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there was not a bloater in the whole lot. I inquired particularly last 

 year. I have not seen or heard of any on the trays this year. I have 

 heard some complaints from growers in the mountains in regard to gum, 

 but I have had no trouble with it. But as Mr. Mosher says, it takes a 

 little longer and takes a few more trays to dry them than with the lye 

 process. Quite a number of us have used it in our neighborhood and 

 like it. It is cleaner and better, and if there is any dirt on the prunes 

 of course they are processed again before they finally reach the customer, 

 and any impurity is at that time removed. In places where they are 

 troubled with gum, the dipping in hot water before packing should 

 remove it. I know that with us we are delighted with the process and 

 would not use any other. 



Mr. Righter: The material that comes out of the prune after prick- 

 ing rs very sweet. If you don't believe it, just taste it. And to my mind 

 something is lost from the fruit that ought not to be lost. And 

 the fact that it takes longer to dry is an item with us. We dry 

 from 100 to 150 tons a day, and we want it out of our way as fast as 

 we can get it. It costs us about 12-| cents a ton to dip our prunes. We 

 told a man that he could come with his pricking machine and we 

 would give him what it costs us, but he said he could not do it for less 

 than 25 cents a ton. We use one of the Cunningham dipping machines. 

 You can dip them just as fast as you can pour them into the box. 



Mr. Wilcox: What is your idea about the quantity that can be put 

 through by the pricking machine? 



Mr. Righter: I don't know what you can do. But if you will show 

 me one of those machines that will come anywhere near the quantity 

 which I can put through, I would think it might be adapted to work in 

 a large way. But I never saw one that would come anywhere near it. 



Gen. Chipman: I am not working in a large way. But I find that I 

 can get my prunes through more quickly with the needle machine than 

 by the dipping process. I have, however, been fearful that prejudice 

 would rise against this needle machine which would reach the buyer, 

 and that the buyer would put a microscope on the fruit and see if there 

 had not been some needle run into it, and reject it for that reason. 



Adjourned to Thursday, November 22d. 



