Conserving Our Fruits. 51 



Mr. Plumb, of Milton, read the following paper on 



CONSERVING OUR FRUITS. 



"With the increasing production of fruit in this state, comes the 

 very pertinent inquiry as to the best means of conserving the same 

 so that, in seasons of plenty, they may, by inexpensive methods, be 

 kept in their natural state, beyond their ordinary seasons of ma- 

 turity, to fill up the gap, and give us our home grown apples and 

 small fruits, in their luscious freshness, out of season as well as in. 



Careful estimates place the cost of importing fruit to our state 

 at one and one-half to two million dollars annually. Whatever it 

 may be, much of this expense would be saved to the state, if in 

 seasons of abundance, we had some really efficient means of saving 

 the surplus for future use. For instance, the apple crop of our 

 state is estimated at 26 i, 238 bushels annually, three-fourths of 

 which are autumn apples that largely go into the cider mill at fif- 

 teen to twenty-five cents per bushel, when, if they could be carried 

 through until winter, they would bring double that price, and be a 

 thousand fold nice valuable to the community, in the form of 

 sauce. The same is largely true of our grapes, and less so of other 

 small fruits. 



In my child home were but three methods of conserving fruits, 

 beyond their natural limit in the fresh state, namely, by drying, in 

 sauce, and preserves. The first was done mostly by paring, quar- 

 tering, coring, stringing, and poling; the second, by boiling down 

 the juices, and adding the fruit for sauce; and the third by the 

 pound for pound process. The automatic paring, coring and slic- 

 ing machine was not invented. " Apple bees" were occasions of 

 much frolic in our New England kitchens. The telegraph was 

 then unborn, but an apple seed could carry some messages as well. 

 Canning was not then known, but the barrel of boiled cider and 

 " apple butter" filled a large place in domestic cooking. 



We now have improved machinery for drying, and canning facil- 

 ities which enable us to secure larger quantities of fruit with less 

 labor and expense. The kitchen is supplemented by extensive fac- 

 tories; the use of glass self-sealers in the household, and the tin 



