■ OF T^g COLLEGE OF AG&fOlimiW cop\ UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA AGRICULTURAL EXPERIMENT STATION, BERKELEY, CAL. E. W. HILGARD, Director* E. /. WICK SON, Acting Director. BULLETIN NO. 101 fURT}HEF? EX/VJVIIJMATIOJM Of GALIfORNIA PRUJMES, AfRICOTS, PLUJV1S /VND JMECTARIJMES. Note. — For the purposes of this discussion a distinction is made between plums and prunes, as is common in the horticultural literature of this State. By the term "prune" is singified a plum which dries successfully, without removal of the pit, and produces a sweet dried fruit, though in the confu- sion of our nomenclature, not even this broad classi- fication is faithfully followed. For example, we have the " Hungarian prune " as a local traditional name for Pond's Seedling plum, which has no value as a prune; and we have also Coe's Golden Drop plum which does answer the requirements for a dried prune, and in that form is marketed as a prune, and sometimes given fancy names by pack- ers. We do not, however, in this publication, at- tempt to correct the classification, but follow the popular arrangement. The order of enumeration of fruits in the head line above, and in the tabular statements which follow, is based upon the relative commercial im- portance of the fruits in this State. An arrangement of the chief table of analyses is also made to bring into juxtaposition the varieties from adjacent regions of the State that effects of local climates and soils upon the same variety may be disclosed if such exist. As this is only the beginning of such investigation, the results in this regard should be looked ♦Absent on leave, 12 mos., from June 15, 1892. upon as tentative. Many more analyses are required to demonstrate constant differences of this nature, and we invite the sending of representative samples of named varieties from all parts of the State. It is well to send about ten pounds of each variety, each specimen being wrapped to prevent bruising. Such samples may be sent by express at our expense. Each shipment should be accompanied by a letter giving name of varfety, age of tree and stock upon which it is budded or grafted, location of orchard, and name of grower ; also notes of culture, irriga- tion, etc. Address such shipments to " Agricultural Experiment Station, University of California, Berke- ley, Calif." This bulletin is a continuation of the work re- ported in Bulletin 97 of this Station, and in some paragraphs the text is reproduced, only changing figures to include the results of a greater number of analyses. It is perhaps only fair to Mr. Colby to state that the analyses of the fruit grown in 1892 are his personal work, and have been made without assistance. E. J. Wickson. The subjects discussed in this paper are summarily set forth in the following quota- tion from Bulletin 93 of this department : "The purpose of this work is to show compre- hensively the proximate and ash composition of the leading varieties of fruit as grown in the princi- No. 34 (unirrigated). Condition only fair, pal fruit regions; and inferential^, the influence fruit being slightly shriveled; flesh not as exercised upon them by the prominent conditions of firm ag thgt of Nq sjze , tag ^ soil, climate, fertilizers, etc. The physical data __ , . . . ^ , x _ ... , * •. a u . \ t • . . sweet. No. 35 (winter irrigated). Condition (proportion of pits to flesh, etc.,) are of interest . from a commercial standpoint, as showing what is S ood » fruit full > well-rounded and firm- being purchased as to available and waste material, fleshed; oversized, flesh tender and more etc. juicy than that of No. 34. No. 36 (irrigated "The consumer, though usually considering fruit j n June). Condition fair, fruit slightly shriv- as a luxury, would derive much valuable knowledge ded and yery ripe> nQt as large as either Nq from studying the fruits in their relative values as „ , ... ^ _, . , ^- lt _ * * rJ. . ,. , • „ 34 or 35; flesh, like that of No. 34, rather foods. The nourishing portions, shown especially ^ UJ ' ■'T' by the nitrogenous and saccharine contents, vary coarse-textured and not as juicy or tender as greatly with the variety and conditions of growth, that of No. 35. It is not, then, a matter of indifference to the con- F. M. Righter, vice president of the Camp- sumer what fruit he uses, but an important question bell Fruit