The Milan exchange. (Milan, Gibson County, Tenn.) 1874-1978, 1880-10-28
New EngIand's SuperaDundant Apple
Crop.


1t is becoming an important Question
among the farmers just now what to do
with the surplus apples, for the or
chards on every hand are grooming with
immense loads of handsome fruit. Over
in Prescott, Deacon Page alone esti-
mates that he has 5000 bushels, and
like every one else he does not know
what to do with them, although he is
converting large quantity into vim
egar. So plentiful is the fruit that it is
decayiDg under the trees, and unless
some other avenue is opened there will
be deluge of cider the like of which
the country has not seen for years. Al
ready every available barrel has been
brought to store the juice. Some of
the farmers are feeding them out to
hogs, though they feed corn before
killing to harden up the pork. Apples,
they claim, will make beef as fast as
will potatoes and are cleaner and easier
to raise. Cows fed with plenty of ripe
apples are said to keep up in milk and
cream and to produce nice hard butter.
One of Williamsburg prominent
farmers has for many years purposely
hASOudNiCu llldilf VI Ills bGSJ llGCS III VI
der to change the year of bearing and
this artificial changing of the year Of
bearing has been quite profitable, as he
generally has plenty of fruit in the ''otf
year." The russell is, however, about
the only apple upon which he operates
in this way He has also found that
whenever he has stopped this disbud-
ding process the tree has returned to its
original habit. Another way in which
the fruit raiser has gained reputation
for choice fruit is in having built some
years ago fine dry cellar in which to
store only the best hand-picked fruit.
He carefully sorts them over in the
winter and has choice lot of fruit in
the spring, which he forwards to the
cities and gets a good price for.
The Boston Young Mems Christian
Association Union have established in
Boston depot for the distribution of
portion of the great surplus of apples
and other fruit among the poor of the
city, charity which should commend
itself to the consideration of farmers.
The churches and Sunday could
greatly enhance the value of the work
by appointing committees who would
see to the gathering of the fruit. The
temperance people here have an excel
lent opportunity to lend hand, for if
all these apples are turnedinto cider its
abundance and cheapness will tend to
encourage the drinking of it. Some
think good way to utilize the crop
would be to evapOrate the juice into
healthy and delicious apple jelly, for
which there is always paying market.
Then still another way, which is assum-
ing tangible form at Easthampton, is
che drying of the apples by patent
process. A building, twenty by thirty
feet, two stories high with deep eel
lar in which the furnaces are located,
is being built. The apples after they
are pared, cored and sliced are put
through bleaching process, which
causes them to retain their natural
whiteness without removing any of the
flavor. Through the center of the
building is to run anevaporatOr capable
of containing large number of trays of
perforated galvanized iron. The sliced
apples are laid upon the trays and put
in at the bottom of the tower, and be-
ing moved up gradually are thoroughly
dried when they reach the top. 1t takes
about five hours to dry fruit properly,
and the evaporation being built at East
hampton will have a daily capacity of
from fifty to seventy-fve bushels. The
apples Of sufficient soundness for this
purpose can be obtained near by at
from twelve to fifteen cents a bushel.-
Northampton (lMaSS.J Cor. Springfield
Republican.