Sacramento daily record-union. [volume] (Sacramento [Calif.]) 1875-1891, 1886-12-16
WHOLE NO. ll,125.
HEALTH.

HEALTH
Last, hut not least, comes health There is not
much TO say about that except that il is
| healthy Take the town of Colusa as q critic
Ilon; In population Of 20C0, the census agent
| the hospital. Diphtheris scarler fever nor suv
of the diseases that take children olfso fast has
| ever been epidemic therein. IN fact the town
mas never had an epidemic of any kind
| Thus have glanced RAPIDLY. aud most rnsat-
lsiactorlIy 10 me- ~ characteristics OF the dis
| trict assigned me. The district is represented
| il this fair. We ore not ashamed OF what we
| have here, but we are ashamed that we hsve
not more. But the trees and vines have been
planted, and are being planted, that will enable
us 10 we with other sections in quantity as well
ss quality That we have not more here Is the
fault OF the people, not of the land aud the
climate. IL is a magnificent country for some
northern horde TO overrun-to CONQUER
| Come on with energy and pluck and root ont
those of us who have been having too good q
time living easy and depending ON nature for
ADDRESS OF GEORGE W. MEADE.
George W. Meade, Of George w. Meade g.
Co, San Francisco, dealers in dried fruits,
etc, was TO have read the next paper but
he prevailed on Director P. Il. Platt to read
II for him, which Mr.. Plat did with good
effect. We present the essay herewith:
Mr.. PresidetG, Ladies and Gentlemen: The sub
Ject OF the dried fruit and Iaisin industry of
California / most pleasing one to now cOntem-
years since California raisins and California
dried fruits cut but small figure among the
products OF our great state and outside OF our
coast markets they were practically unknown.
To day, however, rote the great change From
small beginnings the productions of these two
lines has kept pace with the growth Of the
state. year by year, until now, when the output
OF California raisns and dried fruits is as eagerly
watched in New York. Chicago and other great
Eastern markets as il is in our home market of
san Francisco. Year by year the markets for
| our dried fruits are widening, and while a few
years ago our most distant market was Colorado
these gooqs are now being eagerly sought for
and distributed in all the great markets of the
United States. Large as this business has al
ready become, IL is still in its infancy and has
1uture before It that IN our opinion, will be ex-
eelled by few, if any, Of the other great indus
tries of this State.
WITH POPULATION OF 6OOO00JO
Of people in the United States it is s,haps quite
safe 10 say that not over 100000 have as vet
tasted or seen California dried fruit or raisins
The possibilities therefore of not OVERRIDING the
market as viii easily be seen, is sOmt thing
that is not likely TO occur for q century to come
II indeed II ever occgrs The Eastern demand
for our dried fruits for the year 1856 has never
before been 60 eager or active, and at prices
which must give to the grower or producer a
good return on mis- capital invested.
There viii, Of course as in all lines of bust
| ness, DC poor years and good years, but taking
/ it one year with another, there is no industry
! III California, present or prospective. which
promises better or speedier returns to the grow
! er than the drying, in whole or in part, of the
! products OF his orchard. TO further stimulate
! and increase. however, the already great and
| growing demand for our dried fruits
| GREATER CARE IN THEIR GRADING, SELECTION
AND PACKING
! For market, must be exercised. The Eastern
| trade are very eXacting-they pronounce our
fruits when properly graded The finest in the
| world, but have lound, and justly so, much fault
! with many shipments on account of irregular
| grading, lack Of attention to proper selection
! and Indifferent and faulty packing All of this
I he and kuOV 6p in frnp ioJ
| and when that time comes ten cars Of California
| dried fruits can be sold on their merits alone
| where one is now. Take the article of Califor-
ma dried peacht s-a large grower has, perhaps,
! 10000 pounds of the dried product of this guam
tity, perhaps 1000 pounds were oveT-ripe
peaches, which when dried, turned black If
these were picked out. and either thrown away
or sold by themselves for what they would bring
the balance of the fruit would from its uniform
1ty bring enhanced prices moro than sufficient
! 10 cover this loss. Many growers, however, to
save this poor fruit mix il in with the good,
with the invariable result that when the ship
ment reaches market it not only gives general
dissatisfaction, and when sold the price is scaled
on the whole 10000 pounds to a figure that will
net him less than if ne threw all of this blacll
stock away or fed to the pigs, The same re-
marks will apply TO apricots, apples, plums and
in fact, dried fruits OF all kinds.
