HORTICULTURE 223 



pense of hauling a large number of crates ranges from one to two 

 cents per crate. 



Fruit which has become too ripe for shipping at the time it is 

 picked or such as has a blemish should be used at home. Good fruit 

 also which does not find a more profitable market should be canned 

 or evaporated. (Pa. E. S. B. 37.) 



CANNING PEACHES ON THE FARM. 



With the simple equipment by which it is possible to do good 

 work in canning, only a relatively small investment is required. The 

 quantity of fruit saved in a single season is often sufficient to more 

 than pay for the whole cost of the equipment. If a grower is 

 equipped for canning peaches he not only provides a way to protect 

 himself when market conditions are unfavorable, but he has a ready 

 means of using his poorer grades which, if shipped, as they com- 

 monly are, frequently bring only small prices at the best and at the 

 same time depress the markets and reduce the prices for the better 

 grades. Still other growers who have developed peach orchards 

 where shipping facilities have proved inadequate, or where the or- 

 chards are isolated, or where other conditions have arisen which 

 render the marketing of the fresh fruit unprofitable, have obtained 

 satisfactory returns by putting the crop on the market in canned 

 form at a later time. 



In some sections of the country, particularly through the South, 

 ''home canners" are in common use. It is believed that their use 

 could be greatly extended with profit and satisfaction to fruit and 

 vegetable growers, not only in the South, but in other sections of the 

 country as well. The quantity of fruit to be canned determines very 

 largely the extent and character of the equipment that will prove 

 efficient and at the same time economical. A canning outfit selected 

 primarily for handling peaches, once obtained, will often be found 

 useful for the canning of other farm and garden products. For 

 most fruits, and some vegetables, nearly the same equipment will 

 suffice as for peaches, but for others, especially for most vegetables, 

 certain additional articles will be desirable. Many manufacturers 

 furnish the necessary accessories and some include them in the prices 

 ordinarily quoted for their outfits. Some also furnish with their 

 outfits printed instructions which contain much information about 

 the canning of fruits and other products that is of value to those who 

 are not familiar with the operation. 



Maturity of Fruit for Canning. To be in the best condition 

 for canning peaches should be well ripened, but still moderately 

 firm. If too soft the fruit will not retain its shape in the cans, but 

 will become more or less "mushy," thus injuring its appearance 

 when the cans are opened. Soft fruit, canned in order to save it, 

 should not be put on the market as "extra" grade goods, or the repu- 

 tation of the one who canned it will suffer. Fruit of different degrees 

 of ripeness or of different texture should, therefore, not be mixed, but 

 each lot of the same degree of maturity and the same texture should 

 be handled by itself. 



The number of cans which a given quantity of fresh fruit will 



