Every evening, Wilmington daily commercial., 1921-03-21

ment the 1920 prune crop in the four
great prune-producing states fell of
more than 20 per cent California in
1919 produced 100000 600 pounds Of
prunes. but in 1920 only lS0.oo0.0o0
pounds.
A prune is merely a plum having
certain qualities not possessed by other
plums All prunes are plums, but not
all plums are prunes
This close connection between the
prunc and plum has been the means
hy which some prune growers have
overcome the popular prejudice against
thu product. 4 prune in its fresh state
is sold 4 plum.
The growers and dealers realized
thar a sign announcing fresh prunes
for sale" would only arouse mirth. and
50 SOLD them under the general family
name As plums the pruncs have been
enormously popular. the housckeeper
as a rule preferriug them for preserves
and marmaladcs to other pluns Nil
lions of Americans have eaten pruucs
disguised as plums and enjoyed tacm
And these same people would have
scoffcd at the idea OF eating and er5ioy-
inE i prunc
Few housewives really know how to
ter reason as one of the causes Of the
uupopularty OF the prunc is advanced
u, AIr Gould. Housewives MIR. Gould
believes. are as rule too much in a
hurry to cook the prune as il should be
cooked I'd bring out its finest flavor.
They forget he saws. that before
tho prunc can be really appreciated II
must be restored 10 its original state
lGump. Juicy. and tempting. IN drying
the moisture from the prune is entirely
removed In cooking il should be RE-
stored. Before cooking, in fact. pruncs
should be permitted TO absorb as much
water as they VIII hold.
Niuc-trrth> ot the pruncs produced in
thr United states are marketed dried.
Pruuts intended for drying are allowed
Ia become fully ripe and to drop from
thu trees. As trec-rippencd fruit is
considerably richer III sugar than that
obtained by shaking The tree and
gathering before ready 10 fall. II may
! lie seen that the prune-dried contains
/ all the lusciousness Of fruit plucked
/ fresh Pumped out" again with soak
ms in water the fruit regains its
| original virtues unimpaired.
| Where Prunes Grow.
| Practically the entire crop Of the
/ United States is grown in four western
! states-Calfornia. Oregon. Idaho and
/ Washington. To California belongs the
/ honor OF having introduced the produc-
/ tion Of the prune III this country Fore
seeing the possibilities of the fruit. en-
ergetc growers OF that state imported
/ the finest trees. engaged the most expert
! horticulturlsts and started in 10 show
| the people Of the United States what a
real prune looked and tasted like
The prune lovers point 70 the fac;
thai the prune prejudice exists only
III The United States. Canada may have
/ been in0cuIated slightly, but her in
crcasingly insisleut demand for pTunes
from the United States indicates that
she has received. The Dominion govern
ment recently TOOK of the import duty
| on dried prunes and the big western
growers Immediately grasped the oppor-
| tunity offered to dispose Of their crops
to friendly hands and sent agents over
| the line TO take orders.
Nor is the market for the Yankee
prune grower limited 10 Canada and tbs
/ United States. England. Belgium, anC
Germany, the growers declare, arr
hungry for the American prune. and fires
from prejudice against prunes OF any
! kind. The prune lovers OF the United
States are being threatened with prun'
starvation and the threat is bringing
them out into the open; shameless
determined fight TO the last ditch fol
prunes.
Last year the price Of prunes wen
skyrocketing at the whisper that there
would be a shortage. And yet the croI
Of 1919 was nearly a million pound
heavier than that OF 1920. The pr1nI
fends are afraid. Frunes az frty cent
a pound are not an impossibility
Prejudice. enlarged market increaset
cost Of labor. transporta Lion-an the!
feel. are conspir1ng TO deprive them o
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