Growers' Union, writes: " There of domestic economy. j s a great var j et y of soil in this valley; it is "The ash ingredients, together with the nitrogen generally a grave lly loam-a sediment de- contents of the standard varieties, are of high interest . , . ., _ „ . , .7 ., . t . e .. • . .. posited by the Los Gatos creek — and upon in connection with vital question of sou exhaustion r m ' r and fertilization. The soil ingredients extracted by this the prunes were grown. This soil is an ordinary crop are a serious drain upon the sup- very porous, trees cannot be injured by water porting soil, and the lines of heaviest draft can only during winter — have had several feet of become known by the actual determination of the water around some of my trees as late as constitutents withdrawn." j une without injuring them. The soil varies Description of Prunes, Apricots and in depth from 10 to 18 feet, in some places Plums Received in 1892. the soil t0 the depth of four or five feet is (For a description of these fruits received very sandy, below that there is more clay." and analyzed in 1891 see bulletin No. 97, of Nos. 40 and 41 French, Ventura, Ven- this station.) tura Co. — J. W. Anderson, grower; samples prunes. received Sept. 5, 1892. No. 40 "large" is No. 31, French, Auburn, Placer Co.— usual in size ; flesh, firm, rather juicy and Young Bros., growers; sample received Oct. sweet tasted. No. 41 "small," undersized, 7,1892; condition good; size, large; taste, large-pitted fruit. "These prunes are from a very sweet; flesh firm and juicy. "The soil mountain-valley orchard 2>£ miles from sea, is red slate, well drained with southern ex- elevation 700 feet, with mountains 2000 feet posure; very little irrigation used." high between the valley and ocean. The No. 32, French, Newcastle, Placer Co.— larger (No. 40) was raised on sandy soil ; E. B. Silva, grower; sample received Sept. the smaller (No. 41) ones on heavier soil." 23, 1892; condition somewhat poor — fruit a No. 42, French, Pomona, Los Angeles Co. little shriveled and very ripe; size, small; —P. M. Doyle, grower, sample received flesh rather juicy and very sweet. Sept. 6, 1892. Condition, good ; size, usual; No. 33, French, Yuba City, Sutter Co.— fruit, hard and juicy, but not very sweet. R. C. Kells, grower; sample received Sept. Mr. John S. Calkins, who procured this 27, 1892; condition fair, but very ripe. "The sample for the Station, writes: "These soil is a sandy loam with a dark clay sub- prunes are from an orchard 7 years old, soil — top soil being of a dark gray or light growing on sandy loam soil, \\ miles north- brown color; ranch lays about three-quarters east of Pomona, on the Kingsley tract, of a mile from west bank of the Feather Trees bore good crop last year, also being river, drainage good. Trees eight years very full this year." old on peach root." No. 44, French, Chino, San Bernardino Nos. 34, 35 and 36, French, Campbell, Co. — J. W. Lawson, grower; samples re- Santa Clara Co.— Campbell Fruit-Growers' ceived Sept. 20, 1892. Conditions, good; Union, growers. Samples Nos. 34 and 35 flesh, tender and juicy. "Soil, sandy loam; received Sept. 1, '92; No. 36, Sept. 21, '92. elevation, 300-400 feet; orchard situated 2 miles due north of Chino Exp't. Station. Trees, 5 years old; irrigation resorted to once each month during dry season. Ground has been fertilized but once and then stable- manure only was used." No. 37, Robe de Sergent, San Jose, Santa Clara Co. — John Rock, grower; sample re- ceived Aug. 25, 1892. Condition, good ; fully ripe and more juicy than that of No. 5; flesh, tender and sweeter than the previous year's sample. No. 38, Fellenberg, San Jose, Santa Clara Co.— John Rock, grower; sample re- ceived Aug. 25, 1892. Condition, good; fully ripe; flesh, hard and juicy, only mod- erately sweet. No. 39, Bulgarian, San Jose, Santa Clara Co. — John Rock, grower; sample received Sept. 30, 1892. Condition, rather poor, over-ripe and shriveled; examined for the sake of comparing sugar contents with that of No. 8, the same variety of crop of 1891. Of these samples Nos. 37, 38, 39, Mr. Rock says^ "Last season (1 891) they were all overbearing and lacked flavor, this year (1892) the crop is light and the fruit better. The land on which the prunes were grown is a sandy alluvial soil, made by deposits from Coyote Creek. These deposits are from four to six