Evaporated Raspberries. 547 



Bush establishment, shown in Figs. 105, 109, 110, 111, is 24x36 

 ft., with 16 ft. posts, three solid brick stacks 38 ft. high, and stone 

 basement, well finished thronghont, and cost $1,400. This estab- 

 lishment has a capacity of about one thousand bushels of apples a 

 week. 



The tray most commonly used in Wayne county is a frame 4 ft. 

 1 in. square, covered with wire screen which has a mesh about one- 

 fifth or one-fourth inch wide. Such a tray receives about sixteen 

 quarts of berries at each filling. A stack of the capacity of Mr. 

 Bush's holds 25 trays, so that the stack has from twelve to thirteen 

 bushels of berries, measured when fresh, when it is full. Mr. Hair 

 (Fig. 114) spreads from twenty-four to thirty quarts of berries upon 

 his 5x5 ft. trays. Under ordinary conditions, with heat about 

 200° F. at the bottom tray, these trays may be moved up — that is, 

 fresh berries inserted — every 10 minutes. A twenty-five-tray stack, 

 therefore, would be discharged in about four to five hours. The ope- 

 rator will soon find, however, that the time required to finish the fruit 

 varies with many conditions and with the variety of berry. In 

 moist weather and with the first pickings more time is required be- 

 cause the fruit is plump and juicy. For the later pickings and in 

 dry times the evaporation may be comj^leted in half the time re- 

 quired for the plump berries. The Ohio raspberry also dries 

 quicker than most other common varieties. It is, therefore, often 

 necessary to "strip" the trays; that is, to take out five or six or 

 more trays at once, rather than to wait for each one to come out in 

 its appointed turn. A test made by myself in one of the best evapo- 

 rators of the State finished Gregg raspberries in four hours. The 

 trays were filled with 24 quarts at 11 a. m., with bottom heat 175° 

 and top heat (at upper trays) 100°, the outside temperature being 

 74°. The fruit came out at 3 p. m., and measured 10 quarts to 

 the tray. 



The berries are " finished " when they are dry enough to rattle a 

 little on the trays. The trays are then removed and " scraped " 

 with a wooden paddle into a bin or pile on the floor. As they come 

 from the tray the berries are still moist and soft, and will stick to 

 the palm if squeezed in the hand. That is, they are not yet dry 

 enough to keep. They must now be cured, by allowing them to 

 rest in piles six to eighteen inches deep in the warm, airy chamber, 

 and by shoveling them over several times in the course of a few 

 weeks. It will generally be necessary to turn them over from six to 



