348 
May  28 
THE  RURAL  NEW-YORKER. 
intelligence  ;  we  have  perused  many  an  article  intelli¬ 
gent  with  facts;  we  have,  perhaps  read  disjointedly, 
most  of  the  data  contained  in  this  book.  Yet  this  is  a 
new  book  ;  the  only  one  of  its  kind,  so  far  as  I  know. 
It  is  peculiar  in  its  treatment;  it  conveys  not  only 
intelligence,  but  ft  is  applied  intelligence.  It  can  be 
read  with  advantage  by  any  farmer,  gardener  or 
florist ;  it  can  be  studied  with  advantage  by  the  spec¬ 
ialist.  The  owner  of  the  small  place  as  well  as  of  the 
large  place,  who  is  fond  of  planning  his  own  work 
will  find  here  the  guide  to  processes  which  shall  aid  in 
the  increase  of  desirable  plants,  whether  by  seed,  bulb, 
or  other  known  horticultural  processes. 
The  style  is  clear  and  direct ;  the  illustrations  illus¬ 
trate.  The  tendency  of  the  book  is  educational  and 
— may  we  coin  a  word — actional.  I  note,  however,  one 
omission,  which  I  trust  in  a  new  edition  will  find 
attention.  There  should  be  a  chapter  on  those  prin¬ 
ciples  of  histological  horticulture  that  apply  alike  to 
all  processes  of  propagation.  Such  a  chapter  might 
not  interest  the  man  who  calls  himself  intensely  prac¬ 
tical  ;  it  might  require  close  reading  ;  it  might  appear 
to  some  theoretical.  It  would  be  educational  ;  it 
would  add  importarce  to  the  necessity  of  the  detail  of 
directions  given  in  the  practical  chapters  ;  it  would  be 
suggestive  in  cases  where  doubt  as  to  how  to  act 
might  occur.  [DR.]  E.  LEWIS  sturtevant. 
The  Evaporated  Fruit  Industry. 
WHY  PRICES  ARE  LOW. 
California  Competition  ;  Interview  with  an  Expert. 
A  conversation  between  Clias.  A.  Green  and  Mr.  Doyle, 
the  best-posted  man  in  western  New  York  regarding 
dried  f  ruits. 
The  Trade  in  Black  Raspberries. 
Mr.  Green  :  “  What  about  the  fall  in  price  of  evap¬ 
orated  black  raspberries?  Why  has  the  price  been  so 
reduced  ?  ” 
Mr.  Doyle :  “  The  evaporated  industry  has  about 
reached  its  maximum  development  in  western  New 
York.  Some  years  ago— perhaps  five  or  six— evapor¬ 
ated  apples  and  evaporated  raspberries  were  the  only 
dried  fruits  prepared  in  the  Eastern  States,  and  offered 
to  the  consumers  throughout  the  entire  country.  The 
result  was  that,  with  the  improved  methods  of  evapor¬ 
ation,  they  became  very  profitable,  and  not  only  were 
they  used  in  large  quantities  in  this  country,  but  also 
abroad.  In  the  past  three  or  four  years  California  has 
become  such  a  prominent  competitor  for  business,  and 
has  such  a  variety  of  fruits  of  such  fine  quality,  so  dif¬ 
ferent  from  ours  in  the  East,  and  at  comparatively 
low  prices,  that  the  buyers  and  dealers  throughout  the 
country  have  said,  “  We  want  a  larger  variety  for  our 
people  ;  we  have  grown  tired  of  the  same  fruits  ;  so 
that  California  fruit  products  have  rapidly  come  to  the 
front.” 
“  Is  not  New  York  the  natural  home  of  the  rasp¬ 
berry  ?  ” 
“  Y’es,  but  it  seems  to  grow  as  well  in  California, 
though  it  is  not  grown  there  yet  to  any  considerable 
extent.” 
“  What  are  the  principal  evaporated  fruits  of  Cali¬ 
fornia  ?  ” 
“  The  apricot,  peach,  prune  and  nectarine  ;  dried 
figs  and  raisins  are  the  principal  fruits.” 
“Can  the  fruits’  you  name  be  produced  there  cheaper 
in  proportion  than  our  evaporated  blackcaps  here  ?  ” 
“  A  large  proportion  of  the  expense  is  in  curing.  In 
California  the  process  of  drying  is  principally  carried 
on  by  the  natural  heat  of  the  sun.  Growers  have  a 
more  favorable  climate  for  curing,  and  have  less  to 
fear  from  injury  to  their  crops  by  the  action  of  the 
elements,  and  the  climate  is  more  even  and  more  reg¬ 
ular  than  ours,  affording  a  better  and  much  longer 
period  to  harvest  the  fruit.  This,  with  their  method 
of  drying,  gives  a  great  advantage  in  cheapness.  Be¬ 
sides,  their  system  of  irrigation  is  very  conducive  to 
success  in  the  production  of  these  and  other  fruits. 