feet deep, under which lays a statum of three to four feet of loam, under this a sandy layer lighter than the surface soil. During the summer the ground water is from fourteen to eighteen feet below the surface." PLUMS. * No. 45, Coe's Golden Drop, Auburn, Placer Co. — Young Bros., growers; sample received Oct. 7, 1892; condition good — sample somewhat larger than that from Marysville (No. 46); flesh firm and not as juicy as the French prunes. No. 46, Coe's Golden Drop, Marysville, Yuba Co. — Dr. S. Jewett, grower; sample received Aug. 30, 1892; condition excellent; flesh firm and juicy. No. 47, Yellow Egg, Marysville, Yuba Co. — Dr. S. Jewett, grower; sample received Aug. 30, 1892; condition very good; flesh firm and more juicy than that of the other plums. Both No. 46 and 47 were from trees six years old grown on heavy sandy loam soil with clay sub-soil. APRICOTS. No. 25, Royal, Concord, Contra Costa Co. — J. T. Sutton, grower; sample received Aug. 1, 1892; condition good; sample fully ripe and very large, from young trees three years old. No. 26, Royal Oleander, Fresno Co. — J. H. Harding, grower; sample received June 24, 1892; condition excellent; undersized; flesh quite juicy, but not very sweet; flavor peachy. "This year my trees are so heavily loaded that the fruit is very small, the trees have not had any irrigation for two years; age of trees nine years, have made only medium growth and have borne very heavily for five years. Soil sandy, slightly tending to white ash, sub-water level ten feet below surface." No. 27, Royal, Santa Maria, San Luis Obispo Co. — L. E. Blochman, grower; sample received Aug. 10, 1892; condition good, quite ripe, color high; usual size; flesh firm and rather juicy. No. 28, Royal, North Pomona, Los Angeles Co. — Mrs. J. L. Loomis, grower; sample received July 2, 1892; condition ex- cellent; fruit fully ripe and quite large; flesh tender and very juicy. Mr. J. S. Calkins, who obtained the samples for the Station, writes: "Trees seven years old, in gravelly loam soil, irrigated once this year. The location is about three miles sotuh of the foothills of the Sierra Madre mountains." No. 29, Hemskirk, Oleander, Fresno Co. — A. Allision, grower; sample received June 25, 1892; condition good; flesh firm and juicy. "Trees nine years old, heavy regu- lar bearers, soil white ash, water level seven and a half feet below surface." No. 30, Moorpark, Oleander, Fresno Co. — J. H. Harding, grower; sample re- ceived, June 25, 1892; condition very good; color light. "Soil sandy; trees nine years old and unirrigated; water level, ten feet." NECTARINE. No. 48, " The New White," Yuba City, Sutter Co. — H. P. Stabler, grower; sample re- ceived, Sept. 1, 1892; condition excellent; a very large-sized light-colored fruit, very smaller difference than is found in the prunes juicy and pleasantly tart to taste; flesh very or plums, viz., 3.8 per cent for prunes and delicate. 2.7 for plums as against 1.8 for apricots. Discussion of Results of Analyses. The avera S e P h contents is 6.2 per cent; _ , e the flesh, then, is 15 times more in amount The table given below shows the results of . „ ,, . . . . .-. ,*?.,, „ , than pits. Here, again, there is but a trifling the analytical work for the seasons 1891 and , \ ' ? \ . . , , J , n y advantage in choice of varieties, so far as 1892, that of 1892 covering a greater area ., . ,, t a . , . . * ' , y , , ~ & , . , , , the proportion "between flesh and pit is con- of the State than that of 1891, which dealt r , r . , „ ^, ,; , • o , cerned. mostly with Santa Clara valley fruits. Sub- _ . . , t £ . ' ,. . . , . , , . • . , For equal weights of prunes and apricots, division A gives the physical and genera , / , . ? , r . ■ , ■ T 1 . - . * whole fresh fruit, the consumer receives proximate analyses, and under this head we . . t „ , .... f , , _ ' .. , . nearly the same amount of flesh or available have added to that of the previous season , , . . . , , . . matter; but the apricots being about 2.7 the separation of the pit into its component . .. 5 r , „ , , , , , times larger than the prunes, we have, on parts — shells and kernels — and reported up- . r , , , r r the average, 7.5 apricots as against 20.3 on the nitrogen contents of these separate , . , „,, . „'.,... „ . , , , prunes per pound avoirdupois. This same parts. Subdivision B gives the results of j. fl r . 