THE CANADIAN H0RTICULTDRI8T. 



89 



settled. The fruit growers of that 

 fertile region are fully alive to the 

 importance of fruit preservation, and 

 they practice it to the extent of mil- 

 lions of lbs. annually. At the late 

 meeting of their Horticultural Society, 

 at Rochester, this subject was thorough- 

 ly discussed and an Association formed 

 to take charge of its interests. When 

 the reports of their county fruit com- 

 mittees were read, we were struck with 

 amazement at the extent and import- 

 ance of their fruit preserving processes. 

 During the whole winter their eva- 

 porated fruits are exposed for sale in 

 the markets of the larger cities and 

 towns, and find a ready and welcome 

 demand in the homes of all classes of 

 their peoj)le. There are at present 

 but two popular methods of fruit pres- 

 ervation contenanced in this country, 

 viz.: 1st. By cannintjf. 2nd. By dry- 

 ing or evaporating. We much prefer 

 the latter of these methods for the 

 following reasons: 1st, the fruit is 

 prepared for operation' with less expense. 

 In the case of small fruits they are at 

 once placed in the dryer, and in a few 

 minutes the fruit is taken out, and is 

 ready for packing. In the case of large 

 fruits they are simply pared and quart- 

 ered, and rapidly evaporated to a dry 

 state ready for shipment. No ex])ense 

 of cans or labels or other packing is 

 needed, and the consumer gets the 

 goods in their simplest form, ready by 

 the addition of a little water, for 

 preparation of the table or any domestic 

 purpose. 2nd, it is easier and cheaper 

 to pack and ship. For this purpose it 

 is simply placed in boxes or barrels and 

 sent direct to the dealer, be he ever so 

 far away, and without any fear of 

 l)reakage or loss. 3rd, it can be more 

 readily handled, exposed and sold by 

 the dealer, and with less risk of sus- 

 picion or delay. People soon learn that 

 it is quite possible to place beautiful 

 and tempting labels on packages that 

 2 



contain goods very dissimilar in char- 

 acter and value. No suspicion of this 

 kind can attach to evaporated fruits. 

 It is freely exposed and the purchaser 

 can be assured of its qualities, as he can 

 see what he gets. 4th, it gives better 

 satisfaction to the customer. He 

 thus knows exactly what he has paid 

 for, and there is no chagrin upon open- 

 ing the package to find the goods are 

 not as represented by the dealer. 5th, 

 this fruit can be sold in smaller quan- 

 tities to suit the desire of the smallest 

 customer. In this way the area of 

 consumption is much enlarged. Many 

 a poor man could see his way clear to 

 purchase a few pounds of dried fruit 

 that could not lay out a large sum on 

 tempting and expensive cans of fruit. 

 6th. there is no useless expense for cans 

 and labels, &c., to be added to the 

 expense of the fruit, and to be paid for 

 by the poor man who buys. He gets 

 exactly what he paid for and no more 

 or less. 



Many who are well acquainted with 

 certain samples of dried fruit will be 

 ready to object to evaporated fruits on 

 the same grounds. This is not just, as 

 well evaporated fruit bears no resem- 

 blance to that which is merely dried by 

 the old })rocesses. The evaporated fruit 

 is cleaner, whiter, richer, sweeter and 

 better in every quality. 



I find a statement in one of our 

 public horticultural documents of recent 

 issue, giving a fair idea of the questions 

 of costs and profits in connection with 

 an evaporator in the State of New 

 York. I think, perhaps, it would be 

 well to transcribe this statement in 

 this place for the benefit of my readei-s. 



"Statement of the cost and proHt of one 

 season's working of one of the No. 2 Pacific 

 Evaporators : — 



No, of bushels of apples bought 1^755; 



♦* " ** shrinkage.,, 33^ 



Total evaporated r , . . , (J,418 



