394 PEAR GROWING IN CALIFORNIA. 



CHAPTER XVI. 



CANNING AND DRYING PEARS. 



THE CANNING INDUSTRY. 



The Bartlett pear is particularly fine for canning purposes and 

 California may justly be proud of the quality of the large amount 

 of canned fruit that goes into the markets each season. The pear can- 

 ning industry has assumed a position of great importance in the state, 

 and the pear grower is generally assured of good prices for his fruit 

 whether or not the market for the packed product is satisfactory. The 

 canning companies pay from $30 to $50 per ton for suitable pears, 

 often making contracts for five years or more, by which they agree to 

 pay a certain price each year for the entire crop of an orchard, or 

 for a specified number of tons of a certain size and grade. 



Pears for canning should be at least 2^ inches in diameter, the 

 larger sizes always being preferred. Fruit smaller than 2^ inches 

 is generally rejected by the canners. It is a common practice for the 

 growers to pack their pears during the early part of the season, and 

 later, when there is apt to be somewhat of a slump in the market 

 for fresh fruit, everything is sold to the canneries. In this way an 

 entire crop may be sold to good advantage which, if only the market 

 for fresh fruit was available, would often bring poor returns. 



In the modern cannery, fruit is handled in a careful and sanitary 

 manner, so that the one time objection to canned goods because of 

 the filth that often surrounded the canning is eliminated and there 

 need be no more fear for the cleanliness of the fruit than if it had 

 been prepared in the kitchen of the most careful housewife. Both 

 the canning and the drying business are very important and act as a 

 sort of a "safety valve" for the industry; much fruit that is not 

 fit for packing can be utilized to good advantage for drying or canning. 

 In this way it is possible to conserve all except very low grade fruit 

 and at the same time the profits to the growers are satisfactory. 



DRYING PEARS. 



The dried pear industry has become exceedingly important in Lake 

 County, where, during 1917, 3,981 green tons were dried. While 

 Lake County leads all other counties in the production of dried 

 pears, the industry is by no means confined to this county. In Contra 

 Costa, Solano, Napa, Sonoma and Mendocino counties there is always 

 more or less fruit dried each season, while, still other counties dry in 

 small amounts. The great difference, however, between the industry in 

 Lake County and all others where pears are dried lies in the fact 

 that the Lake County orchards are remote from a railroad shipping 

 point (30 miles or more) and consequently the entire output of 

 certain fine orchards is dried, while in counties where transportation 

 facilities are good the best pears are usually packed or sold to the can- 

 neries, and only -the culls are dried. 



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