HORTICULTURE 225 



The cans are generally packed in cases for the trade. The ordi- 

 nary case holds two dozen No. 3 cans placed in two tiers, one dozen in 

 each tier. The usual case for No. 10 cans hold one dozen. These 

 cases may be obtained from the manufacturers of cans, as previously 

 stated, or in shook form from various box and package manufac- 

 turers. 



In this connection attention should be called to the federal food 

 and drugs act in its relation to the labeling or branding of canned 

 goods that enter interstate commerce. Any statement that is stamped 

 or printed on the cans or on the cases in which they are packed re- 

 garding the weight, identity, quality, or place of production which 

 is misleading constitutes, under the terms of this act, a misbranding 

 of the goods. All requirements of the food and drugs act which 

 should be considered in canning peaches may be ascertained by ad- 

 dressing the Board of Food and Drug Inspection, Department of 

 Agriculture, Washington, D. C. (F. B. 426.) 



PEACH KERNELS. 



Peaches are produced much more generally in the United States 

 than apricots, although in the California fruit regions much larger 

 quantities of the stones are accumulated at canneries and drying 

 grounds than elsewhere. A rough estimate of the quantity of peach 

 pits obtained as a by-product from the peach industry in California 

 alone during a normal year is 10,000 tons. The ratio of the kernel 

 to the pit in this instance is much less than in the case of apricots, 

 probably varying from 6 to 12 per cent ; the California crop should 

 therefore net from 600 to 1,200 tons of peach kernels a year. 



The amount of fixed oil obtainable from these kernels by expres- 

 sion is approximately 210 to 420 tons. The amount of volatile oil 

 from the press cake, calculated from a yield of 1 per cent, would be 

 from about 7,800 to 15,600 pounds. At the present time peach pits 

 are not cracked nor the kernels exported to any great extent. Allow- 

 ing a small quantity for use by nurseries, the remainder is chiefly 

 used as a fuel, commanding from $5 to $7 a ton for this purpose. A 

 more economical disposal of these kernels, so rich in fixed and vola- 

 tile oils, might well be made in the United States by the growers 

 and producers. (B. P. I. B. 133.) 



NECTARINE. 



The nectarine is a smooth-skinned peach. It is interesting to 

 know that peaches have been grown from the seed of nectarines 

 and nectarines from the seed of peaches. The fruit is usually inferior 

 to that of the peach in size, quality, and appearance. It is grown the 

 same as the peach but not nearly as successfully. It seems to do best 

 in the Pacfic coast States. (U. S. E. S. B. 178.) 



APRICOTS. 



The apricots is like the peach in some respects, while in others 

 it is like the plum. It resembles the former in flavor, in the shape 

 of its fruit, and in being sometimes downy; but in the broad leaves 

 of the trees and smooth stone of the fruit it is more like the plum. 

 Generally speaking it is as hardy as the peach, and under the same 

 general cultivation and care, the apricot may be expected to grow 



