566 ECTERPE 



olerAcea, Mast. Cabbage Palm. Fig. 801. Stem 

 60-100 ft., scarcely 1 ft. in diam. at base, attenuate 

 above, liexuous: Ivs. arcuate-spreading, 4-6 ft. long, the 

 apex more or less deflexed; segments pendent, linear- 

 lanceolate, the upper 2 ft. long, 1 in. wide, manv-nerved. 

 Braz. — Pig. 801 is adapted from Martins' Nat. Hist, of 

 Palms 



801. Euterpe oleracea. 



montina, R. Grab. Stem 10 ft. high, swollen at the 

 base, ringed: lvs.9 ft. long, elliptical-obovate; segments 

 lanceolate, entire, glabrous, alternate; petiole 2 ft. long, 

 scaly beneath, unarmed : rachis plano-convex below, 

 subtriangular towards the apex. Grenada. B.M. 3874. 

 Jaeed G. Smith. 



Euterpes constitute a small group of spineless palms. 



The Eutfrpr-« 

 acuities, l.i-ii.- 

 a night tt-nip.-i 



loam, with tin- i 



EVAPORATING 



. not piT>ii lit any special cultural dif- 

 •i-r.i..tJTii.' and rapid-growing palms, 

 ill- .if 1..)^ F., and abundant moisture, 

 r .hi.-f r.-.|uireiuents. A good, turfy 

 iti..ii..f ab.mt one-fifth of stable ma- 

 nure while in the compost heap, provides a suitable 

 soil From their habit of forming a tall, slender stem 

 Without suckenng from the base, the Euterpes are 

 lial le to 1 Lcome rather leggy specimens. When under 



iu„ in 1 1 u h\ pecimen. White scale is one of the 



n r t 1 e ts t which these palms are subject, and soon 



ru u^ the foliage unless care is taken. Seeds genui- 



1 a few weeks if sown in a warm greenhouse, and 



ung plants make better progress when moder- 



shaded 



EUTdCA 



W. H. Taplis. 



■ referrel to Pliiu-tlii 



EVAPORATIHG OF FEOIT. While the domestic 

 t of Ir m„ tr lit has been practiced ever since 

 1 k 1 le i th 11 immediate wants and stored 

 1 f r til e ot 1 tei 1 ed, and while dried fruit has 

 I rt cl t iinierce, yet until a few dec- 



1 1 tl 1 t 1 riiuitive methods were used in 



tl I I u 1 the industry, commercially, was 



1 red regions in Europe. The mod- 



r I ily more than a quarter century 



111 1 nceivable growth in America in this 



1 t of the industrial phenomena of the 



epoch. Spurred into activity by the encroachments of 

 the American product in their markets, the European 

 producers, by the adoption of better methods, and by 

 govenunental encouragement, have increased greatly 

 their ..utput of dried fruit. And so, from an adjunct to 

 fniit growing for home use, drying fruit has become, 

 within recent years, one of the main branches of horti- 

 culture. 



Fruit may be cured in the sun, or it may be cured in 

 drying machines, called evaporators. That cured in the 

 sun is called by the producer dried fruit ; that in 

 evaporators, evaporated fruit. By far the greater part 

 of the world's product is cured in the sun. 



Siin-r!r!ihifi fridt.-ln countries haviiii,' a sufficientlv 



ad dr 



Turkf 



of Fr; 



graded. 



i-s of 



Sp.'iin and western America, fruit is drieil 

 aim.. St wholly in the sun. The fact that in these favored 

 localities the drying capacity is limited only by the acre- 

 age of sunshine, makes it certain that the proportion of 

 sun-dried fruit will always be vastly greater than that of 

 evaporated fruit. Drying fruit in the sun is a simple 

 process, but one hedged in by many little arts and 

 ineth.ids which facilit:ite the work and improve the prod- 

 uct In general, the process is as follows : the fruit is 

 grailed, bleached by sulfur, if a light colored product 

 is .lesired, in the case of pruTio^ 'lipia 1 or pricked, and 

 is then spread on trays to b.- .• ' ■ ! •" un. When 

 the drying process is finishe.l : i 

 in most cases put through a > . , , 

 in various ways, as by dippiu;.- - i y!- 



Eimporathxg fruit.— There are lui 

 evaporators, but all possess in comiu.m a .liainli.r for 

 the reception of the fruit, through whi. h a .lur.nt of 

 warm air is forced, or the fruit is f.u-.-. .1 tl.r.inL;li ibe 

 air, or both, the object being to remove the aqueous 

 matter from the fruit as quickly as possible, and the 

 principle being that warm air will absorb more moisture 

 than cool air. The saturated air must not remain in 

 contact with the fruit. Siii^e rtifTeroiit fruits exnrt dif- 

 ferent conditions, on.- slmulil Im- aM.' to .■Ikui!;.' tli.' t.-in- 

 perajure and velocitv ..f ili.' aii' .•iiia.ni in ilic .Irving 

 chamber at will. T.. mako ih.' |.r.i.lia[ I..ini.if,-.iir..u3, 

 current and temperature must be equal in all parts of 

 the evaporator. It is obvious that simplicity in the ma- 

 chine and economy in heat and in room are cardinal 

 virtues in a good evaporator. It is the rule to start the 

 evaporation of large fruits at a low temperature and 

 finish at a high one, but with berries the reverse is true. 

 .Some operators start their apples high and finish at a 

 low temperature. 



The following are definitions of the somewhat tech- 

 nical terms used in the industry: BUacliiny is the pro- 



