The peaches of New York

by U. P. Hedrick

"Trays for Drying.—The fruit is placed upon trays for exposure to the sun. There is great variation in the size of the trays. The common small tray is made of one-half inch sugar-pine lumber two feet wide and three feet long, the boards forming it being held together by nailing to a cleat on each end, one by one and a quarter inches, and a lath or narrow piece of half-inch stuff is nailed over the ends of the boards, thus stiffening the tray and aiding to prevent warping.

A large tray which is used by some growers is four feet square, and is made of slats three-eighths of an inch thick, and one and a half inches wide, the slats being nailed to three cross slats three-eighths of an inch thick and three inches wide, and the ends nailed to a narrow strip one-half inch thick by three-quarters of an inch wide on the other side.

Since large drying yards have been supplied with tramways and trucks for moving the fruit instead of hand carriage, larger trays, three feet by six or three feet by eight, have been largely employed. These tramways lead from the cutting sheds to the sulphur boxes and thence to various parts of the large drying grounds, making it possible to handle large amounts of fruit at a minimum cost.

Protecting Fruit from Dew.—In the interior there are seldom any deposit of dew in the drying season but occasionally there are early rains before the drying season is over. The fruit is then protected by piling the trays one upon another, in which operation the thick cleats serve a good purpose. In dewy regions the trays are piled at night, or cloth or paper is sometimes stretched over the fruit, thus reducing the discoloration resulting from deposits of moisture upon it.

Drying Floors.—For the most part the trays are laid directly on the ground, but sometimes a staging of posts and rails is built to support them, about twenty inches from the ground. The drying trays are sometimes distributed through the orchard or vineyard, thus drying the fruit with as little carrying as possible. Others clear off a large space outside the plantation and spread the trays where full sunshine can be obtained. Drying spaces should be selected at a distance from traveled roads, to prevent the deposit of dust on the fruit * * *.

Grading.—It is of great advantage in drying to have all the fruit on a tray of approximately the same size, and grading before cutting is advisable. Machines are now made which accomplish this very cheaply and quickly.

Cutting-Sheds.—Shelter of some kind is always provided for the fruit-cutters. Sometimes it is only a temporary bower made of poles and beams upon which tree branches are spread as a thatch; sometimes open-side sheds with boarded roof, and sometimes a finished fruit-house is built, two stories high, the lower story opening with large doors on the north side, and with a large loft above, where the dried fruit can be sweated, packed, and stored for sale. The climate is such that almost any shelter which suits the taste of the purse of the producer will answer the purpose.

Sulphuring.—The regulations promulgated under the pure food law enacted by Congress in 1906 established an arbitrary limit to the percentage of sulphur compounds in evaporated fruits, which was shown by producers to be destructive to their industry, and otherwise unwarranted and unreasonable. As a result of their protest the enforcement of such regulations was indefinitely postponed, pending the results of scientific investigation which began in 1898.

From the point of view of the California producer it must be held that before the employment of the sulphur process, California cured fruits were suitable only to the lowest culinary uses. They were of undesirable color, devoid of natural flavor, offensive by content of insect life. They had no value which would induce production and discernible future. Placing the trays of freshly cut fruit in boxes or small 'houses,' with the fumes of burning sulphur, made it possible to preserve its natural color and flavor during the evaporation of its surplus moisture in the clear sunshine and dry air of the California summer. It also prevented souring, which with some fruits is otherwise not preventable in such open air drying, and it protected the fruit from insect attack during the drying process. By the use of sulphur and by no other agency has it been possible to lift the production of cured fruits of certain kinds from a low-value haphazard by-product to a primary product for which Californians have planted orchards, constructed packing houses and made a name in the world's markets.

The action of sulphuring is not alone to protect the fruit, it facilitates evaporation so that about one-half less time is required therefor. Not the least important bearing of this fact is the feasibility of curing fruits in larger pieces. The grand half-peaches, half-apricots, half-pears of the California cured fruits are the direct result of the sulphur process. Without it the fruit must be cut into small sections or ribbons, which in cooking break down into an uninviting mass, while, with the sulphuring, it is ordinary practice to produce the splendid halves with their natural color so preserved that they lie in cut glass dishes in suggestive semblance to the finest product of the canners, and are secured at a fraction of the cost.