Los Angeles herald., 1892-02-21
THE RANCHES.
Typical Facts About South
ern California Farms.
A Valuable Paper on the Cur
ing of Figs.
The Value of the Best Methods oil
Packing Oranges.
Big Profits Derived From Prune Gull
ture-The italian Method of
Keeping Oranges-Beets
for Cattle.

When raisins and prunes were first
mape in California they were not equal
to the imported product, says @. P. Taft
in the Orange News. Now experiment
and experience have so perfected them
that they have almost entirely sup
planted foreign importations in the
United States.
California lemons have not been cured
satisfactorily until lately. Now no one
doubts that soon they will be equally as
successful.
There are the best 'of reasons for be-
lieving that what has been done with
raisins, prunes and lemons can also be
done with figs. A few years ago but few
were cured in sny but the crudest way.
Recently new varieties and new methods
of curing have been introduced, with
marked improvement of the product
Not that we have yet produced a fig
equal to the best imported. 1t could not
be expected that any degree Of enter
prise and ingenuity could in less than
half a decade equal the skill and expe-
rience of centuries. But enough has
right track. Each season makes an ad-
vance over the previous one, and better
figs were cured in California last year
than ever before.
1t is the object of this article to sum
up, in a measure, the experience ac-
quired as foundation for future grow
ers. The only varieties used for dry
ing, we'll known in this vicinity, are the
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Brown Turkey (Alias Brown Smyrna).
The White Adriatic is the best of these
and has been the most largely planted.
AS all of our orchards are young, they
caunot be expectee to produce as much
1t is probably the case with this fig, as
it is known to be with the foreign, that
the fruit improves with the age Of the
tree, and there is no necessity for dis
couragement if the figs from a young
orchard do not turn out all that we de
sire. These or any figs are ready for
picking when the skin is shriveled and
they hang down, and they should not be
picked for drying until such is the case.
After being picked one very good pro-
cess is to dip them in boiling salt and
water-be sure the water is boiling-for
expose TO the sun. This should be done
fore night. They will dry more rapidly
for being dipped. The heat to which
they are exposed must be as intense as
possible, and for this purpose some
method of refecting the heat on them
must be employed. Most seasons it will
probably be found necessary to supple
ment the heat of the sun by dryer at
night, for all experience 90 far goes to
show that if fig is cooled it is damaged.
After they are reduced in weight q
little less than half, they should be put
in the sweat box and stirred over twice
each week for several weeks. When
perfectly cured they will still be very
soft. Before packing they should be i'm
mersed for minute in boiling water
and then exposed to the sun for about
an hour to dry.
After packing they should be pressed
until the space occupied is reduced
third or more, then they should be left
undieturbed for several months, when, if
the preceding directions have been COM
piled with and the fig not allowed to
sour in any way, nature will complete
what has been we'll begun, and the pro-
cess of sugaring, 80 much desired in the
fig, will take place. Like the cured
lemon, the skin will grow much thinner,
and sugar like that which comes on
raisins and prunes, will completely cover
the surface. The characteristic favoris
developed, and then, and not till then,
is the fig ready to eat.
The White Smyrna does not turn out
SO we'll under the above process, but by
the use of sulphur, very fair fig may
be made. While drying it needs to be
worked with the fingers. The resulting
fig is very light in color, and translucent,
of remarkably thin skin, very sweet and
of a nutty flavor.
The brown Turkey has proved 80 far
to be the poorest for drying. There
seems to be, judging by some specimens,
certain latent possibilities, which, by
improved processes, may bring it to the
front. The skin is thick, but when prop
erly cured. becomes very tender, and
makes very delicious sweetmeat. 1t
sugars perhaps the best of any, but is
hard to cure and apt to sour. By the
aid of dryer this fig will probably be-
come very desirable and profitable.
The above observations are based on
the best specimens obtained, but there
is no reason why, if proper care is taken,
an experienced hand should not have
very large proportion of the very best.
There need be no Encouragement felt
by those who have planted, nor need
any hesitate to set out new orchards for
fear of not being able to dispose of the
product. We will soon understand the
art of curing satisfactorily, and as to
bearing, the statement seems to be well
founded, that old trees of the white Ad-
riatic variety have been known to bear
1900 pounds of dried figs in season.
At very low price such crop would
oe profitable, but first-class figs always
command high figure.
FANCY PACKING.
We know man who had a small
crop which he handled himself, from
picking to packing. He used choice
boxes, costing or cents more than
the common pine crate box. If box
was a little rusty or knotty he laid it
aside for his poorest fruit. For bis
fancy oranges he selected the smoothest
boxes. The result was shat all through
the glut his fruit sold at rs to so cents