They  produce  a  very  good  quality,  but  their  fruits  do 
not  possess  the  bouquet  or  the  flavor  of  our  Eastern 
kinds.” 
“  Then  it  would  seem  that  the  reduced  price  for 
evaporated  blackcaps  will  continue  ?  ” 
“  Unless  the  area  devoted  to  their  culture  should  be 
decreased.  The  present  price  is  from  13  to  13 %  cents 
per  pound— values  as  low  as  ever  known.” 
“The  cost  of  production  is  greater  than  that,  is  it 
not  ?  ” 
“  The  cost  is  from  18  to  20  cents  per  pound  under  the 
most  favorable  conditions.” 
“  Are  they  used  for  coloring  material  ?” 
“We  have  never  sold  a  pound  for  such  a  purpose. 
They  are  used  almost  entirely  for  food,  particularly  in 
the  Western  markets  and  in  the  mountainous  regions.” 
“In  our  family  we  prepare  them  by  soaking  12  hours, 
then  stewing  on  the  stove  slowly  12  hours.” 
“That  is  the  method  most  generally  employed.” 
“Where  is  the  center  of  the  evaporated  black  rasp¬ 
berry  industry  ?  ” 
“Three-fourths  of  the  production  of  the  United 
States  is  confined  to  three  counties  of  New  York — 
Wayne,  Yates  and  Monroe.” 
“  Why  is  the  dried  blackberry  so  cheap  as  compared 
with  the  raspberry  ?  ” 
“  The  blackberry  is  produced  largely  in  the  Southern 
States,  gathered  by  the  colored  people  at  simply  the 
expense  of  gathering.  It  is  dried  by  the  heat  of  the 
sun,  and  as  it  grows  abundantly  there  it  is  produced 
at  the  least  possible  cost.” 
“To  my  mind  the  blackberry  is  superior  to  the  rasp¬ 
berry.  Is  it  so  considered  generally  ?  ” 
“  Many  people  prefer  it  to  the  raspberry  in  the  dried 
form.  It  is,  however,  very  much  inferior  because  the 
drying  is  poorly  done,  a  large  percentage  of  the  fruit 
coming  from  the  South  being  more  or  less  fermented. 
Its  poor  quality  causes  the  low  price.” 
“A  good  quality  would  probably  bring  higher 
prices  ?  ” 
“Yes,  slightly  higher,  but  the  trade  of  the  country 
has  become  so  accustomed  to  using  this  inferior  grade 
at  the  low  values  that  dealers  will  not  pay,  without 
great  reluctance,  much  higher  prices.” 
“  Are  the  raspberries  and  blackberries  used  for  pie 
material  ?  ” 
“Very  largely.  In  fact  almost  every  baker  uses 
both  kinds  quite  extensively,  and  especially  the  black¬ 
berry.” 
“  Then  in  your  opinion,  in  proportion  as  the  produc¬ 
tion  of  raspberries  is  decreased  the  price  will  increase, 
but  perhaps  not  sufficiently  to  warrant  planting  now?” 
“The  price  will  undoubtedly  increase  if  the  produc¬ 
tion  is  decreased.  The  object  of  the  grower  of  rasp¬ 
berries  should  be  to  sell  his  crop  in  the  fresh  state,  for 
it  is  only  at  a  time  of  a  glut  when  the  canning  fac¬ 
tories  will  not  buy  them,  and  when  the  consuming 
markets  have  sufficient,  that  he  can  dry  them  with  any 
hope  of  getting  a  profit  from  their  sale. 
Increased  Demand  for  Pears. 
“  Can  pears  be  profitably  evaporated  ?” 
“There  lias  been  an  increasing  demand  for  pears. 
The  Bartlett  is  the  best.  They  should  be  dried  on 
trays  with  the  core  removed.  If  evaporated  in  rings 
they  are  almost  unsalable  and  will  not  bring  as  much 
as  apples.  They  have  to  be  cut  lengthwise,  the  core 
removed  and  the  fruit  peeled,  in  which  form  they  are 
more  marketable.” 
“  Is  there  a  growing  demand  for  them  ?”. 
“  The  demand  can  be  developed.  They  make  a  very 
good  evaporated  fruit  and  are  desirable  when  canned 
or  preserved.” 
“Is  much  fruit  dried  in  the  old-fashioned  manner  ?” 
