No. 12. 



The Plum. 



879 



It appears, then, that the State must ex 

 port at least twelve millions of pounds of 

 cheese, probably much more. 



Of butter, the counties engaged in ex 

 porting are much more numerous. The fol 

 lowing are part: 



Carroll, pounds, 75,000 

 Crawford, • 200,000 



Geauga, 50.000 



Harrison, 250,000 



Hancock, 85,000 



Huron, 100.000 



Muskingum, 200,000 



M organ; 20.000 



Trumbull, 160,000 



Nine counties. 



1,020,000 



The exports of the State is probably about 

 four millions of pounds. The dairy products 

 of Ohio are, therefore, very large. — Patent 

 Reports. 



The Flam. 



The original parent of most of the culti- 

 vated plums of our gardens is a native of 

 Asia and the southern parts of Europe, but 

 it has become naturalized in this country, 

 and in many parts of it is produced in the 

 greatest abundance. That the soil and cli- 

 mate of the middle States are admirably 

 suited to this fruit, is sufficiently proved by 

 the almost spontaneous production of such 

 varieties as the Washington, Jefferson, Law- 

 rence's Favourite, etc.; sorts which equal or 

 surpass in beauty or flavor the most cele- 

 brated plums of France or England. 



Uses. — The finer kinds of plums are beau- 

 tiful dessert fruits, of rich and luscious fla- 

 vor. They are not, perhaps, so entirely 

 wholesome as the peach or the pear, as, from 

 their somewhat cloying and flatulent nature, 

 unless when very perfectly ripe, they are 

 more likely to disagree with weak stomachs. 



For the kitchen the plum is also very 

 highly esteemed, being prized for tarts, pies, 

 sweetmeats, etc. In the south of France 

 an excellent spirit is made from this fruit 

 fermented with honey. In the western part 

 of this State, where they are very abundant, 

 they are halved, stoned, and dried in the sun 

 or ovens, in large quantities, and are then 

 excellent for winter use. For eating, the 

 plum should be allowed to hang on the tree 

 till perfectly ripe, and the fruit will always 

 be finer in proportion as the tree has a more 

 sunny exposure. The size and quality of 

 the fruit is always greatly improved by thin- 

 ning the fruit when it is half grown. In- 

 deed to prevent rotting and to have this fruit 

 in its highest perfection, no two plums should 



be allowed to touch each other while grow- 

 ing, and those who are willing to take this 

 pains, are amply repaid by the superior qual- 

 ity of the fruit. 



One of the most important forms of the 

 plum in commerce is that o^ prunes, as they 

 are exported from France to every part of 

 the world. We quote the following inte- 

 resting account of the best mode of prepar- 

 ing prunes from ihe Arboretum Brilanicum. 



The best prunes are made near Tours, of 

 the Sf. Catherine plum and the prune d'Agen; 

 and the best French plums (so called in Eng- 

 land,) are made in Provence, of th(i Perdri- 

 gon blanc, the Brignole, and the prune d'Ast; 

 the Provence plums being most fleshy, and 

 having always most bloom. Both kinds are, 

 however, made of these and other kinds of 

 plums, in various parts of France. The 

 plums are gathered when just ripe enough 

 to fall from the trees on their being slightly 

 shaken. They are then laid, separately, on 

 frames, or sieves, made of wicker-work or 

 laths, and exposed for several days to the 

 sun, till they become as soft as ripe medlars. 

 When this is the case, they are put into a 

 spent oven, shut quite close, and left there 

 for twenty-four hours; they are then taken 

 out, and the oven being slightly reheated, 

 they are put in again when it is rather 

 warmer than it was before. The next day 

 they are again taken out, and turned by 

 slightly shaking the sieves. The oven is 

 heated again, and they are put in a third 

 time, when the oven is one-fourth degree 

 hotter than it was the second time. After 

 remaining twenty-four hours, they are taken 

 out, and left to get quite cold. They are 

 then rounded, an operation which is per- 

 formed by turning the stone in the plum 

 without breaking the skin, and pressing the 

 two ends together between the thumb and 

 finger. They are then again put upon the 

 sieves, which are placed in an oven, from 

 which the bread has been just drawn. The 

 door of the oven is closed, and the crevices 

 are stopped round it with clay or dry grass. 

 An hour afterwards the plums are taken out, 

 and the oven is again shut with a cup of 

 water in it, tor about two hours. When the 

 water is so warm as just to be able to bear 

 the finger in it, the prunes are again placed 

 in the oven, and left there for twenty-four 

 hours, when the operation is finished, and 

 they are put loosely into small, long, and 

 rather deep boxes, for sale. The common 

 sorts are gathered by shaking the trees; but 

 the finer kinds, for making French plums, 

 must be gathered in the morning, before the 

 rising of the sun, by taking hold of the stalk 

 between the thumb and finger, without touch- 

 ing the fruit, and laid gently on a bed of vine 



