New-York tribune., 1903-01-25
CALIFORNIA PRUNES.
NOW SHIPPED TO FRANCE
Great Production on Pacific Coast
4Supe7iogify of SIM Dried Fru1t.

California is now shipping to France the prune
which she first obtained from that country
Such a turn of the tables is regarded by Call
fornia horticulturists only another example
of the much bruited American invasion Cali
forna produced 15OOOO,OO0 pounds of prunes
in 1901 and the total yield of her trees for the
year just past exceeded this great crop oy
several thousand tons. If put into ten-toh
freight cars, the California prune crop of I9o2
would I'LL a train reaching from New-York 10
Buffalo.
The growth of the prune industry In the
Golden State has been from single tree, Wnicn
a Frenchman by the name of Peller pidh'ed
in 1870 At that time the prune crop VI
France led the world. 1t was soon found that
the prune, which is a species OF purple pluih
throve on the Pacific Coast, and that the not
dry summer weather of that country brought
out it's full saecharine qualities. The first Or
chard which planted in the Santa CARA
Valley, just south of San Francisco, which Is
now the prune producing centre of the State,
was laid out by Mr. Bradley. 1t was only ten
acres in extent and began to yield in 1870
In four years the trees produced S14OOO worth
| of fruit.
The stories told OF the fortunes to be rnaoe
in prunes brought in Eastern capitalists oy the
hundreds and thousands. Orchards were plant
ed as fast as the nurseries could produce the
would purchase large tracts OF land, run excur-
sion trains thither from a neighboring city and
auction off parcels to the accompaniment OF a
brass band. In those times, more money was
made and lost by sheer speculation thah Oy
the actual profits of industry. Orchards planted
on land worth $500 an were sold Tor SI'oVO
and 81 800 an acre. He indeed was an uniucky
man who could not make 100 per cent on his
investment in year.
The American prune has found its way the
more easily into European markets for the
reason that it is sweeter and pleasanter to the
taste than the fruit raised there. The Cali
fornia prune for example. is dried wholly out
Of DOORS for the long period of absolutely ram
less weather which prevails in California from
| July 1 to October 1 permits the drying trays
to remain out in the fields day and night Inc
French and other kinds of European prunes are
dried in kilns for fear of exposure to rain; and
| the artificial heat fails to bring out all the
rich sugar products Of the pulp
| Another reason for the invasion of the Amerl-
| can prune into the markets of the Old World Is
| it's lower price The California orchardist who
realized seven cents pound several years ago
contents himself with much less at the present
time but is still prosperous. Enormous crops
| have decreased the price of the product but at
! the same time they have stimulated human IN
yention to decrease the cost of handling to the
| minimum As little labor possible is called
| upon. The prunes are shaken from the tree
/ when ripe to blanket stretched beneath, and
| then rolled into a box On their arrival at the
| drying house. the prunes are dumped into the
! mouth of series of machines, which sort them
| according to size pass them through hot Iye
to slit their skins and thus expedite their dry
! Ing wash them thoroughly in water and then
spread them out broad wooden trays The
| trays are then carried out on cars and spread
| on the drying field. After three or four days
| exposure to the SUM- the prunes are packed in
| boxes for shipment East
| San Jose the county seat of Santa Clara
| County is the chief prune centre of California,
| and in it's mountain encirced valley there
3 567, 40 bearing prune trees. There besides
great orchards of apricot. cherry, peach and
olive trees so that in this one county there are
about 100000 fruit trees. Fruit raising is
ried there such a great scale that for
some orchards of prunes thirty acres are re-
quired in the busy season simply a drying
field for the fruit trays In the year which has
just closed the chief difficulty experienced by
the orchardists the lack OF labor to pick
and handle certain sorts of fruit. In Santa
Clara County alone at the height of the season
| the lack of LOCO more girls and women caused
many tons of fruit to go to waste
The completion of the t-anssthmian canal
is regarded by California Orchardists as open
ing a still broader road into European markets
BY this route fruit ships would be enabled to
reach transatlantic ports in about the same time
that is required to ship them by rail to
New York and thence by water. An all water
route would also greatly lessen the cost OF
transportation and enable California still fur
ther to underbd the foreigner in spite of the
pauper labor the latter employs in many parts
of the Old World. The canal would also permit
the landing of prunes and other dried fruit
products in this city and other Atlantic ports
at relatively lower rate to the Eastern con-
sumer we'll a larger profit TO the Cali
fornia orchardist. Belief that the canal will
be constructed under the administration of
President Roosevelt has already made itself
felt In the California fruit lands by the appear
of more and more Eastern capital