1! » 4 . 1 , , _ . j . , . ... difference seems to exist between the plums the complete analysis of the ash, in which , we have considerably extended the work, as ., E „ , an ana , , these {ruits compared w,th that of 1891, to northern and fi which do not differ materia „ v from southern California fruits. ... t . . , . ., , . , , t . T , , , , , . , those furnished m the above table; the In the following discussion of the chief •*.#■- , , , , , . ,, average pit percentages for prunes is 5.4, points illustrated by the tables, we shall use c . „ m .- . . . , , . . . r , , ^ .. . r for apricots 5.3, the weights for whole fruits such parts of Bulletin 97 as answer for com- t , . . kU . t . , „ . r / ' , . not being given in the analyses at hand." parison, etc., without further reference to it. r~* t , , , „ r ' ' The proportion, on the average, of shells Proportions of Pits to Flesh. t o kernels in the pits of the prunes and apri Prunes. — The range in the percentages of cots examined seems to be very constant pits is from 3.7, in Hungarian, No. 7, to 7.5 and nearly the same for both fruits, or about in Robe de Sergent, No. 5; 5.8 per cent as 3 to 1. The kernels of all these fruits representing the general averages for both were full and well developed; the largest the French (No. 49) and all prunes (No. 50). pits, however, do not show, for either of (No. 39, Bulgarian, with 9.2 per cent pits, these fruits, correspondingly heavy kernels, by reason of its over-ripeness, is not in- Proportion of Juice to Flesh, eluded in the above statement.) The later Prunes and Plums. — The French prune work then verifies our previous conclusion on the average shows the largest proportion that these fruits contain about 17 times as of free juice, 4.3 per cent more than the much flesh as pits. average for all the prunes, namely, 8^ per Plums. — In these the range in the percent- cent, or about four- fifths of the flesh. No. ages of pits, somewhat less than that for prunes, 7, Hungarian, while the largest of the prunes is from 3.4 per cent in Coe's Golden Drop, has 13 per cent less juice than the average No. 45, to 6.1 per cent in Yellow Egg, No. French prune, i. e., 70 as against 83 per 47, the average being 4. 8 per cent, leaving cent. The plums , although not as large as nearly 20 times as much flesh as pits. the Hungarian prune, are, on an average, The consumer thus finds that the plums about 5 per cent higher in juice, a figure possess a small advantage over the prunes, which nearly expresses the difference be- and the prunes, on the whole, amongst tween the French prunes and the plums, themselves, no appreciable advantage in Three-fourths of the flesh of the plum, aver- regard to the proportion of pits to flesh. age, is juice, thus showing the prune-flesh Apricots. — For the fully-ripe and largely- one-twentieth more juicy than than that of grown varieties from all localities the varia- of the plum. tion of pit percentages is from 5.3 (Moor- Apricots. — The proportion of juice to park, No. 30) to 7.1 (Royal, No. 26), a flesh is nearly the same for all the samples, an-aitsts OF CALIFORNIA FIVCnSTES, APRICOTS AISTD Fl/CXXrfIS, ..-PROXIMATE ANALYSES. CROPS OF XSei A3&TJD 1892. PRUNES. Northern California. French French French Central California. Prune d Agen* Prune d'Agen* Frenoh". Frenoh (Winter Irrigated). . French (Irrigated in JuLe).. Wangenheim* Robe de Sergent* Robe de Sergent* Fellenberg*., Fellenberg Hungarian* Bulgarian* Bulgarian Datte d'Hongrie* St Catherine* Southern California. French ("large" ) Frenoh ( " small " ) Frenoh Same as 42, after keeping three weeks Frenoh Averages— FreDCta Prunes (13). Averages— All Prunes (23) PLUMS. Coe's Oolden Drop Ooe's Golden Drop Yellow Egg Averages of Pluma(3) APRICOTS. Central California. Royal Royal* Hemsklrk* Blenheim* Peach* Moorpark* Southern California. Royal Royal Rojal Hemsklrk Moorpai k Averages— Apr'cotn (11) NECTARINE. "The New White" Production. Auburn. Placer Co Newcastle, Placer Co Yuba City, Sutter Co Mt. View, Santa Clara Co . . Niles, Alameda Co San Jose, Santa Clara Co.. Campbell, Santa Clara Co.. Campbell, Santa Clara Co. . Campbell, Santa Clara Co. . San Jose, Santa Clara Co.. San Jose, Santa Clara Co.. San Jose, Santa Clara Co.. San Jose, Santa Clara Co . San Jose, Santa Clara Co. San Jose, Santa Clara Co.. San Jose, Santa Clara Co.. San Jose, Santa Clara