Aberdeen herald. [volume] (Aberdeen, Chehalis County, W.T.) 1886-1917, 1899-10-12
PRUNE DRYING.
why the California Product Brings .
Higher Price In the Markets
Of the East.

II. +. Miller, president of the Ore.
gon State Board OF Horticulture, in a
recent paper, makes many valuable
suggestions to the fruit growers OF the
Northwest. Mr.. Miller says:
The prune growers of Oregon often
wonder why their French prunes do not
command as good price rs the Cali
fornia product. An examination of
the ordinary methods Of curing of the
average Oregon prune grower explains
much of the cause of this difference
in value.
have just returned from careful
investigation of number of prune
dryers, and found much carelessness
and slovenliness. In the first place,
they pick everything from the ground
that they find there at the first pick
ing. Some are half rotten, some half
dried, some sunburnt, and almost all
immature or defective. Those are dried
and go into the bins with the general
crop. Then again strong man goes
over the orchard, shaking the trees as
hard rs he can, bringing off the prunes
in every stage of ripeness, many OF
them altogether too green to make
good product. A dish of these prunes
will have about as many different
tastes or flavors as there are prunes.
and none of them will be truly first.
class.
Many of these dryers are operated
in the most careless manner, without
thermometer to indicate the tempera-
ture, and as a result, no two lots are
cured equally; and SO in the drying, as
we'll rs in the methods of gathering,
many varieties of flavor are developed.
After being cured they are often
dumped into coal oil cases, dirty pick
ing boxes, and finally bring up in a
dirty barn for storage. The dirt and
filth about some of these dryers is in.
tensely disgusting.
Good fruit, clean and pleasant to the
taste, and uniform in flavor and quail
ity, cannot be produced by such methods
and will not command q good price in
the market, and until better, cleaner
and more systematic work is done in
the gathering, drying and packing of
our prunes, we will be far behind the
California price.
In the first place, the sunburnt, i'm.
mature and partially decayed fruit
should not be dried. The trees should
not he shaken, but the fruit should
ripen on the tree and be allowed to
drop, and in this way you will secure
uniformity Of ripeness. A careful
uniformity of temperature for drying
should be maintained, and the fruit re-
moved when it reaches q fixed stand
ard.
Prune buyers should examine the
quality of fruit much more carefully
than they do, and by variation in prices
reward the careful and conscientious
producer for his good work. So far the
buyers have offered SO much for dried
prunes, regardless of their real quail
ties. Associations for elevation of the
standard of the quality will do much
good. realize that many of the
fruitgrowers are doing good, conscien.
tious work, and are turning out first
class product; but l have been sur
prised at the extent of careless methods
in gathering, drying and caring for the
prune, and desire to urge upon all the
utmost care in every detail of produc-
ton OF the prune.
Big Wool Sale.
The sale by Robert Noble, the Idaho
sheep king, of 100000 pounds of
wool from Mountain Home, Idaho, rep
resents the largest amount OF wool ever
sold at one time by an individual
grower. 1t represents the clips of
1897, 1898 and 1899. The wool was
sold to A. Schott & Co., OF st. Louis.
The price to be paid for the wool is
stated to be $l5O,OOO. The money
will be paid in few days and the wool
will be started to St. Louis as soon as
possible. 1t will require so cars to
move it. Mr.. Mobiles clip next year
will amount to 100000 pounds.
Plant to he Sold.
The Western Machinery Company's
plant at Tacoma, WASH, will be sold
by Receiver Bryan. J. II. Hardy, OF
Chester, Conn.,, is the highest bidder,
he having offered $1,000 for the plant,
and unless a higher bidder steps in in
few days, the court will accept the