372 TRANSACTIONS OF THE 



produce eremacausis, fermentation, or chemical decay and decom- 

 position. 



Mr. J. G. Pardee called attention to a specimen of " tomato 

 figs," made from the common red tomato, and exhibited at a 

 meeting of the Pomological Society at Boston, last fall. The spe- 

 cimen was a year old, and had been kept in a loose piece of 

 paper. 



A member explained how in France fruits are kept at an uni- 

 form temperature, a hole is dug, a clay-house is formed; no 

 weather, either in winter or summer, wall effect them more than 

 two degrees. 



Mr. Robinson said that tomato figs were not a new thing. At 

 the suggestion of Henry L. Ellsworth, of Washington, a lady put 

 up the first drum of figs in this country. (The Americmi Agri- 

 culturalist w^as sent for from the Library, and Mr. Pardee read 

 the formula for the preparation of the tomato figs. 



Mr. Robinson said, for the sake of the ladies who had recently 

 come in, he should be glad to call theh attention again specially 

 to the drying of ripe peaches, which might be effected in a com- 

 mon range oven. As Mrs. Barlow had observed, the sugaring of 

 them removed all the bitter taste. As a luxury it might be tried 

 here, but in New- Jersey, where the ripest are thrown away, the 

 plan would be one of rational economy. He was anxious the 

 ladies should try it. 



Mr. Judd remarked that he had known large quantities of 

 fruit dried by setting it in the oven after removing the bread, 

 While going from St Louis to New-Orleans on a steamer in 1850. 

 tlie boat stopped at St. Genevieve, in Missouri, and took on shore 

 two thousand bushels of peaclies which had been dried in ovens 

 with the skins unremoved; they were simply cut open and the 

 pits removed. The quality of the different parts of this lot 

 varied greatly, owing entirely to the degree of care exercised in 

 drying. The only difiiculty in drying fruit on quite a large scale 

 in farm-houses, was in not guarding carefully against a moment- 

 ary elevation of temperature. A single moment of elevated heat 

 changed and destroyed the natural aroma of the fruit. He then 

 stated, that after summing up all the information brought to-day, 

 in reply to his question first proposed, he should proceed to cook 

 his tomatoes thoroughly, but carefully, " to coagulate the albu- 

 men;" put them into glazed stoneware jars of two to eight quarts 

 each, filling the vessels full; let them cool; put on the covers, 

 with a piece of paper under them; pour melted beeswax on some. 