Co. . San Jose, Santa Clara Co.. Ban Jose, Santa Clara Co.. San Jose, Santa Clara Co . . Ventura, Ventura Co Ventura, Ventura Co Pomona, Los Angeles Co. . . Pomona, Lob Angeles Co. . . Ohino, San Bernardino Co. Auburn, Placer Co... Marysville, Yuba Co. . Marysville, Yuba Co.. Concord, Contra Costa Co. , Niles, Alameda Co Niles, Alameda Co Niles, Alameda Co Niles, Alameda Co Niles, Alameda Co Oleander, Fresno Co. Santa Maria, Santa Barbara Co. Pomona, Los Angeles Co Oleander, Fresno Co Oleander, Fresno Co Yuba City, Sutter Co. igBros E. B Sllva , RC Kells S.F.Leib , Wm. Mortimer , John Rock , pbell Fruit-Growers' Union Campbell Fruit-Growers' Union. Campbell Fruit-Growers' Union J u hnRock John Rock John Rock John Rock , John Rock John Rook John Rock John Rock John Rock John Rook.. AND Analysis. Sept. 28, 1831 Aug, 26, 1891 8ept. 8, 1891 Sept. 1, 1892 Sept. 1, 1892 Sept. 21. 1892 J. W. J. W. Anderson.. P.M.Doyle P.M.Doyle J. W. Lawson.... YouDg Bros... Dr. S. Jewett. Dr. S. Jewett. T. Sutton. Jas. Shinn... Jas. Shlnn... Jas. Shlnn... Jas. Shinn... Jas. Shinn... Harding... L. E. Blochman Mrs. J. L. Loom! A.Allison J. H. Harding... 8, 1891 Sept. 30. 1892 Sept. 8, 1891 Sept. 8, 1891 Sept. 8, 1891 Sept. 5, 1892 Sept. 6. 1892 Sept. 6, 1892 Sept. 29, 1892 Sept. 20, 189i 1, 1892 Aug. 7, 1891 Aug. 14, 1891 Aug. 3, 1891 Aug. 14, 1891 Aug. 19, 1891 June 24, 1892 Aug. 10, July 2, 1892 June 25, 18»2 PHYSICAL ANALYSIS. 21.0 236 256 68.5 51.0 51.8 60.4 81.0 57.5 59.2 41.7 61.0 67.0 07.1 66.5 62.4 102.5 20.4 23.1) 16.0 13.0 19.0 21.0 24.0 It. 3 17.5 17.5 0.0 18.8 26.5 18.9 22.2 20.0 21.0 28.1 17.0 22.0 21.6 20 4 20 2 6.6 90.8 95.3 94.0 94.8 94.3 93.8 94.9 93.5 93.3 94.2 94.2 96.6 94.9 93.9 95.2 i iS : 5.a pBf' 91.8 89.7 92.8 93.0 89.9 90.O 89.3 9.7 14.2 14.7 10.0 10.0 9.2 10.3 7.2 7.0 10.1 1O.0 ll&i 14,39 ' H 17.68 33.10 25.00 28 69 20 OO 18.12 19 60 16.20 17.97 13.43 13.43 15.72 13.58 11.60 13.10 14 40 11.04 13.22 13.31 17.17 Iff 21.61 22.04 21.79 18 52 16.60 18.87 20.53 20.83 20.13 9.26 1178 16.71 9.20 11.13 11.20 8.37 16 30 9.06 13.36 16.21 20.20 19.29 15.20 27.29 20.53 19 70 16.11 13.16 14.90 12.70 13.25 13 92 8.43 12.44 14.34 19.00 18.10 14.36 *5.62 19.16 18.53 15.35 In Fresh Pita, per cent .070 .000 .060 .040 .053 .08 III 19* Ifflf Hi General Proximate Analysis. 71.31 72.82 77.88 72.31 BJ 80.00 77.43 23.43 19.905 22.65 34.394 19.88 17.14 19.56 13 96 19.562 14.11 16.87 16.63 18.27 20.78 27.054 19.497 22.035 14.962 14.34 14.70 14.845 14.05 13.61 15.194 14.300 15.773 12.753 13.567 10000 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 t 30 grams are equivalent to 1 ounce. Analyses published in Bulletin 97. .-ANALYSIS OF THE ASH. I Fruit. Place of Production. s Composition of Pure Ash. I 1 Fruit. Place of Production. i it i a Composition of Pure Ash. f f I I =1 It : ¥ §■ ►8 3>tr ft fl i f 3 j H i f ! } E § 1 j, 1*9 iff If if 03 If it 1 f fcll f •{ French Prunes. >- Yuba City, Sutter Co. . . . fSan Jose, Santa Clara Co. > Pomona, Los Angeles Co. .567 .623 .761 .442 •134 .582 .450 .431 S5I1 .486 66.92 70.72 24 63 65.92 69 50 24.01 63.67 67.87 20.60 63.83 .92 .84 H.13 3.18 3.07 -1.63 :i.2o 11.99 2.'e5 6.27 5.48 15.04 3.24 3.01 6.04 148 3.66 12.96 466 5.56 6.02 11.58 6.16 5.33 16.26 4.70 4.23 9.72 5.47 1.70 1.30 6.13 .85 .83 1.14 1.89 1.06 10.41 2.72 .36 .18 2.38 .31 .17 1.90 .61 .33 2.31 .39 12.91 11.16 29.49 13.19 11.56 32.98 16.14 15.23 25.92 14.08 2.54 2.40 4.13 2 37 2.13 5.40 3 15 2.84 4.63 2.68 2.67 2.44 6.33 4.56 4.30 7.88 1.99 1.46 7.41 3.07 .1 43 40 13 19 20 22 40 37 72 S4 99.98 100.00 99.97 99.97 100.10 100.16 100.13 100.04 100.01 99.99 .10 .11 .03 .05 .05 .05 .10 .09 .18 .08 99.88 99.89 99.94 99.92 100.05 100.11 100.03 99.95 99.83 99.91 »{ »{ 54 Royal Apricots. [•Niles, Alameda Co. 1- Pomona, Los Angeles Co. .550 .542 .681 .407 .459 .592 .508 54.88 58.69 10.95 63.85 67.00 23.09 59.36 10.67 11.20 3.45 9.95 10.23 6.45 10.26 3.62 3.24 6.75 2.82 2.65 6.58 317 3.85 3.31 11.58 3.62 2.89 11.22 3.68 1.71 .77 12.39 1.66 .97 10.06 1.68 .21 .09 1.66 .54 .39 2.20 .37 13.86 11.20 43.76 12.33 10.88 30.96 13.09 2.95 2.76 5.38 2.32 2.35 1.84 2.63 7.85 8.31 2.58 2.62 2.27 7.09 5.23 .60 .58 1.65 .30 .28 .51 .45 100.00 100.04 100.14 99.91 100.11 100.00 99.92 .15 .14 .40 .08 .07 .12 .11 99.85 99.90 99.74 Whole Fruit 99.83 100.04 99.88 Whole Fruit Average (Whole Fruit) 53 Average (Whole Fruit) 99.81 \ 90 pet cent, or nine-tenths of the