DEHYDKATTON OF PRXJITB AND VEGETABLES. 5 



E reserved; and in my opinion and in the opinion also of the very 

 nest hotels of the United States, who have made extensi^'e trials of 

 these recently made products, they are fully as good as fresh veg- 

 etables. 



I have an abundance of letters here from a number of the finest 

 hotels in the country — for instance, the Ritz-Carlton, of New York, 

 and the Willard, of Washington, who have tried out the product. A 

 number of our hotels in San Francisco are using dried vegetables in 

 place of fresh vegetables, where they have the fresh vegetables the 

 year around. 



The Chairman. Will you put those in the record? 

 Mr. HoRST. I will, with pleasure. 



(The letters referred to by Mr. Horst are here printed in full as 

 follows:) 



Depaktment of Ageicttlturb, 



BuEEAu OP Chemistry, 

 Washington, D. C, January S5, 1Q18. 

 Mr. E. Clemens Hokst, 



San Francisco, Cal.: 

 Dear Sir : In response to your request for an opinion as to the value of dried 

 vegetables, will state that we have been Investigating this subject for a number 

 of months, and find that nearly all vegetables and fruits can be dried success- 

 fully if the quality of the raw material and the methods of preparing the 

 material for drying, the drying, and the packing of the material after drying 

 are satisfactory. Products can be obtained which retain their distinctive 

 properties. 



The saving in containers and freight effected by drying, combined with the 

 attractiveness of the dried products, makes us realize that we have here an 

 Industry of importance and value. 

 Respectfully, 



Cam, L. Alsberg, Chief. 



Washington, D. C, January 15, 1918. 

 Mr. E. Oia;MENs Horst, 



San Francisco, Cal. 

 Dear Sir: I am deeply interested in the industry of desiccated vegetables 

 and fruits. I have seen the samples of the products which you are exhibiting, 

 and I believe that the general use of such products by the general public would 

 be highly beneficial. The rapidity at which the samples are dried and the low 

 temperatures employed secure the full value of these products insofar as their 

 vitamin and antiscorbutic properties are concerned. 



Since vegetables and fruits contain from 80 to 95 per cent of water, the cost 

 of transportation is enormously reduced by the use of dried products. At the 

 same time, the dried products can be easily kept in cheap containers, and there 

 is no danger of spoilage. In my opinion, these products are in a splendid form 

 for use by our soldiers and sailors. They should be used in much larger quan- 

 tities than vegetables are used at the present time for the purpose of preserving 

 to a greater degree the health and vitality of those who eat them. 

 Sincerely, yours, 



H. W. Wiley. 



The Biltmobe, 

 NeiE York, FeJ)ruary 7, 1918. 

 The E. Clemens Horst Co., 



Sam, Pranoisco, Cal. 

 Dear Sirs: We have used a number, of your dried vegetables, including 

 tomatoes, at the Biltmore, and they proved to be very satisfactory. 



The results convince us that dehydration is an excellent method for preserv- 

 ing vegetables for use in all climates and particularly on account of the small 

 space that is required for storage in shipment. 

 Very truly, 



John McE. Bowman, President. 



