The Lancaster Farmer. 



Hi. S. S. RATHVON, Editor. 



LANCASTER, PA., APRIL, 1880. 



Vol. XII. No. 4. 



DRIED FRUIT. 



The great bulk ot the diicil fruit coiisuined 

 in our co\nitry to-day is no better— if it even 

 is as good— as that wliieh was consumed one 

 hundred years ago. Souieliow people liad 

 come to think tliat fruit wlien dried ought to 

 be tlie color of maliogany, and the liiiuid in 

 which it is boiled should be the color of 

 uncrciimed cotl'ee. Fruit was usually set out 

 on screens and dried l)y the slow process of 

 the BUii, or put into the oven after the bread 

 was taken out, if tlie sun failed to sliine; in 

 the meantime, it was visited by hosts of com- 

 mon Hies, wasps, moths, hornets, spiders and 

 other "vermin" that mutilated it, and pep- 

 pered it all over with their excretal voidings, 

 so that consumers were eorapelled to wash it 

 thoroughly Ijefore boiling it, or cat more than 

 they bargained for. At other times it was 

 strung on strings and hung up to dry by the 

 sun or atmosphere, under a like exposure, or 

 put in tin or iron pans and dried in the oven, 

 which was often made hot enough to dry it as 

 crisp as oid shoe leather, or Imrn it as black as 

 charcoal. Much ot that in the market at the 

 present day is of that character, and especi- 

 ally the kind made of sweet apples, and often 

 when brought to table it is of an inky color, 

 and anything but inviting to the appetite. 

 AVe have often wondered why this should be 

 so, and whether it could not be dried in so)jje 

 way by which it would retain more of its 

 natural color, taste and flavor. ' 



Another objection to much of the dried 

 fruit was that it was dried with the skins on, 

 and tills was especially the case with sweet 

 apples and peaches, and, also, in some cases, 

 with pears. This is to some extent still the 

 case. Possibly there may be some people 

 who prefer unpared dried fruit, and if this is 

 the case the demand for it should certainly 

 be supplied. Another reason, perhaps, is 

 that pared fruit necessarily commands a 

 higher price, and people may prefer the un- 

 pared on that .'vccount. But with the present 

 improved paring and coring machines the 

 labor of preparing fruit to dry is very much 

 diminished ; besides, it takes longer to thor- 

 oughly dry fruit that is unpared than it does 

 that which is pared. During the past ten or 

 twelve years various machines have been in- 

 vented for drying fruit by artificial heat in 

 such a manner as to retain nearly its original 

 color and flavor. Of ceurse it will necessarily 

 become a little darker in color than the fruit 

 was before it was dried, but there is no need 

 that it should be " done up brown " to find a 

 free and profitable market. We often won- 

 dered why our farmers did not more generally 

 avail tliemselves of this improved apparatus 

 in drying their fruit, because they can pro- 

 duce a more edible and Ijetter paying article 

 by paring and coring their fruit Ijefore diy- 

 ing it, and by patronizing a good machine 

 they certainly would soon be able to pay for 

 it out of the advanced price their fruit would 

 bring in the market. 



When fruit is dried in such a manner as to 

 preserve its color, taste and flavor as nearly 

 as possible, there would be little necessity in 

 preserving or canning it, and thus all the ex- 

 pense of cans and sugar would be saved, 

 besides all the risks of spoiling by fermenta- 

 tion and exploding of cans or jai\s. Among 

 all the different machines that have come 

 under our observation for this purpose, we 

 think there is none — in its structure or prin- 

 ciples — that can compare with "J?.i/t?cr's 

 American Fruit Drier or Pnewnatic Evapora- 

 tor,'''' erahraciug new principles of fruit evap- 

 oration, and manufactured by the '' American 

 Fruit Drier Manufacturinrj Company,'''' Cham- 

 bersburg. Fa. It may be said with confidence 

 that no family that has been in the habit of 



canning and preserving fruits and vegetables 

 for their own use can all'ord to be without 

 this household necessity, for the following rea- 

 sons : 



"1. It will save you its cost the first 

 season in money paid tor sugar, fruit-jars and 

 cans. Put your fruit in paper bags or boxes 

 as you takeit out of the drier, and it is safe. 

 "2. It will save you its cost eVery season in 

 time labor and vexation. At any time your 

 folks can kindle a lire, put in a few trays of 

 IVuit and it will bo out of the reach of dust or 

 flies, and all this without overheating them- 

 selves, or being vexed with broken jars or 

 leaking cans. 



";i It will save you its cost in Hie quality 

 and healthiness of its productions, avoid all 

 corrosions of metal cans, and exempt you 

 from lead poisonings. Fruits prepared on this 

 drier are superior in flavor, color, taste and 

 general appearance, not to be compared with 

 ordinary dried fruits, and in the nutritive 

 value far sui)erior to canned fruits. 



"4. It will save its cost in utilizing wind- 

 falls, specked and knarly fruits that could not 

 otherwise be made use of. Inferior fruits 

 can be used and turned to account ijy drying, 

 but the best fruits will pay better to dry than 

 to can and preserve by the old methods. 



".'). It will dry and preserve equally well all 

 kinds of fruits and vegetables, as strawberries, 

 cherries, raspberries, blackberries, currants, 

 gooseberries, grapes, apples, peaches, pears, 

 peas, plums, quinces, green corn, beans, 

 sweet and common potatoes, pumpkins, to- 

 matoes, egg-plant, &c., all of which retain 

 their flavor with increased sweetness, and 

 when properly treated with water are easily 

 restored to their nearest possible natural size 

 and fresh appearance." 



