Los Angeles herald., 1891-12-20
Drying Raisins by the Use of
Vacuum Process.
Satisfactory Profit in the Rails
ing Of Prunes.
The Olive Crop the Largest Grown
in the State.
The Best Trees to Plant for shad-
ing the Streets-How Starch
Is Manufac tured- Pro-
life Orange Trees.

oAO LIVE AhsOiOo CdA AdSGOiy
to us a plan for drying raisins by
the use of vacuum process. Mr..
Stombs proposes to place the fruit in an
air-tight tank, and by injecting guam
tity of dry steam to drive out the air, he
can produce strong vacuum, and as all
moisture evaporates rapidly under vac
uum, he claims by condensing the vapor
as fast as it is produced, he can continue
the action of the vacuum on the fruit
until all moisture is extracted, or un-
til it is in a proper condition (dried) to
preserve the fruit. He claims the
work can be done very expeditiously,
and where it now takes from ten to
fifteen days to cure raisins under the
best conditions of the weather. and at :
tended the same time with large ex-
pense of labor, he claims that he can ac-
complish the same end in from five to
eight hours, at minimum cost of Ia
Dor, and will dry all alike. While dry
ing in the sun raisins are apt to become
too much dried on one side and not
enough on the other. He claims that
the raisins when dried by vacuum, at
the completion of the work, are in the
same condition as they are after going
through the sweating process, as now
practiced.
PROFIT IN PRUNEs.
We clip the following article regard
ing prune culture from the California
Fruit Grower, because of it's conserva-
tiveness. 1t puts the expenses high and
does not exaggerate the proceeds:
One mile east of Santa Rosa, Sonoma
county, there is an eight-acre prune
orchard owned by Mrs. A. Fox. Post
master Farmer of Santa Rosa has charge
of the orchard, and has thus figured out
the cost and profit for the Republican: {:
The amount paid out for pruning and
clearing away brush was $1O6.76; for
spraying, $6l .95; for blowing and culti-
waiting three times, $34 for cultivating
six times, $50: for hoeing around the
trees, $19.25; for raking around the
trees, SLIPS; total, $263.20; less $40,
deducted for work done on peach and
pear trees, leaving the labor of produc-
ing the prunes at $253 20. To gather
and deliver the prunes cost $288 80,
which made the total cost OF
producing and marketing $541.70.
On the eight acres there were pro-
duced 13l, 1888 pounds of prunes, which
were sold at $50 per ton, or $1979.85
The net profit on the crop was the diff
ference between the cost OF production
and marketing and price received, or
$14SS.15. Every bit of labor was paid
for and all of the cost of raising, except
the replanting of a few trees, which
were put in last year, is included in the
statement.-[Orange Belt.
THE NEW OLIVE CROP.
The olive crop that is being gathered
in Southern California this month is re-
ported from all localities to be the
largest ever grown in this state. The
yield is variously estimated to be from
one quarter to one-half greater than
that OF last year. There are many new
olive orchards in this valley that never
bore before, and are now we'll loaded
with the fruit. The work of picking
the olives is going on in many places,
and there is prospect that two mills,
for the production of olive oil, will be
set up in Pomona at an early day.
The large crop of olives, and the good
prices that are paid for cured olives or
the oil, and especially the enormous de-
mand there is for both the fruit and the
oil will act much as an impetus in the
planting of new olive orchards during
the next few months. In some places
here we have seen trees, 10 years old,
that are bearing from fifteen to twenty
gallons of olives. These, when picked
or cured, always have lively sale at
80 cents gallon, and sometimes at 81.
Good olive oil has not brought less than
$S gallon in years, sometimes it goes
to SIS. There is produced annually in
the United States less than 100000
worth Of olive oil, while the total imports
of the oil during the past year have been
$500, 1000. California is the only state
that produces olives in the union. Ia it
any wonder that Ellwood Cooper, the
greatest olive grower in America, says
be has calls for twenty times as much as
oil as he can make and sell?-(Pomona
Progress.
STREET SHADE TREES.
notice occasional articles on planting
various street shade trees, and wish to
give my opinion of the best trees to
plant, writes @. B. Hewitt OF Pasadena,
in the South Riverside Bee. Why plant
a pepper, gravilla or any other tree that
bears no fruit, when there are so many
fine fruit shade trees that are both orna-
mental and profitable. For example, /
have seen in Florida, the grape fruit or
pumalo tree used for shade, and finer
or more profitable shade tree is not
known, either to plant near the house
or along the outside of the walk. They
grow tall and spread out 80 that they
touch each other at twenty-five feet etapart
in less than eight years, and the fruit
mostly hangs 40 high that passers by can
only take q few from the lower limbs,
and the balance will bring the owner Of
the property along which they are plant
ed more clear money than four times the
same number of orange trees, and even a
greater proportion than that as they get
older. The fruit brings from "a to ~
per barrel in the eastern markets and
ninety Of the ordinary fruit will fill Q
| barrel. saw one tree that over 5000 oi
the fruit were picked from last year, and
sold at lump sale for $3.50. But thai
! tree was "a years old and over forty feeI