﻿2 BULLETIN 1141, U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 



quality of the products obtained are relatively slight, it is possible to 

 apply both processes to any of the fruits ordinarily dried, and the 

 extent to which one or the other method is employed in preserving any 

 given fruit is determined by the climatic conditions prevailing during 

 the period in which the drying must be done. By reason of the pos- 

 session of an exceedingly favorable combination of dry atmosphere, 

 continuous sunshine, and practical absence of rain or dew during the 

 drying season, California has developed sun drying on a large scale 

 and is the only State which has done so. 



The fruits which are dried in commercial quantities in the United 

 States are prunes, raisins, apricots, apples, peaches, pears, black- 

 berries. Logan blackberries, and raspberries, with very small quanti- 

 ties of figs and cherries. Among these, prunes rank first in point of 

 average annual production, which approximates 400,000,000 pounds. 

 Of this total, sun-dried prunes, made only in California, make up 

 almost or quite 50 per cent; the remainder are evaporated prunes 

 produced by the States of Oregon, Washington, and Idaho, which 

 rank in the order given in the quantities produced. Commercial dry- 

 ing of peaches, apricots, pears, and figs is practically wholly con- 

 fined to Calfornia, and the method employed is exclusively sun 

 drying, the average annual production approximating 62,000,000 

 pounds of peaches, 30,000.000 pounds of apricots, 19,000.000 pounds 

 of figs, and 6,900,000 pounds of pears for the five-year period from 



1915 to 1919, inclusive. Raisin making is likewise an industry pecu- 

 liar to California, and the use of other methods than sun drying has 

 been practically unknown up to a very recent period. The annual 

 production of raisins in California has increased from 125,000.000 

 pounds in 1910 to 395,000,000 pounds in 1919, with an average pro- 

 duction for the 10 years, 1910 to 1919, inclusive, of 225,400,000 pounds. 

 Practically all the dry berries coming into the market are machine 

 evaporated, raspberries being produced in New York and Oregon, 

 while evaporated Logan blackberries were formerly produced in 

 considerable quantities in Oregon. The increasing popularity of the 

 Logan blackberry for canning and juice-making purposes has oper- 

 ated alike to extend commercial plantings and to reduce the quanti- 

 ties dried. 



By reason of the late maturity of the varieties used for the purpose, 

 the commercial production of dried apples is carried on exclusively 

 in evaporators. Trustworthy figures as to annual production since 

 the year 1909, in which the total was 44.568,000 pounds, are not 

 available, but the average probably does not greatly exceed 50,000,000 

 pounds. This total is made up of contributions from a much wider 

 area than is the case with any other fruit. Approximately 70 per 

 cent of the total production comes from western New York. Cali- 

 fornia has recently considerably increased her production, which 

 has risen from an average of 6,800.000 pounds for the years 1910 to 



1916 to a maximum of 25,000.000 pounds for 1919. By far the greater 

 part of this total originates in the Pajaro district of Sonoma and 

 Santa Cruz Counties. Oregon ranks next in point of production. 

 Washington has only recently become a producer, but is at the 

 present time very rapidly increasing her annual output, as is like- 

 wise the case in lesser degree with Idaho. Missouri, Arkansas, Penn- 

 sylvania, Illinois, North Carolina, Virginia, and West Virginia also 

 produce variable quantities of evaporated apples, their average com- 



