EVAPORATION OF FRUIT. 401 



and sliced the apples by hand and placed them on wooden trays, 

 which were set out in the sun. It took days to dry the fruit, 

 and exposure to showers and the night air had to be avoided or 

 the lot would be spoiled. The advent of steam evaporators and 

 scientific methods has wrought a great change in the business. 

 Large evaporating establishments have been put up, thousands of 

 men given employment, and a prosperous industry created. The 

 superiority of the evaporated fruits to the sun-dried article has 

 caused an immense demand for them, and aside from the con- 

 sumption in this country large amounts are shipped abroad. The 

 new processes now in use produce fruit that retains much of its 

 original color, and that is as palatable as though it were in its fresh 

 and natural condition. 



The following statement may suffice to show to what proportions 

 the business has grown: Within a radius of 40 miles of Roches- 

 ter, New York, there are 1 500 evaporators, from the small farm- 

 house apparatus, with a capacity of 25 bushels per day, to the 

 large steam evaporators drying from 800 to 1000 bushels of apples 

 every 24 hours. These evaporators employ over 30,000 hands 

 during the fall and early winter months. Large quantities of 

 apples of a quality that was formerly wasted are utilized, and the 

 profits of fruit raising largely increased. The annual product 

 of evaporated fruit in the State of New York alone is now esti- 

 mated at 30,000,000 pounds worth at first cost about $2,000,000. 

 In order to produce this quantity of dried fruit no less than 

 5,000,000 bushels of apples are required and 15,000 tons of coal 

 consumed. A constant attendance, night and day, of an army of 

 men, women, and children, numbering 30,000, is necessary. The 

 process of evaporation eliminates 225,000 tons of water, reducing 

 the green fruit to about one-eighth of its original weight, each 

 100 Ibs. yielding when properly evaporated 12 Ibs. of fruit. 



Aside from the fact that evaporated fruit can be transported to 

 any clime without deterioration, the advantage in the cost of 

 freight is great. A case of concentrated product costs 30 cents for 

 transportation to Liverpool ; in the green state the 8J bushels 

 required to produce the 50 Ibs. contained in each case, would cost 

 $2.25, and in the canned state the cost would be $2.10. The 

 total exports of evaporated and dried apples for the fiscal year 



26 



THF. 



