II Dec, ipii-] French Prunes. 809 



FRENCH PRUNES. 



p. J. Cannody, Chief Orchard Sufervisor ; and F. de Casiella, 

 Government Yiticulturist. 



The following particulars concerning the methods followed in the 

 preparation of French " Agen " prunes, the finest in the world, should 

 l)rove of interest. Though these are often known to the trade as Bordeaux 

 prunes, the case is similar to that of Port wine and Barcelona nuts ; the 

 district where the prunes are grown and dried being situated much further 

 inland and quite distinct from the port of shipment, the name of which 

 has become identified with them in English-speaking countries. 



The industry is an example of that localization which is so marked a 

 feature of French agriculture and horticulture, for it is restricted to the 

 neighbourhood of Agen, the capital of the department of Lot-et-Garonne, 

 a town of some 25,000 inhabitants. The district proved itself eminently 

 suited for prune production and to the cultivation of this tree growers 

 have very generally turned their attention, with the result that it is now 

 the leading industry ; the average value of the prune crop having reached 

 20 to 30 million francs, or alx>ut a million sterling, annually. 



The factors which contribute to the excellence of the product are the 

 suitability of the locality (soil and climate), the variety grown, and the 

 method of drying. 



Agen is cool, too cool, in fact, for it to be practicable to dry fruit in 

 the sun. It is near the Northern limit of the Olive zone and therefore the 

 climate is more similar to the coast side of the Dividing: Range than to 

 Northern Victoria. This suggests possibilities for this industry in the 

 cooler parts of the State, where the apple is the leading fruit. The thin 

 skin resulting from the cool moist climate seems to have much to do with 

 the high quality of the finished article. 



The variety grown is exclusively the Prune d'Ente, a sweet and thin- 

 skinned black plum, with a very small pit, which may or may not be 

 identical with the plum known as Prime d'Agen in our orchards. Unfor- 

 tunately, some young trees of the true prune d'Ente, brought back from 

 France by Mr. de Castella in 1908, did not, owing to want of cool storage, 

 survive the voyage, el.se the (Question would be in a fair way towards 

 being decided. 



It is, however, with drying methods that the present article proposes 

 to deal. For the information concerning this part of the subject we are 

 indebted to an interesting series of articles by Professor E. Rabate,* 

 describing in detail a working trial of prune ovens, or ctuvcs, as they are 

 called in French, held, in September, 19 10, at ^'ilIeneuve-sur-Lot. near 

 Agen, under the auspices of, and financially assisted by, the French 

 Minister of Agriculture, the department of Lot-et-Garonne, the town of 

 Villeneuve-sur-Lot, and the agricultural &c. societies of the region, 

 including the Villeneuve SyndiaU of [irune merchants. Ten different 

 makers competed. 



Similar trials had previously been held at \'illeneuvt' in i860- '61 and 

 1879. at Jiergerar in 1872, and at Agen in 1896. 



The artificially heated drier or evaporator a[)i)ears to be absolutely 

 essential to the production of high class prunes, which are half cooked. 



• Progrh Agricole. Jltrd .\pril, Till Mav. and 4Hi .lime, 1011. Ktiitli-M jirutiinu". sur Ic soiliuuo des 

 fniits ; K. Kii)»it<i, I'rntivssfur l>6|iurti'Mii'iitnlf (l'Ai;rii-iiUiirc do !,ot-ot-(!ari>iiiii'. 



