2 BULLETIN 927, U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 



possibly also because of lack of information bearing on the probable 

 returns. These are important factors which underlie the establish- 

 ment of an industry of this kind and will be given careful consider- 

 ation in this bulletin. 



NATURE AND SOURCE OF TOMATO WASTE. 



The largest proportion of waste which accumulates in the tomato- 

 packing industry results from the pulping operations connected with 

 the manufacture of catsup, pulp, soup, paste, and sauce. The waste 

 as it occurs in these pulping plants consists of a wet mass of seeds 

 and skins (fig. 1). Only the seeds, however, will here be considered, 



Fig. 1. — Tomato-seed waste at a pulping plant. 



since this is the portion which possesses the greatest value as a source 

 of commercial products. 



DISTRIBUTION AND QUANTITY OF TOMATOES PULPED ANNUALLY. 



The tomato pulping stations are scattered over a large area, in- 

 cluding Maryland, Delaware, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, and 

 Indiana. Since these States comprise a continuous geographical 

 series, the investigation has been restricted entirely to this area. 



In this connection it may be of interest to point out the size of 

 tomato pulping stations. Because of the perishable character of the 

 raw material it is necessary that the stations be located in tomato- 

 growing localities, in order that only a minimum period of time may 



