72 THE BOOK OF FRUIT BOTTLING 
solution of salt and water immediately after peeling: one 
ounce of salt to three quarts of water; if left exposed 
to the air after being peeled they quickly go discoloured. 
GENERAL REMARKS 
I think there is a prospect of plum-drying becoming 
an industry in this country ; and that in years of great 
abundance of fruit and of very low, or no, prices, the 
fruit may be dried and sold wholesale at remunerative 
prices. Clearly we have varieties which are at once 
prolific and suitable for drying : notably Monarch, Czar, 
Prince Englebert, White Perdrigon, and Victoria. 
I think it is tolerably safe to say that each of the 
varieties mentioned is worth, for drying purposes, from 
3s. per bushel upwards. 
The operation of preparing and drying fruit and 
vegetables is soon learned by any intelligent man or 
woman; and I think it is labour well adapted for 
women. 
If five shillings and upwards can be obtained per 
hundredweight for good apples, I think it will be best 
to sell them in the undried state. Perhaps small apples 
will pay for drying, and they might also be remunerative 
for making into jelly. 
Although we have made jelly from the peelings and 
corings of apples and pears—that ‘‘ nothing be wasted” 
—I fear that the balance would be on the wrong side 
of the ledger if a strict debtor and creditor account had 
been kept. 
We have demonstrated that all kinds of vegetables 
may be dried successfully—from pot herbs to cauli- 
flowers—but we have not tested them sufficiently 
extensively to be able to say if, or how far, they could be 
dried with commercial success. 
I have tested the eating qualities of the second grade 
