PRUNES 



125 



Table 29 indicates the areas of commercial production 

 of both plums and prunes, whether fresh or dried. There 

 are, however, many local areas in other states w^here plums 

 may be and are grown to advantage. 



2. Packing. For the canning trade and for jam, the bushel 

 basket is the standard package. For the retail market, climax 

 baskets of varying sizes with slat covers are used. 



Plums from California are packed in crates holding four 

 baskets each. Each basket is about 8 inches square on top, 

 6^ inches square on the bottom, and 4 inches deep, inside 

 measurements. The sides are therefore sloping. The baskets 

 are made of thin veneer with a strip of tin fitted about the 

 top edges. Tissue paper is laid in the bottoms and sometimes 

 paper or veneer dividers or ''shims^' are placed between layers. 

 The fruit is packed much like peaches in till baskets or 

 apples in boxes. 



California and Idaho plums come East in large quantities 

 , under refrigeration. They are a considerable factor in the 

 market. 



3. Storing. Plums may be held for extended periods in 

 cold storage, if they are free from brown rot, handled care- 

 fully, and put in storage at once after picking. The extent 

 of the storage period depends on the variety but ranges from 

 three to ten or twelve weeks. 



The best storage temperature seems to be about 32"^ F. 



4. Prunes. A prune is a plum with flesh thick and meaty 

 enough to make it an acceptable product when dried. Prunes 

 in the East are grown for canning or for the retail market, and 

 harvesting methods do not differ from those for plums. 



In the Pacific Coast states prunes are dried, chiefly by the 

 sun in California, and by artificial heat in Oregon and Wash- 

 ington. This is a distinct and highly specialized phase of 

 fruit growing not treated in detail here. It is not probable 

 that other sections will ever compete in this branch of the 

 industry with the Pacific Coast, where heavy yields and favor- 

 able climatic conditions for drying are pronounced. 



