithaca, X. Y. F.ast Lansing, .Mich.; Wooster, Ohio; Council I'.lulls, Iowa; Itosslyn, Va., and in commercial orchards at Wenatcbee, Wash. The results of the studies have been published pub-lished in Department P.ulletin .No. HOC-D, "The Impelling, Storage and Handling of Apples." The rate of softening of apples as they approach picking maturity varies greatly under different growing conditions. con-ditions. Apples from regions with a long growing season were, on the whole, softer at picking time than those from districts having a shorter growing season. The mechanical pres sure tester, a device to determine i when certain varieties are becoming too sofi cm the trees, will probably be of value as u measure of picking maturity. ma-turity. It was observed that when apples ripen under warm conditions, such as prevail during an early ripening season, sea-son, the inihlushod portion of the fruit Is greener when Hie fruit is In prime I picking condition than during normal seasons. j The bulletin com-iins a great deal of ' data on changes takmg place In apples I In-fore licking and during storage, as ' well as information relative to ban-j ban-j dling ripples. I |