FRUIT 



FRUIT-PIGEON 



21 



upon there, and -till mure uf ilie fluctuation din- 

 to Letter or \\OIM- sr.-i.sdus, the result* of any 

 one chemical analysis would tend to convey an 

 idi-u >i undue precision. Thus e.g. while the 

 niiid <it Migar to free acid in certain grapes of an 

 ordinary \\ine year was found to be 16 to 1, in 

 a \i-iy liad year it sank to 12, and in a very 

 good year rose to 24. Hence a broad outline 

 may In- of more general use than the statistics 

 ni any CUM- analysis. 



The percentage of water may be taken as vary- 

 ing from 7s to so in the -ra|.e and cherry, as 

 limn 82 to 85 in plums, peaches, apples, and 

 IM-.H-, as H2 to 87 in brambles, currants, &c., and 

 as much as 95 in the water-melon. The proportion 

 of insoluble residue skin and cellulose, stone and 

 seed obviously also varies greatly with succulence 

 and ripeness, but may be taken, one fruit with 

 another, at not less than from 4 to 6 per cent. 

 Unripe fruits may contain a notable proportion 

 of starch, but this is fermented on ripening into 

 glucose and other sugars, fruit-sugar, grape-sugar, 

 cane-sugar, or (in Sorbiis) sorbin. The only fruits 

 which retain starch in important quantity are those 

 of the banana, bread-fruit tree, and baobab; hence 

 the exceptional nutritive value of these. The olive 

 alone yields a notable proportion of oil. The pro- 

 portion of sugars varies exceedingly, dates, dry figs 

 (48 per cent.), and raisins (56 per cent.), again 

 very important foods, heading the list. Grapes 

 of course stand high, from 12 to 18, indeed some- 

 times as much as 26 per cent., cherries from 8 

 to 13, apples 6 to 8, pears 7 to 8, plums 6, red 

 currants 4 '7"), greengage 3*5, peach and apricot 

 only 1 '5. The proportion of pectin bodies is, how- 

 ever, exceedingly notable, especially in fruits such 

 as the three last named. In unripe fruits (as 

 also in roots) we find pectose, a body apparently 

 related to cellulose, but easily transmuted by a 

 natural ferment or by boiling with dilute acid 

 into pectin, C 4 H,jO 4 , and its allies. These are all 

 more or less soluble in water, with which they 

 readily form a jelly (whence the peculiar consist- 

 ency of our fruit-preserves). The proportion of 

 soluble pectin and gum varies considerably and 

 is of great importance to the blandness and agree- 

 ableness of fruit, the harder and more common 

 apples having considerably less than 3 per cent, 

 and the best rennets nearly 8. The harsh red 

 currant, indeed, like berries in general, has exceed- 

 ingly little (0'25 per cent.); while the apricot 

 has as much as 9, the greengage 12, and the peach 

 16 a circumstance which explains the peculiarly 

 melting quality of these fruits, especially the last 

 named. The free acid also varies greatly, from 

 2'4 per cent, in the red currant, 1'4 in the rasp- 

 berry, and nearly as much in the sourest cherries, 

 to 0'5 in sweet cherries and a minimum of O'l or 

 less in the sweetest pears. That of apples and 

 of grapes, of course, varies greatly, but both may 

 generally be taken at from 1 to' - 75, while the 

 apricot and peach stand at 0'3 or 0'4. The acid 

 is primarily malic, but citric, acetic, oxalic, tannic, 

 and others may also \>e present. 



The quantity of albuminoids is of course small, 

 in fact inadequate to render most fruits a staple 

 food. Yet it is by no means inappreciable, ranging 

 from nearly -5 per cent, in the majority of fruits to 

 *7 or '8 in the grape (2'7 in raisins), and above 1 in 

 the melon and tomato. Hence to acquire albu- 

 minoids equal to those of one egg we must eat 1 J Ib. 

 of grapes, 2 Ib. strawberries, 2^ Ib. apples, or 4 Ib. 

 pears. To replace 1 Ib. starch = 5 11). potatoes, we 

 need 5*4 Ib. grapes, 6 '7 of cherries or apples, or 12 '3 

 of strawberries ( see FOOD ). 



