STATE POMOLOGICAL SOCIETY. 79 



of shipping apples is compiirativel}- in its infancy ; it has not been 

 put into the best working shape, it is going to be handled better by 

 and by. It is a new industiy in Maine. 



Finally it is said that it is practically impossible to pack apples, 

 oranges or raisins so that the best won't come on top. That may 

 be so, yet I believe that the man who packs his fruit honesth- and 

 brands it with his own name, is going to fare the best in the end, 

 although the dishonest packer ma}- get some advantage temporarih'. 



I hope the subject of the bodj- of Mr. Perrv's paper, the evapo- 

 ration OF FRUIT, may not drop out of sight without some further 

 notice. It is a business, I believe, of considerable importance to 

 the State and to the individual fruit grower. I hoped that before 

 this meeting finally adjourned the whole subject would be carefull}' 

 examined to see what there is in it, and what are the best methods 

 to get out of it what there is in it. 



The President. I wish to know, as a matter of profit to the 

 farmers, what sort of apples are necessaiy to be used for evaporat- 

 ing purposes ; whether they must be first quality of apples or refuse. 

 It is spoken of as a saving of those apples we used to feed to stock 

 or allow to rot. My impression is that the evaporated apple is so 

 nearly like the original that you can distinguish the kind of apple 

 in the evaporated product. In this case it seems impossible that 

 ordinary apples will do for evaporating and bring the same price as 

 better ones. The}' bring from fifteen to eighteen cents a pound 

 when common dried apples are worth five or six cents. 



Mr. Brett, of Winthrop. ( ?) On that point, I made the best 

 work from sour apples. 



QuEs. Can you use worm}- apples ? 



Ans. You can use wormy apples, but it costs a great deal more. 

 The sound part is as good. I use common fruit mostly ; nearly all 

 kinds of fruit. 



Ques. Natural fruit will not bring as much as grafted fruit? 



An8. Mine did ; and they looked better than grafted apples. I 

 use a great many apples, down to two inches in diameter. 



Ques. Cannot you use an apple as small as half an inch? 



Ans. a two-inch apple is a very small one. 



Ques. What is the cost of machinery for evaporating apples? 



Ans. There are a great many kinds. They cost from $75 to 

 $1,000 ; I am acquainted with only one kind. 



