284 THE PEACH. 



the skin downward. In a short time the heat of the drying house 

 will complete the drying, and the drawers are then ready for a second 

 filling. Farther south they are spread upon boards or frames, and 

 dried in the sun merely ; but usually, with the previous preparation, 

 of dipping the peaches (in baskets) for a few minutes in boiling 

 water before halving them. 



Preserving the fresh fruit. Thomas describes the process as fol- 

 lows : " Prepare the canisters in the best manner, of good tin 

 about seven or eight inches in length, and four to four and a half in 

 diameter. Whatever be the size, they should be uniform, that they 

 may be heated alike. The fruit selected should be just ripe and no 

 more, free from specks or bruises. When the canisters are filled, the 

 tops are to be carefully soldered on, leaving a hole in them about the 

 size of a small pin for the escape of the air. They are then to be 

 set in a vessel of water, to be kept boiling moderately, until the tem- 

 perature of the fruit is raised to that of the water. The way in 

 which this is to be ascertained, is to put a drop of water on the pin 

 hole, which will continue to bubble as long as the air escapes from 

 the canister. When the internal temperature is equal to that of the 

 water, no more air will escape. The water is then to be wiped off, 

 and a drop of solder immediately put in its place. The boiling 

 water should be raised as near to the tops of the canisters as possi- 

 ble, so as not cover them. If the operation has been properly con- 

 ducted, the ends of the canisters will, shortly after the cooling has 

 taken place, be depressed, in consequence of the external pressure of 

 the atmosphere. The degree of heat to which the fruit is subjected 

 does not cook it in the least. It is proper that the canisters should 

 be set in a cool place. The vessel in which the water is to be kept 

 boiling, must of course have a level bottom ; and every one who is 

 disposed to try the experiment can devise one for himself." 



VARIETIES. 



The varieties of the Peach have, within a few years been largely 

 increased, but as the fruit is, when matured, quickly perishable, we 

 have endeayored to select out only those that are really valuable, and 

 that will furnish a perfect succession from earliest to latest. Many 

 varieties are undoubtedly good in their immediate locality, and often 

 perhaps equal the best, yet there seems no necessity for increasing 

 the numbers unless some evident superiority is found either in fruit 

 or tree. 



The periods of ripening, which we have attached to each variety, 

 mark its character on the southern shore of Lake Erie, in northern 

 Ohio. At Cincinnati it will often be found two weeks earlier, while 

 at Boston or Buffalo it will be eight or ten days later. 



