Santa Fe new Mexican. [volume] (Santa Fe, N.M.) 1898-1951, 1898-09-07
The E%YAPORATOR.
A New and Valuable Local Industry Start
ed in Successful Operation.

The cvaporating plant of the Santa
Fc Fruit company was started yes
terday at the new factory near the
Santa Fe depot, and at the present time
of writing, indications point to a salts
factory and successful operation.
The need of such an industry has long
been felt in this section, which has be-
come so noted as n fruit producing
country, As the output has increased,
it has become more evident that some
thing ought to be done'to save such of the
fruit crop as can not be marketed or 9th
erwise properly cared for. Las Cruces
sensed the situation there, and started u
successful canning factory; and pre-
serving establishments are being or
ganized in several other parts of the
territory. So live business men in San
ia Fe have i~naugurated a fruit evapor-
ating establishment, and when this has
been fully developed, a cider plant and
later a canning department will be
added.
A NEW MEXICAN reporter looked over
the new factory yesterday. AS yet,
only the evaporation is in operation, and
patches of apples, nectarines and
peaches are being dried, and several
lots are being exhibited at the
horticultural fair. The main apparatus
consists of a drying tower in which
trays of fruit are kept in motion until
dried by heat from below. The tower
of the Santa Fe plant is of wood s
feet 10 inches by 6 feet 6 inches, and
80 feet high. An endless chain on
each side carries iron buckets from
the bottom to the top of the tower and
down again, and there is a furnace sunk
in the ground beneath the tower which
supplies the heat, the drying agent.
There are IS brackets each carrying five
1sx46 inch trays, of heavy wire netting,
so that the towers capacity is 90 trays.
The mechanism is kept In motion by
a hand wheel in the outside; but bye and
bye power can be substituted as desired.
The tower will hold 1870 bushels of apples
and 800 baskets of peaches, and other
fruits in proportion and the time set
for eyaporating is three hours. A barrel
Of burning sulphur Mt the base OF the
tower preserves the color of the fruit.
The furnace consumes three quarters of
a ton of coal per day. The apples are
pared and cored by a machine which
will handle SO bushels per day, and
slice the fruit also ii desired. The work
is in charge of Superintendent F. j..
Gleason, of Ovid, Mich, who was brought
here by the fruit company to superin-
tend the home factory Mr.. Gleason is
an experienced man and will make use
here OF the many economic and valuable
methods OF work developed by long
continued operation in the state Of
Michigan. He evidently knows his
business and is pushing things along as
fast as he can. Connected with the
evaporating apparatus Is o warehouse
3sx76 IT and IL It in the clear of CORFU
gated iron walls and root. This is now
being completed. The present value OF
the building is VI, 900 and the machin.
cry 81, 1000, which will be Of course in
creased as time goes on.
The need of additional plant to use up
the bi.products of the evaporator was
evidenced today by the accommodating
pile of apple cores and parings. These
could with profit be made up into good
cider; and as has been intimated in this
article, such a.plant will be forthcoming
ere long to take care of this part Of the
business. The parties engagaged In
pushing this fruit scheme are all progress
sive, substantial citizens. The officers
Of the company are, president, DR.. w.
s, Harroun; treasurer, S. G. Cartwright;
secretary, j. D. Sena; other directors,
Captain Day, Ex-Governor Prince. Mrs.
Rlvenburg and Mrs. Gable.