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Image provided by: Arizona State Library, Archives and Public Records; Phoenix, AZ
Newspaper Page Text
Vol. I. ARIZOLA. ARIZONA, THURSDAY, AUGUST 24, 189: No. 16. IV I i.NKH. A CHtAT Kr.SOl K l: K SOITHF.KN Altl.ONA. A letllel Account of the Curing l'ro. Prune product Ion Is one of the la tent resources of Southern Arizona, development of whlcln U It liin the hcxt few yetH wiil prove a source of vtdth. The niiirket for dried prunt's is widely extended, covering the en tire count ry, and it will bo many years before domest ic production can over take foreign iuqiortation. The best and most merchantable prunes are produced in scml-tropic elinu'S! and the curing of the dried article Is more t'ompleleiy iind perfect ly managed in ttrld localities. The per contage of sugar in the cured prune Is much greater in fruit raised in the semi tropics, great ly increasing the value of the fruit for the purposes used. There are several varieties of the fruit. The Silver prune Is the largest Und bears more llesl In jit'oportlon to' lh pit. Tib' experience of most growers is that the trees are more hardy and vigorous when grafted ti 011 K'Hch or wild plum roots-the lat ter iK'ing generally preferred. A further advantage arising from this plan of grafting lies in t lie fact that either of the almve mentioned roots is absolutely free from the attacks of gophers. Curing tiie prune is a process inclu ding considerable detail, and requir ing close attention. II is t In- careful attention to these details upon which the. value of the cured article de pends. Prunes should not be gathered until the, fruit. Is ripe enough to fall of its own weight, or, at most, from the ef fect of a slight jar. If gathered in this condition, fruit being of first class quality and properly handled subsequently, a rirst-elass dried fruit will Ih- the result. t.'cnerally it is gathered by spreading a large canvas under the tree ami shaking it, re )eal ing the process from time to time until all has fallen. Usually two piec es of canvas, each bx20 feet are laid together. The corners are taken up ami the fruit rolled to the center, where it is easily taken up. If the objects sought are the great est quantity and best quality, the fruit is graded lie fore drying. It is a custom wit li some driers to grade the fruit into two or four grades before drying, and after drying regradeit in to six or seven grades, tirade the fruit before drying it. into six or sev en grades, the number the trade wants. If this work is properly done, no grading alter the fruit is cured will equal it. Then grading the fruit before drying it costs less than grad 11 after it is dried. Fruit of m arly the same size, condi tion and quality is placed together whin put on the trays, and kept so until sold. Kach grade can be cured as much as required, and no more. Then a port ion of the prunes on the same t ray will not be tit to "take up" before another portion has reached the half-way point. They will come upas they went down all together and none of them need be "bone dry." Kerdried fruit lias not only lost too much in weight, but also too much in quality. The bn t quality of fruit must not be, bout dry." Thus, retain ing a due pi'ojHirtlon of the weight is also adding to the quality and hence to the price. The fruit is t lien dipped in a solu tion of weak lye to break the skin and facilitate Its curing. There are sev eral machines for this purpose. I!e cently the end sought by this process has been effected by perforating the fruit, in a machine Invented for this puriose, which passes the prunes over a bed of needles. The advantages claimed for the machine porforatcr over the lye process are as follows: 1. It breaks the skin more generally and consequently prunes dry more evenly and in less t inie. 2, The prune retains its sugar and fruity substance and presents a richer and more glossy appearance than the partially Ijc-eolnrcd skins of other prunes. 3. It yields a bravier prune, dried, for its size, the crop drying substan tially two pounds to one. 4. Puyers and coiisuinersae better satisfied with the needle perforated prune, and willingly pay higher prices. The lengt h of t Ime for curing varies according to the degree of humidity in the atmosphere. In Southern Arizo na a week would be amply sutlicient. In some localities along the Califor nia coast and in Oregon driers are necessary. They do not produce so good an article as that dried in the sun. After dipping or jH-rforution the fruit is spread on trays, which are generally made .'txS feet, and of Ore gon pine for the frames and redwood shakes for the lxittoms. The mater ial of the frame should be lx:j incites. The following directions for making the trays are given by a prominent grower. Make a rough table .Ixli feet, and as high as convenience in nailing may require. On this construct a tray holding frame in this manner: Fast en firmly to the tables top two side pieces. 2x3 inches and 7 feet 10 inches long. The inner sides of these pieces should be parallel with the side edges of the table and respectively 11 inch es from these edges, their ends being respectively 7 indies from the ends of the table. The distance lietweeri these pieces is .'Nil inches. Place two ."1-foot end-pieces, 2x3 inches, the inner sides of each being respect i vol v 5 in ches from aim! parallel with the ends of the tabic, and the ends of the end pieces on a line with the inner sides of the side-pieces, and U inches from theendsof those pieces. This com pletes the outer port ion .if the tray-, holding frame, the dimensions of which are ."itil inches by feet i inch, being t inch larger on b t.h the sides and ends than a :tx$-foot tray. Put the tray frame into this incomplete tray-holding frame and nail it togeth er with eight 25 inch w ire nails. The inner portion of this tray-holding frame may be made of 2x2 inch mater ial. Place the 1 wo side pieces, 7 feet 10 inches lung, within i of an inch of the inner sides of the tray-frame, and t he end-pieces the same distance from the ends. Make the end pieces 15 in ches long, leaving I inches unoccu pied in th" middle of ih" 1 ray-hold ing frame. Fill this four-inch space through the ceiiterof