“  Only  a  small  quantity  in  western  New  York.  The 
business  of  ffbn-drying  is  confined  almost  entirely  to 
the  Southern  States,  with  of  course  the  great  exception 
of  California,  in  which  State  the  drying  is  entirely 
done  by  solar  heat.  ” 
“  Are  the  goods  produced  by  sun-drying  just  as 
palatable  and  sightly  as  those  made  by  other  methods?” 
“Yes.  Tn  fact  the  fruit  appears  to  be  more  satis¬ 
factory  when  cured  in  the  sun  than  that  dried  by 
artificial  heat.  ” 
“  Is  there  apy thing  new  about  the  evaporation  of 
apples  ?” 
“  Practically  nothing  except  that  the  business  has 
been  largely  affected  by  the  aggressive  competition  of 
the  Californian  producers,  not  of  apples,  but  of  other 
fruits  that  have  come  to  take  their  place.” 
“  The  future  of  evaporated  fruits,  then,  is  largely 
dependent  on  Californian  competition  ?” 
“  Yes,  so  far  as  the  future  demand  and  trade  are  con¬ 
cerned.” 
“  How  about  the  evaporation  of  peaches?” 
“  Peaches  are  evaporated  principally  in  Delaware 
and  Maryland,  but  in  less  quantities  than  heretofore 
for  the  reason  that  California  is  able  to  produce  as 
good  a  quality  at  a  much  less  price.  The  peaches 
grown  there  now  are  usually  sold  in  the  fresh  state, 
largely  for  canning  purposes,  and  the  business  of  evap¬ 
orating  has  considerably  decreased.” 
Effects  of  Californian  Competition. 
“  Do  you  think  that  Eastern  fruit  growers  can  com¬ 
pete  with  California  ?  ” 
“  They  cannot  compete  in  fruits  indigenous  to  that 
State,  such  as  the  apricot,  peach,  nectarine  and  prunes. 
California  occupies  an  extremely  favored  position  in 
these  varieties  and  undoubtedly  the  Eastern  fruit 
grower  will  be  affected  by  the  efforts  of  the  California 
producers  to  market  their  products  at  decreased  prices 
and  this  will  materially  affect  the  growth  and  lower 
the  values  of  such  fruits  as  the  apple,  raspberry  and 
peach  which  form  the  chief  fruits  evaporated  and 
dried  in  the  East.” 
“  How  about  grapes  or  raisins  ?  ” 
“  Raisins  are  cured  by  solar  heat,  and  also  by  the 
use  of  steam  evaporators,  although  the  best  raisins,  it 
is  claimed,  are  produced  entirely  in  the  open  air.” 
“Does  the  large  production  of  raisins  there  have  any 
effect  on  evaporated  fruits  ?  ” 
“  Very  much.  Raisins  are  offered  from  California 
at  2)4  to  three  cents.  They  are  distributed  very 
largely  in  Western  markets  where  the  buyers  now  take 
raisins,  prunes  and  peaches  instead  of  our  evaporated 
and  sun-dried  apples  and  raspberries.” 
“  Can  prunes,  peaches,  raisins  and  such  fruits  take 
the  place  of  our  evaporated  and  sun-dried  apples  and 
raspberries  ?  ” 
“  Perhaps  not  as  elementary  products,  but  the 
people  desire  a  change.  They  have  been  using  these 
Eastern  fruits  for  so  many  years  that  at  lower  prices 
they  will  buy  the  comparatively  new  Californian 
kinds.” 
“  Is  the  elderberry  ever  evaporated  ?  ” 
“It  can  hardly  be  considered  an  article  of  commerce. 
It  is  sold  mostly  in  markets  where  there  is  a  large 
German  population.  Its  value  is  both  irregular  and 
doubtful.  One  season  it  is  worth  11  to  12  cents  per 
pound,  and  another  it  cannot  be  sold  at  over  two  to 
three  cents.” 
“  Do  you  regard  it  as  worthy  of  cultivation  ?” 
“  Its  value  is  quite  uncertain.  It  is  used  somewhat 
in  the  manufacture  of  wine  or  is  dried  for  culinary 
uses  ” 
About  Plums  or  Prunes. 
“  What  can  be  said  about  the  evaporation  of  plums 
in  the  Eastern  or  Middle  States?” 
“It  does  not  appear  that  the  business  can  be  very 
remunerative  as  plums  have  always  sold  at  very  low 
prices  here.  The  competition  from  California  is  also 
severe  and  we  must  yield  to  the  superior  quality  and 
low  prices  at  which  dried  plums  are  offered  from  that 
State.” 
“  The  dried  plum  from  the  Pacific  coast  is  much 
sweeter  than  ours  ?” 
