Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1901-07-22
RAISING FRUIT.
10" IL IS Prepared for the Eastern
Market in California.

HIdHtIScO, IN the OFcndIu
aistrlet ABOUT Haywards. are exempli-
neo the methods OF preparing various
iiults ior markets thousands Of miles
away. Al Haywards may be seen dur
ing the summer months acres of fruit
pelng canned under the spacious roofs
that shelter hundreds of women, girls
and men.
On opposite edges of the little town
are typical fruit dryer and fruit
cannery. For long hours every day in
the summer hundreds Of persons find
employment in converting the freshly
plucked fruit of the surrounding Or
chards into the marketable form in
which 1t is to be transported i'm ship
loads to European purchasers of Cali
fornia fruits
At the uit-drying concern. type
of many small ones in that orchard
valley about 2GO persons are at work
Possibly 100 Of them are women and
girls. 80 boys. 80 Caucasian men and 20
Japanese. There are no Chinese. and
some Of the boys and girls are little
tots. The pay Of all the cutters is 8
and 10 cents a box for cutting open
and pitting apricots. A tot can cut
II a
expert can do as many as % boxes.
As these boxes contain about 20 pounds
OF fruit. or something like 900 apricots.
it viii be understood that the cutter
must hustle to open and pit and spread
on trays total of more than 5000
apricots.
Orchards surround this particular
dryer. The ground under the trees has
been smGothed by clod roller. Men
gently jar the trees and then pick w
the ripe apricots from the soft earth.
putting them into boxes. These boxes
are piled on open light wagons, which
patrol up and down the rows. while
wagon loads are hurried over to the
dryer. stopped before an elevated porch
ana transferred to scales. A clerk
weighs and receipts for the consign-
ment. then the boxes are passed out a
side door. loaded on small cars and
trundled along to the awning sheltered
oren air cutting tables. at which sit
rows Of women. girls. boys and men.
operating with a short wooden handled
knife. each operator having drying
tray on the table upon which to put
the cut fruit. cut side up AS each box
is finished the cutter hurries with it to
the clerk and is credited with punch
in the record card. Other men work
the little car up and down between the
aisles of tables and load it high with
the shallow trays of cut fruit.
Then they shove The load down. whirl
il around. open a door ana wheel il
gently into one of n row OF dark
closets. from the cracks OF which issue
pale clouds of yellow smoke. These
stuffy closets are the sulphur houses.
in which the freshly cut fruit remains
for one. two sometimes three hours
The fumes from five pounds of pure
California sulphus. burned in holes in
the earth floor. viii bleach ton Of
fruit and give it that pale. yelloWish or
reddish tone preferred by buyers.
Without the sulphur. most fruit turns
dark brown or mahogany as it dries
From the sulphuring process the tray
load is drawn out and trundled along
little car tracks into the adjacent dry
Ing field. some three acres being de-
voted to drying grounds.
For three. -four or five days the fruit
remains in the shallow trays shrivel-
ing under the suns rays the moisture
1T night preventing it from hardening
to the tenacity of sole leather The pro-
cess goes gradually on until the cure is
perfect. once during the interval the
fruit is scraped loose from the travs
and turned over tn prevent the honeyed
juices from glueing the fruit to the
smooth. thin board bottoms The next
step is the collection of the trays. the
fruit being put in clean white sacks.
From this particular dryer the sacks
arc shipped Immediately to packing
concern in San Jose, where the dried
fruit is assorted for size and boxed.
III" whole process from orchard to
freight car for shipment to Europe re-
quircs but 10 days
Apricot trees begin to bear at about
years Of age. and continue no one knows
how long. provided good care he taken
81 them. proper pruning and trimming
pong PEN i, mecessary: The apricot is a its
ranch, near the town of Winters. are
three apricot trees believed Ia he To-
years OF age. They measure nearly two
feet in diameter near the ground ana
ar" sun good producers. Hut most of
The california apricot orchards are from
10 to II years old In good season
apricot trees will produce 81 tons. or S52j
worth of fruit. to the acre.
The big fruit cannery at Havwards is
a picturesqu. colony of 500 women and
r"""t H"1 men There is not
Chinese in or about the institution.
.taIt comes To the cannery N
orchards. II is weighed III boxes.
dumped out. assorted for size ana Az
nearancc, rrboNed. and trundlod in To
the rows and rows of seated cutters. 1t
is cit open and peeled by hand and nut
in pans in front of the operator The
filled pans are gathered up by men ana
taken over to the middle of the great
farnl:kc room. There il is dumped by
the packers into wooden troughs in
tables at which they work. these shall
= '"N''~"~ he're flooded with fresh
running water to cleanse the pieces.
From this floating supply the girls
take pieces with deXtrous rapidly and
ordinary cans is filed until ii weighs
iuny u ounces on the scales standing
before each girl. Then it is quickly
stamped with a rubber type dangling
- - q 81 - and is nlaced on a
tray on rack above the table Men
uL,iatIHs small cars gather Up these
,ays OF FLIED cans. taking them to the
farther end of the great room. There
the cans in groups of q dozen are placed
iii Il metallic SQUARE frame and shovel
nder Il machine that sends warm.
water-c'ear sugar syrup into each until
it is fun. me liquid completes the
standard weight. Tops are then adjust
brand and grade; clerk repeats, and
records it.
Then, through a low doorway. the
cans are showed on cars to the soldering
room. where Il group of men with plumb
,rs' irons and small blast furnaces, run
he groove flush with solder in twink
ling and pass the groups of cans on to
I bs mon W IN Si,,o them into the cooking