4 BULLETIN 350, U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 
hundred tons annually. Smaller quantities are also available in New 
Jersey and Pennsylvania. 
From the figures given by the packers it would appear that 1,600 
tons is a conservative estimate for the total quantity of cherry pits 
that become available each year. This quantity will most likely in- 
crease, owing to the increasing acreage. 
The cherry juice which results from this industry accumulates in 
very large quantities. According to one prominent packer the quan- 
tity of juice is estimated at about 70 gallons per ton of cherries. Cal- 
culated on the quantity of cherries pitted, it is estimated that the ap- 
proximate output of juice is 112,000 gallons annually. At the present 
time this by-product is entirely wasted, although several packers have 
attempted to find some use for it. 
The pits of the imported cherries have also been discarded, and 
often at considerable expense. About 650 tons may be considered as 
the annual output of this waste. 
The writer was informed by nearly all the packers consulted that 
much thought has been given to a possible utilization of the large 
quantities of waste material and that great benefit would result and 
an added stimulus be given to this important branch of the fruit 
industry if a profitable utilization of the waste products could be 
accomplished. 
Actuated, therefore, by the requests of many packers and by actual 
observation of the large quantities of pits and juice which accumu- 
late at the packing plants, the investigation herein described was 
undertaken. 
COMMERCIAL PRODUCTS OBTAINABLE FROM CHERRY PITS. 
Because of the relationship of the cherry to the sweet and bitter 
almonds and to the peach, apricot, and prune, it was not unreasonable 
to suppose that products could be obtained from the pits of the 
cherry similar to those obtained from the other fruits mentioned. 
Fixed and volatile oils are at present manufactured from almonds 
and from peach and apricot kernels. The oils from these various 
kernels are practically identical in character and may be used for 
similar purposes; in fact, they are so nearly alike that much of the 
almond oil of commerce has been obtained from peach and apricot 
kernels. The composition of the kernels from cherry pits is such as 
to admit of the extraction of fixed and volatile oils, both possessing 
the general characteristics of almond oils. 
The pits of the imported cherries present a somewhat different prob- 
lem, due to the treatment of the fruit before importation. At the 
time these cherries are picked the kernels contain presumably the 
same constituents as the domestic cherries. The composition is nota- 
