Three varieties of crab apples and two varieties of eating apples have been investigated for their carotenoid contents. β-carotene is not always the major carotenoid and epoxy-carotenoids are found in fairly large amounts. There are relatively more carotenes than xanthophylls in two of the crab apples while the reverse is observed in the eating apples studied. Cox's Orange Pippin contains 33 I.U. of vitamin A activity, Golden Delicious 3.6, while the crab apple Golden Hornet has 132 I.U. per gramme dry weight. Further, the peel has a greater concentration of carotenoids than the flesh except in the crab apple Pyrus baccata where the ratio is 1: 1