CALIFORNIA FRUITS: HOW TO GROW THEM 



It is made chiefly of fruit picked when the stem parts upon raising 

 with the hand. The tree is picked over three times, the fruit of 

 each picking kept by itself and allowed to ripen in the shade before 

 cutting at just the right degree of mellowness. The fruit is halved, 

 stem pulled out and the calyx cut out smoothly, not pared nor cored. 

 It is sulphured heavily to secure an amber-colored translucent prod- 

 uct. Exposure to the fumes for 48 hours is frequent. Then the 

 trays are placed in the sun for one-half to one day and curing is 

 finished in the stack allowing the curing to occupy from two to 

 four weeks, according to atmospheric conditions. The fruit when 

 finished to a leathery texture is held in sweat-boxes for some time. 

 Dried pears should never be put in sacks or in bins of any quantity ; 

 if they are they will invariably run together and make a mass of 

 poor stuff. 



Peaches. Peaches are sun-dried in much the same way as apri- 

 cots, already described. Hand-pick the fruit when it is fully ripe, 

 but not mushy ; cut cleanly all around to extract the pit and put on 

 trays cup side up; get into the sulphur box as soon as possible after 

 cutting before the cut surface becomes dry, and sulphur until juice 

 gathers in the pit-cavity. It is often from four to five hours in a 

 well-built sulphur house. Growers in Fresno County find two quarts 

 of sulphur about right for a house having a capacity of 54 2x3-foot 

 trays. This will vary with the amount of leakage from the house, 

 the condition of the fruit in regard to ripeness and size, and the 

 temperature and humidity of the air. Figure on leaving them in 

 the sulphur fumes 3 or 4 hours. Increase this if, at the end of that 

 time, the pit cavities are not filled with syrup. Reduce it if they 

 are filled with syrup in much less time. The length of time to 

 leave the fruit in the sun depends on temperature, humidity, ripeness 

 and size of fruit. Exposing it to direct rays of the sun for too long a 

 time during periods of high temperature is sure to leave the fruit 

 tough, leathery and flavorless. Best results are secured when the 

 fruit is exposed to the sun just long enough to get the drying well 

 under way and then stacked to finish curing in the shade. Trays 

 should be stacked end-wise toward the prevailing wind and set 

 alternately several inches one way or the other to leave an opening 

 at each end for circulation of air. They are sufficiently cured when 

 you find it impossible to slip the skins by squeezing the peaches be- 

 tween the fingers. Peaches are dried both peeled and unpeeled, but 

 drying without peeling is chiefly done. Peeling is sometimes done 

 with the small paring machines or with a knife. Peeling with lye 

 has been largely abandoned because of discoloration of the fruit 

 after packing, although it can be successfully done by frequently 

 changing the lye and using ample quantities of fresh water for rins- 

 ing after dipping. The process of spraying lye on the fruit is clut- 

 tered up by patents which are still in litigation. Some growers peel 

 by slipping off the skin as the fruit conies from the sulphur-box 

 placing the half-fruits one by one on another tray, without spilling 

 the juice in the cup. 



