STATE HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. ] ]^5 



and I went to see him, and told him that if he had anything better than 

 I had, I wanted it. I was pleased with what I learned and saw, and so 

 I bought hTs patent process, which I now use with great satisfai tion. 



Mr. Fi.agg — I would like to ask Mr. Hilliard about tlie variety of 

 apples that make the best cider. 



Mr. HrLi.tARD — The Janet and Little Rornanite arc among the best 

 cider apples. We prefer to mix the varieties. 



Voice — What can you afford to pay for apples to make into cider? 



Mr. Hili-iard — We bought a great many apples for fifty cents per 

 barrel this fall. I think the Janet is,'perhaps, the best cider apple. 



Voice — I would like to hear from Mr. Holcomb upon this subject 

 of utilizing the orchard fruits. 



Mr. Holcomb — I presume I am called upon because I happen to 

 be connected with a factory of the Alden process for drying fruits. I 

 do not think it will be necessary or wise for me to take up your time 

 Avith a detailed account of the process. It consists simply in passing 

 heated air through a tower, the green fruit being put in at the bottom, 

 and taken out at the top in a dried state. 



Voice — How many pounds of dried apples do you get from a bushel ? 



Mr. Holcomb — About si.x pounds. We have in this way utilized 

 hundreds and thousands of bushels of apples and other fruits that could 

 never in any other way have found a market. And what is more, the 

 work was done by those who would not otherwise have done fifty dollars 

 worth of labor in any other way. 



Voice^-Wovf about the expense .' 



Mr. Holcomb — The enterprise being new and untried, the expense 

 has been necessarily greater than it need be hereafter. I think thus far 

 it has cost us about twelve cents per pound. I think hereafter the expense 

 can be brought down to ten or eleven cents, and we sell for about twenty 

 cents per pound. But remember we are not proposing to sell </r/W/ai)ples 

 for twenty cents, but apples preserved in a fresh state — as if canned — 

 and when made into pies, might be mistaken for green-apple pies. 



Mr. Si hi'vlrr — General agent at Chicago, for the Alden P>uit-dry- 

 ing Company, spoke at considerable length giving the excellences of 

 that system of utilizing fruits, and stating the plans upon which the com- 

 pany are ready to establish co-partnerships with truit growers in erecting 

 fruit-drying houses. He stated that the entire cost of one of these 