The true philosophy in drying cut and 

 paied fruits is to subject them to a current of 

 dry heated air, in order to dry the cut surface 

 quickly, which prevents discoloration and 

 makes an artificial skin, which practically 

 closes the cellular tissues that contain the 

 acid and starch, which yield glucose or fruit- 

 sugar. Let it also be remembered that fruit 

 dried by this drier needs no preparatory wash- 

 ing — indeed, washing always carries ofl' a 

 consideralile amount of the flavor and sac- 

 cliarine matter, and produces a corresponding 

 insipidity. 



There is another matter connected with 

 fruit-drying for market which seems to have 

 elicited' but little attention generally, but 

 which, we believe, would pay in the end ; 

 and that is to make different grades of 

 quality, and these grades should be based 

 upon equal degrees of ripeness and equal de- 

 grees of texture. For instance, ripe fruit and 

 unripe should not be included in the same 

 lot ; neither should naturally tough and ten- 

 der fruit, because unripe and tough fruit 

 always requires longer boiling than ripe and 

 tender fruit ; hence, in their culinary pre- 

 paration the former may be partially raw, 

 whilst the latter may be reduced to a pulp 

 when they are boiled together. Time was 

 wlien butchers paid little attention to grading 

 their meats, except, perhaps, in the larger 

 cities; but now the thing is more systemati- 

 cally arranged everywhere, and it pays. The 

 tobacco growers see the advantage of sys- 

 tematic grading in preparing their crops for 

 market, "but before they learned it many a 

 first-class lot of tobacco was sacrificed because 

 of the inferior grades being mixed up with it. 

 It pays them, and pays them well, too, to 

 grade their crops into different qualities. It 

 would pay equally well in dried fruit. It may 

 be said this would place the good fruit in the 

 possession of the rich, and the inferior would 

 be left for the poor. Well, is it not the same 

 in everything ? A rich man may wear $10.00 



cloth, and live in a villa tliat cost $10,000, 

 whilst the poor man must be content with 75 

 cent satinet, and occupy a cottage worth 

 $.500, and feels glad when he has even that 

 unencuinljered. 



DEATH OF JACOB STAUFFER. 

 By reference to the proceedings of the Lin- 

 najan Society, at another place in this num- 

 ber of the Faumeh, our readers will be in- 

 formed of the death of our old contributor, 

 .Jacob Stauffer, in tlie 72nd year of his age. 

 From 1800 to 18S0, Mr. Stauller has been an 

 almost constant contributor to the columns 

 of the FAnMEii, and his death is a source of 

 regret in this respect that has not been 

 mentioned in any of the obituaries and tes- 

 timonials that have been published in hia 

 behalf. Ilis papers (inanv of which were 

 illustrated by his own hands) mainly re- 

 lated to botany, which ' ho usually treated 

 in a pleasing and practical manner, giv- 

 ing historical sketches of plants, their dis- 

 covery and significance, their good or bad 

 qualities, and tlie various mechanical, culi- 

 nary and medicinal uses to which they may 

 be applied. When it Is remembered that dur- 

 ing all the eleven years in which he so disin- 

 terestedly labored in the cause of agricultu- 

 ral literature he never received— and never 

 demanded or expected— one penny of com- 

 pensation, it will be readily perceived what 

 acrilices he must have made. 



But men's works "follow them," whether 

 they be good or evil ; and the "Well done, 

 good and fiiilhful servant, thou hast been 

 faithful over a few things, I will make thee 

 ruler over many things," will be a greater 

 ultimate comiiensation to him than anything 

 that the world could possibly bestow. Not 

 only as farmers, but also as inventors, the 

 people of the county of Lancaster will dis- 

 cover that tliey have sustained a serious loss. 

 Mr. Stauffer in his own person combined the 

 rare functions of both attorney and draughts- 

 man, and hence, as a patent agent, he was of 

 great advantage to the inventors of the 

 county, and it will be many days before the 

 vacuum created by his departure can be 

 adequately supplied. Few men within the 

 borders of our county have led lives of such 

 disinterested usefulness, and few more cheer- 

 fully have shed their moral and intellectual 

 light than he. But his "warfare " is now over; 

 his arduous labors on this earth have ended, 

 and none who kuew him will refuse to join in 

 the invocation accorded to the faithful— 

 '■^rest in peace.^^ 



It is 



"BLEEDING KANSAS." 



not so many years ago since these 



terms were used by mere politicians as a lam- 

 entation, or ironically as a reproach. Her 

 political and social warfares arc now happily 

 over, and Kansas is "bleeding" such substan- 

 tial treasures as cannot fail to redeem her 

 citizens from dependence and want, and 

 assure the reign of prosperity within her 

 borders. Hardly more than a (piarter of a 

 century old, she already far outstrips, in her 

 agricultural productions, many of ner sister 

 states who are centenarians. 



The quarterly report of her State Board of 

 Agriculture, (a notice of which appears in our 

 literarv columns) is an octavo volume of 170 

 pages, "in which her resources are systematic- 

 ally and methodically brought to view, up to 

 December 31, 1879, and as a tabulated and 

 statistical document, we question whether 

 another of equal ability has ever appeared in 

 the Union, either in detail or as a whole. It 

 was the last labor of the lamented Alfred 

 Gray, of whose reports we have formerly had 

 occasion to speak in terms of praise, and any 



