M/SSO URI NOR TICUL TURE. 



485 



ries for evaporating has become an important industry in 

 New York State, the average profits being about fioo 

 per acre. 



The first evaporator on a large scale was the well- 

 known Alden, which has been greatly improved since the 

 issue of the original patent. Steam radiators were used 

 in the first Alden towers, but did not give satisfaction, so 

 hot air from a furnace in the basement, passing up 

 through the fruit, was substituted ; but of late steam 

 has again come into favor in that and other evaporators, 

 though used in a different manner, the heat being diffused 

 among the trays by means of a system of steam pipes. 

 Of all the evaporators in the market, it makes little dif- 

 ference which is used, as care, skill and neatness on the 

 part of the operator are the main requisites. The fruit 

 from one evaporator sells for just as much as that from 

 another, any difference in price being due entirely to the 

 manner in which the product has been handled. 



What would be the average cost of a large evaporator, 

 the expense of running it and the chances of gain — for 

 example, one with a capacity of 200 bushels and waste 

 per day ? Briefly, Mr. Rice figures these items out as 

 follows : Cost, including 100 galvanized wire trays, 1,500 

 feet of one-inch steam pipe with connections for the 

 boiler, but not the boiler, $5oo ; parers, slicers, choppers, 

 etc., $100; bleacher, $25 to I50 — all ready for work, I750. 

 Help for day and night work, 25 persons, nearly all 

 women or children, at a daily cost of |ig. There 

 would also be needed 1,500 pounds of soft coal and 20 

 pounds of lime stone, to say nothing of wear and tear of 



machinery, etc. Per contra ; the daily product would be 

 from 1,200 to 1,400 pounds of white apples and about 

 500 pounds of waste. The former would be worth, at 

 ordinary prices, 'jYz cents per pound, or about $100 in all. 

 If the apples were bought at 20 cents per bushel, careful 

 management could make a daily profit of from $25 to $30, 

 or between $2,000 and $3,000 for the season of 90 days ; 

 and with good storage for the fruit, the season could be 

 prolonged another month. 



The importance of the industry, however, cannot be 

 estimated by the per cent, of profit that may be realized 

 by a man or company that may come into a neighbor- 

 hood, erect a factory, buy apples at the lowest figures and 

 then at the end of the season spend the gains elsewhere ; 

 but by the incomes from the small evaporators owned by 

 men who raise their own fruit, or do the work on shares 

 for others, and by the work it gives to the whole com- 

 munity and the money it puts in circulation. Mr. Rice 

 tells us of one merchant in the little village of Sodus, 

 N. Y., who, in 1887, bought $315,000 worth of evapor- 

 ated fruits of different kinds, and there were other deal- 

 ers in the place also, so that the total amount of sales 

 probably reached $500,000 — no small sum to be divided 

 among the community. 



At present, the prospects for evaporated fruits are ex- 

 cellent. Last year's output is reported to have been 

 quite inadequate. Indeed, the demand is growing faster 

 than the supply, and the man or company who engages 

 in the business with industry and economy is likely to be 

 well rewarded. 



MISSOURI HORTICULTURE. 



T THE Missouri 

 State Horticultural 

 Society's summer 

 meeting in St. Jos- 

 eph, the display of 

 apples and straw- 

 berries was exten- 

 tensive, every known 

 (?) variety of the lat- 

 ter being on exhibi- 

 tion. One of the 

 chief objects of the 

 meeting was to make arrangements for a display of 

 Missouri's horticultural products at the Columbian 

 Exposition. 



In a paper upon Missouri as a fruit state, N. F. Mur- 

 ray expressed the opinion that, when fully developed, it 

 is destined to lead all other states, and stand unexcelled 

 in the industry by any like area of country on the globe. 

 About 500,000 barrels of apples were produced in the 

 state in 1890, worth $10,000,000, and vineyards, berry 

 plantations, etc., would easily bring the amount to 

 $15,000,000. It is asserted also that the Misssuri fruit 



crop never fails ; that it is just as certain as corn, wheat, 

 oats or any standard crop. The whole state is good for 

 fruit, but some sections excel others in the production of 

 certain species. On the south slope of the Ozark range 

 is a section unexcelled for the production of peaches, 

 where the trees are healthy, free from peach yellows, and 

 produce nine crops in ten years. 



Hans Nielson, on the subject of "Florists, and their 

 Growth in Missouri," said the first establishment was 

 founded in 1840. The total number in 1890 was 141 ; of 

 these, ten were owned by women. The largest had 

 65,000 square feet of glass, the smallest 500, the total 

 area of glass being 1,240,095 square feet. The amount 

 of capital invested is $1,078,882.65. A total of $870,- 

 491.42 in plants and cut flowers was sold during i8go. 

 In regard to the plant trade, there is one thing in partic- 

 ular which hinders a very rapid increase in the sale of 

 plants, and that is the lack of knowledge by the pur- 

 chaser how to care for them after they are received. 



The possibilities of the fruit industry of the state are 

 limited only by the manner and cost of handling by the 

 railroads and express companies. The refrigerator car 

 seems to be a partial solution of the question, and yet 

 not wholly. The railroads should attach these cars to 



