56 AGRICULTURE OF MAINE. 



Now, taking up the problem of canning apples. I was very 

 glad when Mr. Wheeler mentioned the fact of the apple can- 

 neries in Franklin county, and it is true that in certain sec- 

 tions of our state men are busy making a profitable business of 

 canning apples. Perhaps Waldo county stands second in the 

 canning of apples at the present time. The process is not com- 

 plicated. The apples are pared, usually quartered and cored. 

 They are sterilized with steam, brought nearly to the boiling 

 point, but not cooked enough to lose their shape, then placed 

 in cans with a small amount of sugar. The cans are then 

 sealed and cooked a short time in the steam retorts. They are 

 then labeled and are ready for the public. I want to say that a 

 process at the present time before the public is that of evapo- 

 rating apples. 



We have at least one evaporator in the state that is doing 

 good work. This is in Oxford county. The process is more 

 complicated than in the canning. As a rule, they use a poor 

 grade of apples, although the better the grade the greater the 

 profit to the party that is handling the apples. You can readily 

 see how that is. If you have a well formed apple, the parer 

 will do the work easily; while, if the apple is not well shaped, 

 more of it will be lost in paring. The apples are brought to 

 the evaporators in large quantities, in bulk, and are handled 

 through the evaporators rapidly. One man operates each 

 machine, simply feeding in the apples. They are cored, peeled 

 and sliced by this machine, and then carried to a portion of the 

 building where they may be subjected to sulphur fumes and 

 bleached, which consists of driving sulphur through the room. 

 In this room they are spread over the floor, on low tables, or 

 trays especially fitted for that purpose. In some instances they 

 are moved again and carried to the oven-heated rooms, which 

 are simply large rooms with slatted floor or tables, so arranged 

 that there is hot air or steam. This heat is delivered through 

 the floor of the building and the apples are dried to the desired 

 condition. The temperature is about 120° F. Men are work- 

 ing in these rooms, turning over the apples and seeing that they 

 are dried uniformly. After they are taken from these ovens 

 they are graded, usually in three grades — fancy, choice and 

 prime. As I have said before, this is the most popular method 

 of getting the by-product ready for the consumer. They are 



