FRUIT-PRESERVING. 
345 
bome-made article, while at the same time it 
can be sold at a lower price. Fruit-drying or 
evaporating, therefore, has been wholly taken 
out of the fruit-grower’s hands, and has fallen 
under the management of specialists.” 
This is a proof of the advance of our trans¬ 
atlantic cousins; but in Britain, where so many 
hardy fruits flourish, we have at present much 
to do before the first stage is passed. It 
is true that in many country houses it is cus¬ 
tomary to preserve a small quantity of fruits 
for use during the winter, but this does not 
affect the supplies materially; it is part of the 
domestic economy which obtains in well-ordered 
households. But there are numbers where 
nothing is done in this direction, and it is rare 
even in fruit-growing districts to find anything 
like an organized attempt to deal with the 
matter on a business basis. 
The improvement effected in the needful 
appliances, and the invention of numerous in¬ 
genious contrivances to facilitate the work, 
now afford an opportunity to many who have 
hitherto been deterred from attempting fruit¬ 
preserving, bottling, or drying in a systematic 
manner and as a direct source of profit. One 
difficulty has to be faced by those who com¬ 
mence fruit-preserving in a small way as part 
of their business, and that is the competition 
with the established firms of repute, who have 
controlled the trade for many years. Amongst 
those who have started to place their produce 
on the mai'ket, there has been a prevailing idea 
that the only way to obtain a sale was by 
cutting the prices as low as possible. This 
underselling has proved disastrous in some 
cases, and has led to the production of inferior 
samples that have occasioned considerable pre¬ 
judice against the smaller manufacturer. The 
policy is a mistaken one; there is a far better 
chance of success in seeking to establish a repu¬ 
tation for a really first-class article, and a local 
trade can thus be ultimately developed into one 
of much wider scope. 
The present head of a large and profitable 
fruit-preserving business began as a fruit-grower 
in a small way some thirty or forty years ago, 
and when utilizing his surplus produce he aimed 
at the production of the best quality of pre¬ 
serves. The superiority was soon discovered 
by the consumers, with the result that, so far 
from reducing prices to undersell older firms, 
he has been able to command rates in excess of 
theirs throughout the greater portion of his 
career. 
The co-operative system, has been advocated 
as a means for enabling the smaller producers 
in a district to share in the advantages of 
utilizing surplus crops without incurring large 
individual expenses. If well organized and 
judiciously managed, there is no doubt that 
such a system might be rendered very bene¬ 
ficial. The cost of preparation would be pro¬ 
portionately reduced, and greater uniformity 
in quality and general appearance of the pro¬ 
ducts would be ensured. But in certain localities 
this has not been found to work satisfactorily, 
and the growers have preferred to deal with 
their own fruit. In some cases this can be 
done with comparatively little preliminary ex¬ 
pense for buildings, as, if substantial sheds or 
packing-houses already exist, a portion can be 
readily converted to the purpose of providing 
for the needful apparatus required in fruit¬ 
preserving. Several methods by which this 
can be accomplished will be indicated later in 
this chapter under the respective divisions, but 
with a moderate amount of ingenuity a fruit¬ 
grower should find little difficulty in adapting 
existing buildings for the work, or in devising 
cheap structures that could be utilized in dif¬ 
ferent ways according to the season. 
As previously indicated, however, there is 
ample room for the extension of the home pro¬ 
duction of preserved fruits, and if this could be 
carried out on definite lines generally, it would 
afford the greatest encouragement to small 
holders to increase their culture of fruit-trees, 
and would also enable landlords to assist cot¬ 
tagers and others in the same direction, with a 
better prospect of good results. From this point 
of view, the late Mr. W. E. Gladstone was 
undoubtedly considering the welfare of the 
people, and the best means of assisting fruit¬ 
growing as a special or additional industry, 
when he advocated the increased and more 
general production of preserved fruits. 
Methods and Appliances .—To convey an ade¬ 
quate idea of what can be accomplished by due 
care in the economic utilization of surplus fruits, 
it will be necessary to review the principal 
operations by which preservation is effected, 
and to refer to the appliances that facilitate the 
processes. The methods which demand special 
notice here are as follows:—1, Jam-making; 2, 
Jelly-making; 3, Bottling; 4, Crystallizing and 
Glazing; 5, Marmalade and Chutney produc¬ 
tion; 6, Evaporating or Drying; 7, Canning; 
8, Cider and Perry manufacture; and 9, Non¬ 
alcoholic fruit drinks. These methods may also 
be classified according to the form in which the 
fruit is used, as: 
