48 One Thousand Questions in Agriculture 



of cracking the skin so that the moisture can be more readily 

 evaporated. There is no danger in using the necessary amount of 

 lye. Less is used than in making hominy. 



The Sugar Prune. 



JVIuit is the commercial value of the Sugar prune? Is there any 

 other early ripening variety better than the Sugar? 



It is selling very well as a cured prune, and growers in the 

 northern bay counties especially have done so well that they are 

 extending their plantings. It is coarser in flesh than the French 

 and generally flatter in flavor when cooked and thus falls below the ideal 

 of a cured prune, but it has compensating characters, such as early 

 ripening, with which no other prune compares. The Sugar is also 

 valuable as a shipping plum to Eastern markets. 



Glossing Dried Prunes. 



JVill you give the method for giving the gloss to dried French prunes? 



There are various methods. One pound of glycerine to 20 

 gallons of water; a quick dip in the mixture very hot gives a good 

 finish. Where a clear bloom rather than a shine, is desired, five 

 pounds of common salt to 100 gallons of water, also dipped hot, 

 gives a good effect. Some use a thin syrup made by boiling small prunes 

 in water (by stove or steam) and thinning with water to produce 

 the result desired. Steam cooking avoids . bad flavor by burning. 

 The salt dip is probably the most widely used. 



Price of Prunes on a Size Basis. 



Explain the grading in price of prunes. For instance, if the base 

 price is, say, five and three-fourths cents, zvhat size does this refer to, 

 and hoiv is the price for other sizes calculated? Also, zvhat is the mean- 

 ing of the phrase "four-size basis"? 



Prunes, after being sold to the packer, are graded into different 

 sizes, according to the number required to make a pound, and paid 

 for on that basis. The four regular sizes are 60-70s, 70-80s, 80-90s, 

 and 90-lOOs, which means that from 60 to 70 prunes are required to 

 make a pound, and so on. The basis price is for prunes that weigh 

 80 to the pound. When the basis price is 5^ cents, 80-90s are worth 

 54 cent less than this amount, or 5^ cents. The next smaller size, 

 90-lOOs, are worth 3^ cent less, or 5 cents, while prunes under this 

 size are little but skin and pit and bring much less to the grower. 

 For each next larger size there is a difference of ^ cent in favor 

 of the grower, so that on the S^-cent basis 70-80s are worth 6 

 cents, and 60-70s 6^ cents. This advance continues for the larger 

 sizes, 30-40s, 40- 50s, etc., but these quite often command a premium 

 besides, which is fixed according to the supplies available and the 

 demand for the various sizes. The sizes for which no premium or 

 penalty is generally fixed are those from 60 to 100, four sizes, so 