flesh being juice contained 33.10 pet Cent sugar, of juice. No. 29, Hemskirk, with 93 per cent, nearly double what the original sample had. being the juiciest, and No. 15, Blenheim, Referring again to the so-called hard- with 85 per cent, the driest of the series. fleshed varities, Robe de Sergent, Fellenberg, The average flesh of the apricots, from Bulgarian, etc., we note some differences in this latest showing, is more juicy than that the sugar contents in favor of the later crop of the prunes, in the ratio of 9 to 8. samples. No. 37, Robe de Sergent, shows 5.38 per cent more than No. 5 ; No. 38, Sugar Contents of the Juice, Flesh Fellenberg) 2$ per cent more than No . 6 . an ru Xm No. 39, Bulgarian, nearly 13 per cent more The work undertaken for the crops of 1891 than No. 8, a difference rather greater than and 1892 did not comprehend the determi- we could probably expect if the samples nation of the different sugars (dextrose, lev- were more nearly alike in maturity. No. ulose, cane sugar, etc.), contained in prunes 39) as above stated in its description, was and apricots; the length of time necessary f ar over-ripe. Some of these results may be to complete such an investigation for each explained as due to the evident difference in sample, required us to limit the work to the maturity at the time of the examination for determination of the most important point— tw0 crops, and, as Mr. Rock writes in the the total sugars. description above, to the general inferiority Prunes. — The ripe, juicy soft-fleshed of the earlier crop ('91). French prunes from all localities yield the The plums^ among themselves show, in highest sugar percentages, averaging (No. the juice, a narrow range in sugar and 49), in the juice, 23.69 per cent; the hard- average about 18.0 per cent of that sub- fleshed ripe prunes, represented by Nos. 4, stance — some 5.5 per cent less than the 5, 37, 6, 38, 7, 8, 9, 10 and 12 yield an aver- French prunes, and about 3.5 more than age of 15.24 per cent sugar — 6.24 per cent the hard-fleshed varieties, less, while the average sugar for the average Apricots. — The fruit from early localities of all prunes (No. 50) is 20.00 per cent, or (picked in June) and from later localities 3.5 per cent less than that of the French (picked in August) show a remarkably close prunes. We note, for the later crop French resemblance to each other in regard to sugar prunes, a difference of five weeks between contents; the Royal, No. 16, with 15.06 per the earliest and latest picking, No. 34 picked cent, and Peach, No. 17, with 15.72, the on Sept. 1, and No. 31 gathered on Oct. 7, highest in sugar, showing but about 2 per yet in the juice these contain nearly identical cent more than the general average, 13.31 amounts of sugar, 25.30 per cent, which, per cent, for the juice. Taking the general when referred to the fresh fruit, shows the averages of sugar in the juice of prunes and earlier sample to stand one per cent lower apricots (Nos. 50 and 52), we find that the than the later, on account of its being more prunes run over 6 per cent higher; for the iuicy. The maximum sugar percentage, whole fruit, 4.2 per cent higher. And as 26 45, in the juice is seen in No. 32 from compared with the average French prune Newcastle, picked on Sept. 23 — 1.45 per cent (No. 49) the apricots show for the juice higher than the earliest and latest French some 10 per cent less sugar; for the whole prunes contain. This sample (No. 32) and fruit, somewhat over 7 per cent less. On the others from the various localities gath- the whole fruit, the sugars of the apricots ered in the third and fourth week of Sep- and plums more nearly resemble each other tember point to that time as yielding the in amount, the average difference being 1.79 juiciest and sweetest fruits of their kind, per cent in favor of the plums. From the No. 42, from Pomona, shows the least sugar results at hand, it seems that the Nectarine, in the juice, 17.68 per cent; this sample as No. 48, has in the juice nearly 4 per cent No. 43, after keeping three weeks at a tem- more sugar than the apricot, following in perature of 6o° F., was still only a little this respect very closely the plums, shriveled and quite edible, showed that its European reports of these fruits show that c the juice of prunes, dn the average, contains 6.15 per cent sugar, apricots 469 per cent (one case