the tiay-holding frame with a piece of timber 2i in lie I hick, -i invho wide and J (fit " inche, Juih'. covering iU uitift upper surface with a strip of sheet iron one-eighth of an inch thick. The tray-holding frame is then complete. The space to be oc cupied by the tray-framo is H inches wide. It is well to have it that width as some of the sides and ends of trays are more than an inch thick, besides, if the space were less the work of put ting them in and taking them out could not be done so quickly. Make a mark in the center of the out side endsof the tray-holding frame; t his will show just where to place the central lath and thus prevent loss of time that would otherwise occur. The unoccupied space along the sides and ends of the table is intended for hold ing nails. Partition this space into four apartments, each the full length of t ray-holding frame, to le occupied by nails of as many lengths. The ends will each need one space for nails, which should be as neiir the ends of the central lath as possible, as it is to contain t lie nails used in the endsof that lath. I'se 4-inch clout nails in the central lath, except the ends of it; use wire nails there and all other pla ces. 1 think '11 inch nails for the tray frame: two sizes, Hand 2 inches, for shakes and side lath, are large enough. Six nails arc required for each six inch shake two at each end and two in the middle. After the tray frame has been nail ed together with 2f-inch nails, put on t he Jti shakes required to cover the ljottom. Fa.-ten these in their places with one W nail at the end of every shake, an inch or so from the same edge. These nails are large enough, since Ihey are prevented from coming out by the lath being placed over them. I'se 2-inch nails, or a little longer, inputting on the side lath. Drive these nails through the side lath, so as to pass thioiigli the shakes alout the same distance from the edge as did the H inch nails and directly oj posife them. Next nail the central lath with H inch nails at each end, taking these nails from a receptacle made as near as possible to the place the nails are to be used. All the other nails used in the cen tral lath Miould be seven-eighths inch clout nails, driven at a slight or very acute angle. If so driven they will clinch themselves on striking the strip of sheet iron. That is the ob ject of the sheet iron. If not so driv en, the point may stop when it strikes t his iron strip and fail to clinch, t bus causing a waste of time and nails, be sides rendering the sheet iron strip worse t ban useless. These trays are tilled with fruit and spread on the drying ground. When properly cured"' the prunes are taken up. This condition is de termined to a great extent by exper ience, the experienced curer telling by feeling. The water should be all out of the prunes to the extent that they no longer feel watery or mushy but soft and still pliable. If trays are in abundant supply so they can be stacked, it is good to do so when the fruit is about two thirds cured and let it tinish curing in 1 lie stack. The trays are stacked with alternate edg es projecting, to give free circulation of air. When the fruit has been properly cured it is luinped into a pile in a elo-e apartment to sweat" after which it i. dipped in.i bit h con -i ,tiru: o hot, water and glycerine. Tbi Si .'to it a handsome gloss and preserves it from mould and insects. It is then ready for packing and shipping. Jnterrulture. California Cultivator. 'Tnterculture' is a new title for tin; custom of growing crops of any kind in orchards of standard fruit trees. It is at this time receiving a great deal of attention from the horticul tural press, and, as usual, has its ad vocates and opjioscrs, who argue front their respective standpoint with much apparent force. Where trees are planted twenty to thirty feet apart, as is the custom for all orch ards (if standard fruit, there must necessarily be a large area of ground unoccupied by the roots of trees for several years, and it is, in our opin ion, simply nonsense to say that this space can not be used profitably and without injury in the growing of some annual crop of vegetables until all the territory is required by the fruit trees. On the contrary, all experiments prove that a proper use of this space for such purpose results in a decided benefit to the trees when their roots ultimately reach the cultivated ground. Even nursery stock and small fruits, like the blackberry and raspberry, mig'it le grow n for a few years w ithout decided injury, but we would not recommend them, for the permanent character of such plant ings prevents the perfect cultivation of t he soil: and they take from it more of the elements of standard tree growth than vegetable. Therefore, from long observation and much ex perience, we can say to all who con template anything of the kind, that they can for several years grow vege tables a,nd strawberries in their newly planted orchards of standard fruits by observing the following rules, viz.: Thoroughly prepare the soil before planting the crop: leave ample space for cultivation between the rows of trees and the first rows of vegetable plants, and restore to the soil (as much as possible.) in the shape of a complete fertilizer, all the elements taken off by the crop cultivated. i;'(iilMtes fur Sucrnmful Fruit Culture. In a public address on successful fruit culture, President Williams, of New Jersey, is reported as laying down the following seven conditions as necessary, the substance of which we give: 1. Adaptability of soils to varie ties. 2. Adaptability of the man for the business. ;5. Fertile soil and clean culture. 4. Productive varieties of showy appearance. 5. Fruit carefully handled and hon estly put up. (i. Plant sparingly of novelties. 7. Study how to feed the different crops, as the farmer does his animals to produce the best results. The cinnamon tree is said to be as hardy as the orange or the camphor, and certain nurserymen of Florida are propagating it on a large scale for ex tensive plant ing. Thorough saturation of the soil, and at regular intervals, according to the nature or composition of the soil, and the t h tract i r of the plant.-, grown, i t lie true method of. irrigaUoa. .