204 
THE TROPICAL AGRICULTURIST. [September 2, 1889. 
being halved merely to ensure thorough preservation 
of the rind by an equal saturat on of the interior as 
■well as the exterior surface. In these casks it arrives 
at the doors of manufactory. 
The first process to which it is then subjected is 
the separation of the fruit from the rind. This is done 
by women who, seated round a large vessel, take 
out the fruit, skilfully gauge out the inside with a few 
rapid motions of the forefinger and thumb, and, throwing 
this aside, place the rind unbroken in a vessel alongside 
them. 
The rind is next carried to large casks filled with fresh 
cold water, in which it is immersed for between two and 
three days to rid it of the salt it has absorbed. When 
taken out of these casks, the riuds are boiled with the 
double object of making them tender, and of completely 
driving out any trace of salt that may still be left in 
them. For this purpose they are boiled in a large copper 
cauldron for a time varying from one to two hours, 
according to the quality of the fruit ami the number 
of days it has been immersed in brine. When remov- 
ed from this cauldron, the peel should be quite free 
from any flavour of salt, and at the same time be 
sufficiently soft to absorb the sugar readily from the 
syrup, in which it is now ready to be immersed. 
The next process to which the rind is subjected is 
that of a slow absorption of sugar, and this occupies no 
less than eight days. Needless to say that the ab- 
sorption of sugar by fresh fruit in order to be thorough 
it must be slow, and not only slow, but it must also be 
gradual — that is to say, the fruit should at first be 
treated with a weak solution of sugar, which may then 
be gradually strengthened, for the power of absorption 
is one that grows by feeding. The fruit (and this holds 
good more especially with the rind) w uld absorb with 
difficulty, and more slowly and unequally if plunged at 
once into a thick syrup, than if gra lually treated with 
weak solution, easier of ' absorption, and by which it has 
been thoroughly permeated first. It is a knowledge of 
this fact that governs the process I now describe. 
The fruit has now passed into what I may call the 
saturating room, where on every side are to be seen long 
rows of immense earthenware vessels about 4 feet high 
and 2J feet in extreme diameter, in outline roughly re- 
sembling the famed Etruscan jar, but with a girth al- 
together out of proportion to their height, a' id with 
very short necks and large open mouths. All the vessels 
are filled to their brims with Citron and Orange peel in 
every stage of absorption, i.e., steeped in sugar syrup 
of, roughly speaking, eitrht different deg ees of strength. 
I said before that this is a process that occupies almost 
always eight days, and as the syrup in each jar is 
changed every day, we may divide the mass of vessels 
before us into groups of eight. Take one group of this 
number, and we are able to follow the fruit completely 
through this stage of its treatment. With vessels of 
6uch great size and weight, holding at least half a 
ton of fruit and syrup, it is clearly easier to deal 
with the syrup than with the fruit. To take the fruit 
out of one solution, and to place it into the next 
stronger, and so on, throughout the series, would be 
a toilsome process, and one, moreover, injurious to 
the fruib. In each of these jars, therefore, is fix- 
ed a wooden well, into which a simple hand suction- 
pump being introduced, the syrup is pumped from 
each jar daily into the adjoining one. 
"How is the relative strength of the syrup in each 
jar regulated?" is the next question. 
"The fruit itself does that," is the foreman's reply; 
and this becomes clear from the following explanation: 
— Number your group of jars from 1 to 8 respec- 
tively, and assume No. 1 to be that which has just 
been filled with peel brought straight from the boiler, 
in which it has been deprived of the last trace of 
aalt, and No. 8 to contain that which, having passed 
through every stage of absorption but the last, is 
now steeped in the freshly prepared and therefore the 
strongest solution of syrup used in this stage. "We 
prepare daily a syrup of the strenth of 30°, measured 
by the 'provino,' a graduated test for measuring the 
density of the syrup," continued the foreman, "and 
that is poured upon the fruit in jar No. 8. To- 
morrow the syrup from this jar weakened by the 
absorption from it, by the fruit, of a certain proportion 
of sugar, will be pumped into jar No. 7, and so on 
daily through the series. Thus, No. 1 containing the 
fruit itself regulates the strength of the syrup, as I 
said." "But if the syrup has lost all its strength 
before the seventh day, or arrival at jar No. 1?" 
we ask. "Care must be taken to prevent that, bv 
constant testing with the 'provino,'" is the reply; "and 
if that is found to be the case, a little stronger syrup 
must be added to the jar." 
