6 BULLETIN 235, U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 
Tasie Il.—Formulas for processing fruit in common use in California. 
Fruit Treatment in field. In packing houses. . Processing. Packed. 
-| Cut in half, sul- | Graded and placed | Dipped in cold or | Moist. 
phured 13 hours, in bins not over lukewarm water, 
dried in sun on 4 or 5 feet deep; drained, and sul- 
trays. sweating takes phured. 
place. 
Same as peach.....-. Same as peach...... Same as peach ai do, Se Do. 
apy at ee eee dO: 52. (o-. S =.|: baMme.as peach. buts: dose oat ee a eee 
handled more 
carefully. 
.| Picked from ground,| Graded and placed | Dipped 1 to 3 min- | Moist; 
dipped in lye so- in bins. utesin clear water) Warm. 
lution, rinsed in Pa Boapecr dl age te al Ue 
clear water, dried drained. 
on trays in sun. 
aD Soe Picked from ground |..... MO ct 5 or eS Black figs. dipped | Do. 
and dried on trays; in boiling brine, | 
or dipped in hot drained and 
brine, drained, packed. ~-White 
dipped in cold figs, dipped in 
brine-soda_solu- cold water, 
tion, drained, and drained, and 
spread on tray S, packed; or dipped 
placed in sun un- in boiling brine, 
til excess moist- draine d, 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 ee 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 44 pounds aie 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 
