540 



CALIFORNIA FRUITS: HOW TO GROW THEM 



The following explicit hints on the curing of prunes are based 

 upon wide experience and observation in the Santa Clara valley : 



Be sure to allow the prunes to obtain all of the sugar they can from the 

 trees by hanging until they drop of their own accord. Do not pick up until 

 prunes are soft to the touch. These two rules are productive of nice black 

 prunes. They may not be black when gathered in the bins but will color with 

 age, without any foreign coloring matter. 



Do not keep prunes in boxes over night. They go through a sweat, and do 

 not make a first quality of dried fruit, and take much longer to dry. It is better 

 to let the prunes lie on the ground under the tree for several days than t< 

 let the picked prunes lie in the boxes over one night. 



The dipping fluid must be kept at the boiling point and no prunes put in 

 unless it is boiling. It is not a matter of how strong the lye is, but how hot 

 is the water. On the trays prunes will either dry or ferment. Unless the dip 

 is hot enough the prune will not immediately commence to dry, but will, in a 

 few days, become a chocolate color and refuse to dry, sometimes a few on a 

 tray, often half and sometimes nearly all. If the water is at the boiling point 

 all through the dip, two pounds of lye to the 100 gallons of water may be 

 sufficient. If the water is not boiling, ten pounds of lye to the 100 gallons of 

 water may be required. 



Weather conditions govern the time prunes should remain on the tray. 

 Grasp a handful of prunes and give them a gentle squeeze and open the hand 

 quickly, if the prunes separate they are ready to stack the trays and the fruit 

 should be placed in the bin before it rattles on the trays. 



When the prunes are sufficiently dry put them in a dry place where it will 

 not rain on them, but do not prevent the air from getting to them. Let the 

 wind have free access until the rains set in, then close doors and make the 

 house as snug as you can. In making bins, be sure the boards are dry and 

 the bins well above ground, or you will have trouble. Do not let prunes 

 get damaged by rain. 



For dipping before packing, some use a brine dip about five pounds of salt 

 to 100 gallons of water is about right. This salt dip can be used more safely 

 for prunes than for peaches or other pitted fruit, as in some instances it has 

 attracted moisture and caused mold. As to the respective results of a salt 

 solution and glycerine solution, the salt seems to be a cleansing process, which 

 leaves the skin of the fruit in a bright, clear condition and brings out the blue 

 bloom, which is desirable. The glycerine is more of a syrupy or glossy nature, 

 and on prunes that are inclined to be reddish this solution can be used to ad- 

 vantage. A common method of treating prunes is to use the small prunes and 

 suspend them in the steam-heated tank of the Anderson dipper, where they 

 can not come in contact with the steam (which causes the skin and meat of 

 the prune to turn dark), dissolve out the juice, thus forming a dip liquor, and 

 this is quite extensively used. 



Raisins. The varieties of grapes used for raisins are described 

 in Chapter XXVIII. The production of raisins has reached such 

 an extent, and employs so much skill and capital, that the processes 

 employed to facilitate the curing and packing are so various that 

 a description of them can not be attempted. Besides, an excellent, 

 special treatise has been written on this subject.* However, in 

 beginning the commercial production of raisins, one should visit 

 the raisin farms and packing-houses during the harvest. The fol- 

 lowing description by T. C. White, of Fresno, gives an outline of 

 practise in the vineyard : 



In Fresno picking commences about the first of September, although there 

 have been seasons when it occurred as early as the 2Oth of August. The grapes 



