FKUIT-PKESERVING. 



357 



saleable at id. per lb., and 25 lbs. of refuse, 

 which, with the addition of sugar, would yield 

 the same amount of jelly. Deducting the value 

 of the sugar employed and of the jars needed 

 for the jelly, this would be worth about 2d. per 

 lb. net. The result would thus stand : — 



12 lbs. Dried Apples at 4d 4 



25 lbs. Apple Jelly at 2d 4 2 



Total 8 2 



Value of 100 lbs. fresh Apples, 

 Balance 



\d. per lb. 



Liverpool at Is. 3d. per case, whereas it is esti- 

 mated that the same quantity of fresh fruit in 

 barrels will cost 10s., or of canned fruit 8s. 9d. 

 Though this does not apply with quite the same 

 force to British dried fruit, yet a saving of 

 something like 50 per cent could be effected in 

 the expenses of carriage as compared with fresh 

 fruit. For winter use and in seasons of scarcity 

 the dried fruits would always command a mar- 

 ket. 



Canning. — Though extensively adopted in 

 America, canning is never likely to be carried 



From this balance the cost of 

 fuel, labour, and packing, and 

 the interest on the capital 

 expended in the purchase of 

 evaporating machines, must 

 be deducted, which may be 

 placed at from 2s. to 3s., and 

 the net result would show 

 that the value of the Apples 

 has been increased by about 

 25 per cent. At \d. per lb. 

 (the value of the Apples taken 

 above), the price per bushel 

 (44 lbs.) would be Is. \§d. ; 

 but it sometimes happens 

 that when sent direct to 

 market in a season of abun- 

 dance that even good Apples 

 will not bring as much as 

 that clear of all expenses, 

 and the inferior samples that 

 could be utilized (provided 

 they are not decayed) would 

 often be hardly saleable at 

 Is. per bushel. It is here 

 that the advantages of dry- 

 ing fruits with the attendant 

 processes comes in. Much 

 the same could be shown 

 with Plums, as, though there is not the waste I out in Britain on a large scale, chiefly because 



Fig. 1129.—" Gnom" Fruit and Vegetable Drier for home use. 



to be utilized as a secondary product as with 

 Apples, the percentage of weight in the dried 

 result is so much larger that it comes to nearly 

 the same in the end. It is evident also that 

 the more extensively the operations are being 

 conducted, the better chance there is, with good 

 management, of showing a profitable margin. 



There is another point in favour of the dried 

 fruit which becomes highly important when 

 large quantities are being dealt with, and that 

 is the saving effected in the cost of carriage. 

 An example of this is afforded by the fruit sent 

 from America. The cases of dried Apples, con- 

 taining 50 lbs. of fruit, have been delivered in 



we have not the same class of fruits to deal 

 with, and also because more convenient means 

 are available. Pears, Peaches, Pine-apples, and 

 other soft fruits are principally treated in this 

 way, the preparation being similar to that for 

 drying. The fruits are subjected to a tempera- 

 ture of not less than 212° Fahr., but only for 

 a sufficiently long period to ensure thorough 

 sterilization, as, if unduly prolonged, it results 

 in the softening of the fruit. Tins are employed 

 that may hold from 2 to 5 lbs., and the hot fruit 

 is placed into these rapidly, the cap being sol- 

 dered down immediately to prevent the admis- 

 sion of air. Sometimes a little sugar is added 