is reported of a small variety of apricots with 16.5 per cent sugar), these figures being about three times less than those herein presented for these fruits as grown in California. There seems thus to be good cause for the preference they have so quickly attained in the market. By reference to the small table following the relations to each other of the average sugar and acid contents of some California fruits will readily be seen. For convenience of comparison, the acid is expressed in terms of sulphuric acid (S0 3 ). PERCENTAGES OF SUGAR AND ACID. Apricots Prunes French prunes Plums Peaches from Shas- ta and Butte Cos.. Nectarine Grapes from various localities Oranges from vari- ous localities Figs (White Adri- atic) from Kern and Fresno Cos JUICE. WHOLE FRUIT. Acid, per cent. .40 .31 .48 .24 .62 .50 1.28 Sugar, per cent. 13.31 20.00 17.97 17.00 17.17 24.00 10.68 15 23.90 11.93 16.11 19.70 13.25 13.40 15.13 23.00 7.12 1110 15 35 1853 12.89 12.50 1411 20.70 5.40 19.20 Acid in the Juice. Prunes. — The maximum, nearly one per cent, is at once seen in Hungarian, No. 7; the minimum, .23 per cent, in the Prune d'Agen, No. 1; the average, .40 per cent, be- ing almost twice the minimum. Ptums.—Htre again we find a very wide difference, even greater than the prunes show ; the maximum being 1.00 per cent, the minimum .20 per cent and average .48 per cent. Apricots. — While the acids differ from .50 per cent to .90 per cent, they do not show as great a diversity as the prunes in this re- spect but on the average contain like the nectarine about .20 per cent more acid. In all these fruits it appears that low acids are combined with high sugars. European analyses, which report the acid in terms of Malic, when corrected for Sulphuric, give for prunes .51 percent, apricots, .70 per cent, and peaches .5$ per cent, which do not differ much, except for peaches, from those we report. Nutritive Values-Nitrogen Contents. "The flesh-forming ingredients of any article of food being of great importance as regards its proper uses (see Bulletin 93 of the department, relating to oranges and lemons), it is of especial interest to compare in this respect the prune, plum and apricot to other fruits, and the different varieties of prunes, plums and apricots amongst themselves." The following little table shows how these different fruits we have studied, may be rated in their albuminoid contents, and distribu- tion of the same in the several parts of the fruit, as well as how they compare with European fruits. AVERAGE PERCENTAGES OF ALBUMINOIDS. FRUITS. >*• u ^ IN WHOLE FRUIT. TOTAL. IN THE FRESH FLESH, OR ED- IBLE PORTION. IN FRESH PITS, OR BIND. Calculated upon whole fresh fruit. ORANGES. California European 35 1.14 1.78 1.25 .49 1.012 .780 1.13 .40 .375 1.50 1.42 .731 .760 .380 (Sicilian) APRICOTS. California European 11 1.088 .837 .162 PRUNES. California 20 .175 PLUMS. California European 3 1.00 .130 APPLES t CD C B Bo > ►B M. O s 3 era CO •B "B 5* m Dried. Edible Portion. to |* g. : ct> T ' CD H C B Water 25.20 150 2.80 32.44 1.88 2.90 34.83 1.16 2.94 3.70 2.17 .56 52.50 .85 1.29 25.00 2 24 4.50 20 03 2.45 5.70 33.00 Ash 1.40 Album i n i d s (Crude Pro- tein) 170 Crude Fiber ~| 8.30 Nitrogen— 1 free extract [ Fat J Sugar 29.77 32.18 10.11 13.82 21.60 40.53 .40 29.59 1.51 57.60 .45 58.00 32.00 Free Acid, cai- culated as Sulphuric (SO a ) 2.00 Tannin 100.00 100.00 Total 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 *Dried and ground by R. E. Wood, Rutherford, Napa Co., Cal. Under this head, nitrogen contents, it is worth referring again to the large table to call attention to the distribution of the ni- trogen in the several portions of these fruits ( First, then, it is readily seen that the flesh holds 85 per cent of all the nitrogen, leaving 15 per cent of it as waste, so far as food values are concerned. Second, the distribu- tion of the nitrogen of the pits of the prunes and apricots, to the kernels and shells ap- pears to rate on the whole about the same, (12 to 1) although we note great variation in this respect in both fruits. Ash Composition and Nitrogen Con- tents. Contrary to statements in our previous publications (Bulletins 88 and 93 of this de- partment), in which, according to European data, the orange stands second (grapes being first) among fruits in the quantity of mineral matter withdrawn from the soil, we find that, weight for weight, the fig has second place, the orange third, and the prune, apricot and plum fourth place; thus more than ever bringing before us the fact that we cannot safely use European results, as heretofore, as a basis of comparison for our fruits. 