6 BULLETIN 235, U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGEICULTUEE. 



Table II. — Formulas for processing fruit in common use in California. 



Fruit. 



Treatment in field. 



In packing houses. 



Processing. 



Packed. 



Peach 



Cut in half, sul- 



Graded and placed 



Dipped in cold or 



Moist. 





phured 1J hours, 



in bins not over 



lukewarm water, 







dried in sun on 



4 or 5 feet deep; 



drained, and sul- 







trays. 



sweating takes 

 place. 



phured. 





Apricot. . 



Same as peach 



Same as peach 



Same as peach 



Do. 



Pear 



do 



Same as peach, but 

 handled more 



do. 



Do. 















carefully. 







Prune 



Picked from ground, 



Graded and placed 



Dipped 1 to 3 min- 



Moist; 





dipped in lye so- 



in bins. 



utes in clear water 



warm. 





lution, rinsed in 





at 212° F., 







clear water, dried 





drained. 







on trays in sun. 









Fig 



Picked from ground 



do 



Black figs, dipped 

 in boiling brine, 



Do. 





and dried on trays; 









or dipped in hot 





drained a nd 







brine, drained, 





packed. White 







dipped in cold 





figs, dipped in 







brine-soda solu- 





cold water, 







tion, drained, and 





drained, and 







spread on trays, 



- 



packed ; or dipped 







placed in sun un- 





in boiling brine, 







til excess moist- 





drained, and 







ture is removed, 





packed. Some 







then stacked to 





are dipped and 







complete drying. 





sulphured . 





FORMULAS. 



Brine formula for prunes: Lye, 1 pound to 20 gallons. 



Formula for dip for figs before being packed: Salt, 50 pounds; soda, 3 to 4 pounds; 

 water, 150 gallons. 



Formula for raisins before drying: One quart olive oil and three-fourths pound 

 powdered caustic soda; water, 1 gallon; cook 30 minutes, add 100 gallons of boiling 

 water with 4^ pounds caustic soda; add more caustic soda if desired. 



Amount of sulphur to use and time of exposure based on 1,000 pounds of fruit. 



THE EFFECT UPON INSECTS OF PROCESSING FRUIT. 



It will be observed in Table IT that the processing includes either 

 dipping in boiling brine or sulphuring. 



In the case of figs, when removed from the dipping vat they were 

 too hot to be handled. When opened the interior was steaming hot , 

 and it was assumed that no insects could pass through the dip alive. 

 To prove this point, the following experiments were conducted: 



On September 3, 1911, 100 pounds of dried figs, thoroughly infested 

 by the dried-fruit beetle and Indian-meal moth, were dipped in the 

 regular dipping solution heated to boiling. Fifty pounds of these 

 figs were immersed in the dip 45 seconds, and 50 pounds were im- 

 mersed 90 seconds. The figs were protected from insects when 

 cooling, and were later put into boxes and sealed. That this dipping 

 was sufficient to kill all animal life was proved by the total absence 