The quality of fruits depends largely upon the 

 proportion of sugar, gum, and pectin to free acid, 

 largely also upon the proportion of soluble to insol- 



uble matter*, but in very great measure also upon 

 tin- aroma. This quality i- due to the presence of 

 characteristic! ethers, often accompanied by ewential 

 oils, although not of course in ponderable percent- 

 age. Cultivation and selection operate strongly on 

 all three factors. 



Keeping of Fruit. Many of the fmet fmit- 

 undergo very speedy decomposition, which, as dis- 

 tinguished from the intrinsic processes of ripen- 

 ing, is due to the attacks of bacteria, moulds, or 

 yeasts ; and the problem of their preservation it- 

 therefore primarily one of preventing these. In 

 damp and stagnant air, especially with consider- 

 able or frequent changes of temperature, these 

 fungus pests multiply with special readiness ; 

 hence a fruit-room must be cool and shady, 

 yet dry and airy, and the fniit carefully gathered 

 rather before full ripeness, handled so as to avoid 

 in any way bruising or tearing the skin, and 

 laid out and occasionally looked over so that 

 rottenness in one may not affect the rest. Under 

 these conditions apples especially may be kept for 

 many months; incfeed many varieties of fruit e.g. 

 winter-pears require these conditions for satisfac- 

 tory ripening. On antiseptic principles wt- see how 

 it is that the dense-skinned and wax-coated grajie 

 can be so largely imported in sawdust, or how unripe 

 gooseberries, and even very perishable pears can be 

 kept for months similarly packed in well-sealed 

 jars in a cool place. The process of preserving with 

 sugar in jars promptly covered up is similarly an 

 antiseptic one ; but in the systematic application of 

 antiseptic principles we may still look for consider- 

 able progress in the preservation and transport of 

 fresh fruit upon a large scale. The method of dry- 

 ing fruit has also been in use from remote times, 

 especially with dates, figs, and raisins. 



Of late years more attention has been l)estowed 

 on fruit-growing in Britain, and a large area of land 

 is devoted to fruit-culture. But difficulties in dis- 

 tribution and the cost of transport have not 

 infrequently the effect of glutting the available 

 markets in good years, and making prices wholly 

 unremunerative. By far the most of the fruit 

 grown in Britain is produced in the counties nearest 

 London. On the other hand, the reduction in the 

 cost of ocean transit has largely increased our im- 

 ports of fresh as well as dried fruit, all of which are 

 free of duty, save figs, fig-cake, plums preserved 

 otherwise than in sugar, prunes, and raisins (on 

 which the duty is 7s. per cwt. ), and currants (at 2s. 

 per cwt.). The annual imports of fresh oranges 

 and lemons have a value of over 2,000,000 per 

 annum; of currants and raisins, 1,600,000; and 

 of other fruit, over 2,000,000. 



In the United States, the extension of the fruit- 

 growing area has been very great ; orange-growing 

 in Florida and some other southern states is now 

 a great industry ; and in California (besides wine- 

 producing), the preparation of rearing and growing 

 of oranges, figs, and other fruits is carried on on a 

 large scale. Then the United States imports 

 annually largely from the West Indies fruits and 

 nuts (especially bananas and cocoa-nuts) to the 

 value of $17,000,000 a year, while exporting fruits 

 and nuts to the value of $5,000,000. Fruit is cul- 

 tivated in the Himalayas for Anglo-Indian use, and 

 apples grow magnificently there. 



See GARDENING, ORCHARD ; the articles on APPLES, 

 PEARS, PEACHES, and the various fruits ; WINE, CIDER, 

 &c. ; PRESERVED PROVISIONS ; and works on fruit-culture 

 byCheal (newed. 1892). Thomson (1H81), Fish (U 

 Burbidge (1SS1), Du Br.uil (ISStJ), Hogg (1885), Wood 

 (1880); and for America, by Downing (1876), Fuller 

 (1881), Roe (1886), and Thomas (1876). 



Fruit-pigeon ( Carpophaga ), a genus of 

 pigeons, including alxiut fifty species, distributed 

 over the whole Australian and Oriental regions, 