A slight fermentation next takes place in most of 
the jars, but this, so far from being harmful, is regar- 
ded as necessary, but of course it must not be allowed 
to go too far. 
There is yet another stage, and that, perhaps, the most 
important, through which the peel has to pass before 
it can be pronounced sufficiently saturated with sugar. 
It is now boiled in a still stronger syrup, of a density 
of 40° by the testing-tube, and this is done in large 
copper vessels over a slow coke fire, care being taken 
to prevent the peel adhering to the side of the vessel 
by gentle stirring with a long paddle-shaped ladle. 
The second boiling will occupy about an hour. 
Taken off the fire, the vessels are carried to a large 
wooden trough, over which is spread a coarse, open 
wire netting. The contents are poured over this, and 
the peel distributed over the surface of the netting, 
so that the syrup — now thickened to the consistency 
of treacle — may drain off the surface of the peel into 
the trough below. The peel has now taken up as 
much sugar as is necessary. 
Now comes the final proce-s, the true candying of 
the covering of the surface of the peel with the layer 
of sugar-crystals which is seen upon all candied fruits. 
To effect this a quantity of crystallised sugar — at Leghorn 
the same quality of sugar is used as is employed in 
the preparation of the syrup — is just dissolved in a 
little water, and in this the now dried peel, taken 
off the wire netting, is immersed. The same copper 
vessels are used, and the mixture is again boiled over 
a slow fire. A short boiling will suffice for this, the 
last process, for the little water will qnickly be dri- 
ven off, and the sugar upon cooling will form its natural 
crystals over the surface of the fruit. Poured off from 
these vessels, it is again dried upon the surface of 
the wire netting as before described. The candying 
is now complete, and the candied-peel is ready for the 
packing-room, to which it is carried off in shallow 
baskets. 
In the packing-room may be seen hundreds of boxes 
of oval shape, or, if I may so speak, of rectangular 
shape, with rounded corners, and of different sizes, 
for each country prefers its boxes to be of a particular 
weight, Hamburg taking the largest, of 15 and 30 
k'los., United States of America preferring smaller, of 
10 and 12 kilos,, whilst England takes the smallest, of 
5 kilos., and one containing about 7 English pounds. 
The wood of which the tops and bottom of these boxes 
are made comes to us in thin planks from Trieste, and 
a skilful packing is generally done by women, and the 
boxes are lined with white paper. They are then 
packed in cases of 100 kilos., 10 of the smaller Ameri- 
can boxes filling a case. The candied peel is now' 
ready for export. 
I think I have now spoken of all that need be no- 
ticed in the actual manufacture of candied Citrou and 
Orange peel at Leghorn. There are, however, a few 
reflections upon the very existence of this industry 
here which seem to me suggestive and instructive ones. 
In my inquiries into the course of the industry I find 
that the fruit itself, and e:ery ingredie .t and article 
necessary to the preparation of the candied-peel comes 
to us from abroad. The fruit of the best quality is 
from Corsica; Eg pt furnishes the susar. England 
provides the fuel, distant provinces of Ital contribute 
a portion of the raw product and the wood for the 
boxes in which the peel is exported. The province 
of Leghorn provides nothing but the labour necessary 
to the manufacture. Nor is this industry one that 
hi»s fallen into Livornese hands from any specially 
acquired local handicraft or skill. How, then, doe- 
this industry exist here in these days of keen inters 
national competition ? No doubt it is mainly supported 