8 Upon the basis of the preceding table of this publication, those given in Bulletins 93 and 97 and the yet unpublished work upon our figs, we have prepared the following tabular view of the amounts, in pounds, of vital soil ingredients extracted by the differ- ent fruit crops (poor fruit alone) that will have to be replaced by fertilization. SOIL INGBEDIENTS EXTRACTED BY DIFFERENT FRUIT CROPS. Total Phos. FRUITS. Ash Potash acid Nitrogen lbs. lbs. lbs. lbs. GRAPES. European. In each 1000 lbs 8.8 5.00 1.52 1.70 APRICOTS. European. In each 1000 lbs 4.90 147.00 .86 Crop of 30,000 lbs 25.80 California. In each 1000 lbs 4.91 2.90 .64 1.94 Crop of 30 000 lbs 147.30 87.00 19.20 59.20 PRUNES. European. In each 1000 lbs G.3 3.73 .95 1.22 Crop of 30,000 lbs 189.00 111.90 28 53 36.60 California. In each 1000 lbs 4.86 3.10 .68 1.62 Crop of 30,000 lbs 145.80 93.00 20.40 48.60 PLUMS. In each 1000 lbs 5.35 1.81 ORANGES. European. In each 1000 lbs 6.07 2.78 .67 2.69 Crop of 20,000 lba 121.40 55.60 13.40 53.80 California. In each 1000 lbs 4.32 2.11 .53 1.83 Crop of 20,000 lbs 86.40 42.20 10.60 36.60 FIGS. European. In each 1000 lbs 8.00 2.27 .10 2.27 Crop of 15,000 lbs 120.00 34.05 1.50 34.05 California. (White Adriatic.) In each 1000 lbs 7.81 4.69 .86 2.38 crop of 15,000 lbs 117.15 70.45 12.90 35.70 California prunes thus appear to draw much less upon all the mineral ingredients which have to be replaced by fertilization than the European; the latter, however, draw much more lightly than the former upon nitrogen. Apricots both of California and European growth stand, in total amount, about equal as to mineral ingredients with- drawn; as to nitrogen, the California fruit draws twice as much, showing the only very material difference in the relative propor- tions of the vital soil ingredients among themselves as far as these two fruits are con- cerned. Potash. — In the ashes of prunes and apri- cots and in the orange, potash is seen to be the leading ingredient; in the prunes and apricots fully three-fifths of the whole ash and in orange at least one-half. In its dis- tribution as between pits and flesh, the greatest difference is shown by the European prune; for apricots we have no foreign data. Although potash constitutes so large a por- tion of the ash of these fruits its replenish- ment to the soil will be delayed long beyond the addition of other fertilizing ingredients, because most California soils are naturally so well stocked with it that available potash for the current demand will, in many cases be adequately supplied for many years. Phosphoric Acid is not so heavily drawn upon in this respect as the European. Its distribution between pits and flesh, also, is not quite so variable as that of potash. Since our soils usually contain a limited supply of phosphoric acid, the prune and apricot as well as the orange orchards will require phosphatic fertilizers first, when they are used. Nitrogen. — Among our pitted fruits the apricot leads in its demand upon the soil in this substance, plums being quite the aver- age of the apricots and prunes and re- semble very much the orange in this respect. Thus we find that, for the southern localities especially, the same necessity of early replacement of nitrogen in pitted fruit as for orange orchards and partly for the same reason, viz., that California soils are usually not rich in their natural supply of this substance. Of the other ash ingredients, it will be seen that lime is quite constant, although much less in amount (for prunes) than European standards show. Especially is this difference seen in the comparison of the ash analyses of the flesh and pits. In the orange ash the lime content far exceeds that of either the prune or apricot; accordingly, as our soils generally contain plenty of lime, even for oranges, we would rarely expect to fertilize with a view to its replacement. Soda is seen to be much higher here than in European analyses of the ash of the prune; this is probably explained by the fact that California soils, like those of other arid regions, contain much more soda than the European. Geo. E. Colby.