of the fruit. Nevertheless it is only fair to state that in the modern development of the spraying industry the ravages of insect pests can be restrained and controlled, if not entirely prevented, by the proper spraying of the fruit. This spraying introduces another danger which cannot be forgotten, namely, the remaining upon the surface of the fruit of some of the spraying material itself. If present at all this material is apt to be either at the point of the junction of the stem with the fruit or at the opposite extremity of the apple. For this reason the fruit when eaten raw should be peeled in order that any remaining particles of the poisonous material used in spraying may be removed. It is to the interest of the merchant to present fruit of this kind in the most attractive form, by the exclusion of bruised, rotten, or infected apples and the offering of the sound, ripe fruit in as presentable a condition as possible.
Composition of Apples at Various Stages of Maturity.—The following table shows the analysis made of one variety of apple, the Baldwin, at various stages of maturity:
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| | | | | Acidity as |
Condition. | Solids. | Invert | Cane | Starch. | Malic Acid. | Ash.
| | Sugar. | Sugar. | | Per Cent. |
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| Percent. | Percent. | Percent. | Percent. | Percent. | Percent.
Very green, | 18.47 | 6.40 | 1.63 | 4.14 | 1.14 | 0.27
Green, | 20.19 | 6.46 | 4.05 | 3.67 | |
Ripe, | 19.64 | 7.70 | 6.81 | .17 | .65 | .27
Overripe, | 19.70 | 8.81 | 5.26 | None | .48 | .28
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The chief point of interest in the above analysis is the gradual decline of the starch. When the apple is overripe the starch is entirely gone. When the apple is ripe only a small part of the starch is found. In the green apple very large quantities of starch are found. The sugar increases as the starch diminishes. There is a little over 14 percent of sugar in the perfectly ripe apple but much less in the green. The acidity calculated as malic acid diminishes as maturity is approached. In general it may be said that in the ripening of an apple the starch is converted into sugar and the acidity is diminished.
The composition of apples varies very greatly, as may be easily understood, with the variety of the apple examined, the character of the season in which it grew, and with the individual apple or sample. The best that can be done in showing the composition of apples is to give some of the most reliable analyses, covering the largest range of examinations in this and other countries. In the following table are given three sets of analyses of American apples and two sets of foreign apples, the first three being American and the second series being foreign.
The table gives the number of samples included in the analytical data, and the mean, maximum, and minimum results of the analyses.