“It  is  much  sweeter,  more  meaty  and  larger.  The 
California  dried  plums  are  now  worth  seven  cents  per 
pound  while  .State  plums  bring  in  the  market  from  4  to 
534  cents.” 
“  And  New  York  State  plums  have  cost  the  producer 
more  than  the  Californian  ?” 
“  Yes,  but  the  preference  even  at  the  increased  price 
is  for  the  Californian  quality.  That  is,  the  trade  gen¬ 
erally  will  pay  a  higher  price  for  the  Californian  than 
for  the  New  York  State  or  Eastern  grades.  The  Cal¬ 
ifornian  dried  prune  has  secured  a  foothold  here,  and 
that  State  will  in  a  few  years  produce  all  the  prunes 
necessary  to  supply  our  home  markets.  Already 
prunes  from  there  have  taken  a  prominent  place,  and 
on  account  of  their  superior  quality  they  are  preferred 
and  command  higher  prices  than  the  French  prunes. 
About  six  or  seven  years  ago  we  were  dependent  en¬ 
tirely  upon  foreign  prunes.” 
(To  be  Continued.) 
Some  English  Ensilage. 
A  writer  in  the  London  Agricultural  Gazette  de¬ 
scribes  his  method  of  making  ensilage,  which  will  be 
new  to  many  of  our  readers.  As  we  have  frequently 
stated,  corn  is  not  grown  in  England.  Ensilage  there 
is  simply  fresh  grass  cut  and  packed  in  silos  or  stacked 
in  the  field  without  curing.  Describing  his  process,  the 
writer  mentioned  above  says: 
All  that  is  needed  is  to  cart  the  fresh  grass  to  a  suit¬ 
able  place,  and  then  make  it  into  a  large  rectangular 
heap,  carting  over  it  as  in  the  case  of  making  an  or¬ 
dinary  heap  of  farmyard  manure.  The  chief  points 
for  care  are  to  spread  the  grass  evenly,  and  to  keep 
the  sides  of  the  heap  perpendicular  and  firm  with 
trampling,  and  with  the  common  field  roller.  We  sug¬ 
gest  G  to  7  yards  wide  and  9  to  11  yards  long  as  not  too 
large,  and  the  ends  are  left  longer  so  as  to  form  tongues 
or  fnclined  planes  for  convenience  during  the  making 
of  the  heap.  The  higher  or  deeper  the  heap  the  better, 
as  it  is  the  outsides  which  suffer,  while  the  interior  of 
the  heap  is  always  good.  The  grass  continuously 
settles  and  is,  at  intervals  of  about  three  days,  added 
to,  without  raising  the  heap  to  an  uncomfortable 
height.  The  silage  becomes  very  solid,  so  that  a  cubic 
foot  is  found  to  weigh  from  56  to  60  pounds  when  fully 
pressed.  There  is  but  little  danger  of  over-heating, 
the  heat  is,  in  fact,  squeezed  out  of  the  heap  by  fresh 
accessions  of  grass,  and  hence  the  lowest  portions  of 
the  heap  never  rise  higher  than  about  90  or  100  deg. 
Fahrenheit.  As  fresh  grass  is  added  the  heat  ascends 
in  the  heap,  so  that  the  hottest  portion  is  usually 
found  about  two  or  three  feet  from  the  surface,  where 
the  grass  is  least  compressed.  Such  a  heap  occupies 
about  three  weeks  to  complete,  and  by  that  time  may 
be  seven  or  eight  feet  high.  It  is  then  leveled  and 
quite  well  rolled,  and  the  “tongues”  are  cutoff  and 
thrown  over  the  top.  It  is  now  time  to  entirely  cover 
the  silage  with  a  thickness  of  hay  of  sufficient  height 
to  make  a  well-proportioned  rick,  and  to  thatch  it 
down.  If  a  layer  of  straw  is  placed  between  the 
ensilage  and  the  hay,  the  line  of  demarcation  between 
the  two  will  be  clear.  The  hay  next  the  ensilage  be¬ 
comes  very  similar  in  appearance  to  the  ensilage  itself, 
and  appears  to  be  improved  in  aroma  and  flavor. 
There  is  no  molding,  but  a  dark  and  rich  brown  color¬ 
ation  in  the  hay.  The  ensilage  is  perfectly  preserved, 
and  the  only  appearance  of  mold  is  in  the  outsides  of 
the  heap. 
Such  ensilage  is,  therefore,  nothing  but  a  pile  of 
green  grass  with  a  hay-stack  on  top  for  weighting. 
This  is  only  one  English  system.  In  others  a  powerful 
press  is  used  on  the  pile  of  grass  to  force  it  into  a 
small  space  or  bale. 
