PROCEEDINGS OF THS POLYTECHNIC ASSOCIATIRN. 361 



apple cider. He had practiced the nictliods vecomnicnded by Professor 

 Mtipcs for ripeniiij? fruit: he placed tliein in a larp^e room, liaviDg- its 

 blinds closed, in rows npon blankets on tlie floor, and gave tliem a coverinj^ 

 of blankets. Tiiey are turned over once a week, and as they ripen are 

 taken out. The instrument spoken of by Prof. Mapes for corin;>- the apple 

 is just larg-c enough to take out all the seed, and can be bought for a trifle. 



Mr. James Ilogg, florist, gave some of the results of his large; exp(Mience. 

 The things he had labored to accomplish was to preserve the fruit m its 

 natural state, wiih its fresh flavor imimpaired, but ho had not succeeded, 

 and he did not believe it ever would be done. Apples and pears we may 

 have fresh by selecting varieties that will ripen at dill'eient periods, ..the 

 latest kinds lasting till the earliest of the succeeding year !)egin to ripen. 

 Hut the mon^ perishable fruits, such as strawberries and cliei'ries, can bo 

 can be kept only by methods which to a great extent destroy their flavor. 



The plan of keeping fruits at tlie particular temperature spoken of by 

 Prof. Mapes was patented some time ago, and the patent for this vicinity 

 was sold for $0,000. The purchasers erected a large establishment on 

 Brooklyn Heights, in which ice kept the temperature at a proper degree. 

 The first season a cargo of pineapples was placed in the cellar; but they 

 were so warm the ice melted and the fruit rotted Tiie next season they 

 cooled the fruit before depositing it in the cellars, and pineapples and 

 lemons were kept in a sound state throughout the season. Tliey lacked 

 flavor, however and the plan was soon abandoned. 



He had tried the air-tight can, but the flavor of the fresh fruit is not so 

 retained, and tiie fruit becomes tough. Fermentation goes on slowly in 

 the can — indeed, it commences while the fruit is on the tree. If cui'rants 

 become what we call over ripe they do not rot, but dry on the Imshes with- 

 out decaying; yet a fermentation takes place which converts the sugar into 

 acid, and they become excessively sour. Grapes are IVcquently soured in 

 the same way, from having their roofs surrounded with stagnant water. — 

 Many persons have noticed on boxes of imported grapes the word "Elixir;" 

 it means they have been dipped in a preparation of lye for preserving 

 them; they are the second (juality of grapes. In France there is a pear 

 called the Crassane, which they put on an iron disk and into an oven, and, 

 when about half d(,ne, they are placed on a board and pressed, and after- 

 wards dried. When these are thrown into hot water lliey swell up and 

 make a very delicious dish. In Chicago an experiment is being tried on a 

 large scale for preserving fruit in separate iron apartments, resembling 

 boilers, into which the fruit is put through man-holes. The air is to be 

 exhausted and the moisture absorbed by chemicals. 



The difficulty in preserving fruit is that the essential oils which are the 

 source (jf flavor act upon each other, and there is always oxygen enough 

 left to start this action. When the oxygen is removed the change is less, 

 but the fruit, although whole, will be tough and tasteless. 



John M. Heed remarked, that potatoes are kept on board of a ship during 

 a three years' whaling voyage by immersing them in molasses. 



Mr. Hogg, said, in England they expose potatoes to the fumes of sulphur, 

 and in this way they will keep two or three years. The object in placing 

 potatoes in molasses is to keep them where they cannot be acted on by 