When the product is ready for market, have it
regular and uniformly graded. To not mix in
poor fruit. Put up only choice, selected fruit to
be sold as your first grades. Pack up your sec
ond grade by itself and let it sell on its merits
IN fact let the great consuming public of the
East know that when they call for first class
California dried fruit that they are going to get
1t. This fact once established, ii will no longer
be question what shall we do with our yearly
! increasing products Of dried fruits ? but how
shall we be able to meet the demand
sUN-DRIED AND EvAPoRATED FRUITS.
We urgently advise the discontinuance of the
further sun-drying of apples unless they be
pieaehed with sulphur before being placed on
the trays. 1he evaporated, beached apple
here throughout the entire East is rapidly
taking the place of the ordinary sun-dried apple.
the sale of which Is rapidly growing less wear
pound boxes, are worth to-day twelve cents in
the San Francisco and Sacramento markets,
and in active demand, with prospects Of even
higher prices while the ordinary sun-dried. un-
bleached apple is a OIL ug, and uns 4labe at three
cents per pound.
In the southern portion of the State nearly all
the sun-dried apricots are
BLEACHgD WITH SULPHUR
And then carefully graded. As high as 21N
cents per pound have been paid IN Riverside for
these apricots this year, which gives the pro-
ducer a magnificent profit, and shows what a
little care and attention VIII DO. To some ex-
tent, our northern producers also bleach their
apEicots, Tut not very generally as yet: and
when 1t has been done, either from insufficient
knowledge OF the process or lack of proper at
tention to Details it is only true to say that we
have seen very few as yet Of the northern april
cots that even approximate in color, grading
ana style, the product OF our riverside friends.
There is almost unlimited field East for
these sulphured aplieots. We have got the fruit
IN our northern countries-the process is simple
and there IS no reason, with the same attention
why we should not equal, il not excel the pro-
duct of southern California.
With sun-dTied peaches, we also reoommenda a
universal sulphur-bleaehing. IL Will brighten
the color, add to the appearance, and in that
shape the fruit viii always bring enough more
to cover the cost of slch bleaching many times
over. Pears, either sun-dried or evaporated,
should also be b.eached, and the sale for the
ordinary sun-dried uubleached pear like the
sun.dried apple, is getting to be thing of the
past.
While some growers have endeayored to
bleach or tighten the color of prunes or pluns
It is an unnecessary expense and waste of
time and labor A few bleaehed prunes might
sell q trihe more in & small way now and then
but never to that extent that it would pay any
one TO bleach them
STYLES OF PACKING.
Regarding styles of packing, sun-dried april
co.'s, pilted piums prunes and pears should
always be put up in either clean white cotton
sacks or in neat uniform, nicely papered and
faced 2rp0uud boxes. Peaches and sun-dred
apples can be put up in burlap sacks bat even
for these we recommend a white cotton sack,
as IL adds somewhat to the appearance OF the
fTult, and IS more pleasing to the buyers.
Choice evaporated fruits if not sold to some
regular packer in bulk should always be packed
in boxes, and, with the exception OF apples for
which a 50-ponnd box should ,lwsys be used,
for all the baEnceI we recommend a % pound
box as being what is mostly called for by the
trade in general The fruit should run uniform
through Inc bONeS, ana nicely raced aId
papered on top so as 20 present an attractive
appearance when opened.
DRIED FIGS AND PRUNEs.
The California black fig is Increasing in favor
East, and we believe will eventually be found
very profitable crop TO raise.
AS Is very well KNOWN the output of many
kinds Of our dried fruits the past season were
seriously cuftailed for two reasons-hrst short
crop; and, second, the large shipments East in
a fresh state. While it is a little early for US as
yet to give accurate figures as to the output Of
all kinds, we place as an approximation the
product of French and German ptunes for 1856
at 2 600 coo pounds Of peaches, 600 pound;
of pit!ed puns. 500 600 pounds; of apricDts ali
kinds, 600,0O0 pounds; of eyaporated apples,
10000 pounds; and OF figs say 10000 pounds.
With good season it is altogether likely that
next year this quantity viii be trebled or quad
rupled. and no grower need have the slightest
fear bu1 what ready market viii be found for
every pound Of it and at ftill prices
CALIFORNIA RAIsINs
In approaching the subject Of California ra:-
sins il is withnoTe than ordinary pleasuie<ve
note the great increase in the product, the sp.
did Improvements in the style and method Of
packing. and, what is perhaps better than all,
the va,tly increased demand, which has amount
ed 70 almost furOTe, from Eastern markets for
the choice raisins that California has turned out
in the year 1896. Commencing in 1870 with