THE PEACHES OF NEW YORK 115 



materially alter the flavor of the product. According to C. F. Lang- 

 worthy,^ Chief of the Office of Home Economics, United States Department 

 of Agriculture, the carbohydrates which make up the largest part of the 

 solid matter of fruits undergo greatest changes. The crude fibre, too, is 

 reduced in amovint or softened. Much of the starch is changed into some 

 form of sugar and the less soluble sugar may be reduced to a more soluble 

 form. Some of the volatile oils and other ethereal bodies, so important in 



" Sweating. — All fruit, if stored in mass after drying, becomes moist. This action should take place 

 before packing. To facilitate it, the fruit is put in piles on the floor of the fruit house and turned occa- 

 sionally with a scoop shovel ; or, if allowed to sweat in boxes, the fruit is occasionally poured from one box 

 to another. The sweating equalizes the moisture throughout the mass. Some large producers have 

 sweat-rooms with tight walls, which preserve an even temperature. No fruit should be packed before 

 ■ going through the sweat.' If this is not done, discoloration and injury will result. 



"Dipping before Packing. — All fruits except prunes can be packed in good condition without dipping, 

 provided the fruit is not over-dried. Efforts should be made to take up the fruit when it is just sufficiently 

 cured to prevent subsequent fermentation. If taken from the trays in the heat of the day and covered 

 so that the fruit moth can not reach it there is little danger of worms. The highest grades of fnut are made 

 in this way. If, however, the fruit has been over-dried or neglected, it can be dipped in boiling water to 

 kill eggs of vermin and to make the fruit a little more pliable for the press. The dipping should be done 

 quickly, and the fruit allowed to drain and then lie in a dark room, carefully covered, for twenty-four 

 hours before packing. 



"Packing. — To open well, packages of dried fruit should be ' faced.' The many fine arts of paper 

 lining, etc., must be learned by observation. Flatten some fair specimens of the fruit to be packed (and 

 reference is especially made to such fruits as apricots, peaches and nectarines) by running them through 

 a clothes wringer or similar pair of rollers set to flatten but not crush the fruit. Do not face with better 

 fruit than the package is to contain. It is a fraud which will not in the end be profitable. Lay the flattened 

 fruit (cup side down) neatly in the bottom of the box. Fill the box until it reaches the amount the box 

 is to contain, and then apply the press until the bottom can be nailed on. Invert the box and put on the 

 label or brand; the bottom then becomes the top. 



" Many different kinds of boxes are used. A very good size is made of seasoned pine, six inches deep 

 by nine inches wide by fifteen inches long, inside measurements, and it will hold twenty-five pounds of 

 fruit. * * * 



"Peaches. — ■ Take the fruit when it is fully ripe, but not mushy; cut cleanly aU around to extract the 

 pit and put on trays cup side up; get into the sulphur box as soon as possible after cutting. Peaches are 

 dried both peeled and unpeeled, but drying without peeling is chiefly done. Peeling is done with the 

 small paring machines or with a knife. Peeling with lye has been generally abandoned because of dis- 

 coloration of the fruit after packing, although it can be successfully done by frequently changing the lye 

 and using ample quantities of fresh water for rinsing after dipping. 



" Clingstone peaches are successfully handled with curved knives and spoon-shaped pitters in con- 

 junction with ordinary fruit-knives. Diflferent styles are carried at the general stores in the fruit districts, 

 and individuals differ widely in their preferences. 



"The weight of dried peaches which can be obtained from a certain weight of fresh fruit, depends 

 upon the variety; some varieties yield at least a third more than others, and clings yield more than free- 

 stones as a rule. Dry-fleshed peaches, Uke the Muir, yield one pound dry from four or five pounds fresh, 

 while other more juicy fruits may require six or seven pounds. 



" Nectarines. — Nectarines are handled like peaches; the production of translucent amber fruit in 

 the sun depends upon the skillful use of sulphur." 



» U. S. D. A. Yearbook 505. 191:;. 



