110 THE KANSAS APRICOT. 



relieved us of our surprise. The water taken up by the roots does not 

 pass direct to the fruit, but goes to the leaves, where its food contents 

 are fitted for the fruit and wood growth and the surplus of water goes 

 into the air. 



In the rapid growth of the young tree and early fruitage irriga- 

 tion is an important advantage. Our irrigated trees had produced 

 more fruit at three and one-half years from planting than trees in the 

 neighborhood without irrigation had in twice the time. 



APRICOT FITTER AND SPREADER. 



Machinery is being gradually introduced into all the varied opera- 

 tions in canning and curing fruits. It is first, perhaps, a factor of 

 economical handling, but only second to this is the cleanliness which 

 it implies. Among the latest contributions in this direction is an ap- 

 ricot-pitting machine worked out by S. W. Guiberson, of Fillmore, 

 Ventura county. Mr. Gruiberson has been experimenting on the ma- 

 chine for three years and has built two which were not entirely satis- 

 factory in results. A third has been completed, too late for the crop 

 of 1898, though it was given a trial, which demonstrated that it was 

 a much greater success than anything hitherto designed for the pur- 

 pose. The gentleman mentioned, in a letter to the editor of Cal'ifor- 

 nia Fruit Grouper, says: "My pitting and spreading machine is, I 

 think, a success. I did not get it completed in time for this year" s 

 apricot croj), except to give it a trial at the end of the season. It took 

 out ninety-five per cent, of the pits and spread the apricots correctly 

 on the trays. It cuts a sufficient number of apricots to cover a tray 

 full at one stroke and spreads them right side up on the tray in one 

 minute, the tray being 8x3 feet in size. To cut them the proper way 

 for drying they have to be placed in the machine by hand, and this 

 requires three hands and three minutes' time per tray. I claim that 

 three men can cut and load on cars for sulphuring about 150 boxes of 

 apricots a day of twelve hours, and the machine does the work as 

 neatly as by hand pitters." 



APRICOT PITS. 



The cream of tartar works at Napa has contracted for 400 or 500 

 tons of ai)ricot pits, which are being crushed in that city and the 

 kernels extracted and dried. Thus prepared, they are shipped to a 

 San Francisco firm and made to yield up their contents of oil, known 

 to the trade and to chemists as almond oil. 



