Preparation of Prunes. 



75 



should look to breeding from riding' stock, as is done in 

 Ireland. 



Price. — Market prices. 



If the experiment on behalf of the Government of purchas- 

 ing horses through farmers and the Yeomanry is to succeed, 

 it will be of no use to expect that any questionable horse will 

 be purchased for the War Office; on the contrary, Army 

 officers have their duty to perform, and in buying are obliged 

 to be most particular. 



The Preparaiion of Prunes or French Plums. 



A recent Report by Mr. W. R. Hearn, H.M. Consul at 

 Bordeaux, furnishes some interesting information on the 

 processes followed in the preservation of French plums or 

 prunes. The French plum for export is called the " Prune 

 d'ente," because it is a grafted plum. One species is 

 commonly called " la Robe Sergent," on account of its 

 purple colour, which resembles that worn by gendarmes in 

 the reign of Louis XIV. It is grafted on the stock of the 

 " Mirobolan " plum, while the commoner French plums, used 

 for stewing, are taken from a tree called " Prune St. Antoine." 

 The plums are not cultivated in any systematic way, but are 

 collected from the trees grown here and there in gardens* 

 orchards, vineyards, and fields owned by the peasants, and 

 brought into market at various small towns to which the 

 buyers resort. The Department where the greater part of 

 the plums are grown is the Lot-et-Garonne, of which Agen 

 is the chief town and market. 



The plums are gathered in a ripe state and undergo a 

 certain amount of drying before they are brought to market- 

 They are dried either in the sun or in brick kilns until the 

 fruit has lost two-thirds of its bulk. They are then taken to 

 the markets and bought by the preservers. 



The plums are sorted and sized at the factory either by 

 hand or by machinery. The women who sort by hand 

 become very expert, and can separate the fruit into various 

 sizes even more correctly than the machines. The machine 



