Page S 



BETTER FRUIT 



July 



Sebastopol Gravensteins 



The crop of famous Sebastopol Gravenstein Apples is now 

 moving. Season closes August 26th. The best apples from 

 over 200 of our best orchards. Community packing houses 

 insure uniform pack. 



See our representative or wire us. 



Sebastopol Apple Growers' Union 



SEBASTOPOL, CALIFORNIA 



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A Home-Made Sun Dryer 



By Jessie M. Hoover, Professor of Home Economics, Moscow, Idaho 



A YEAR ago the -writer visited four 

 hundred farm homes in Southern 

 Idaho. Before the home visits were 

 made the women of each community or 

 neighborhood were assembled at a 

 central meeting place and were asked 

 to consider the best labor-saving device 

 they possessed and if possible show it 

 to the visitor when she called at their 

 home. Pictures were taken of many of 

 the best devices and this dryer was one 

 of the devices which seemed especially 

 interesting. Judging by the results 

 sampled the efficiency of the dryer can- 

 not be questioned. 



Figure I shows the completed dryer 

 with ventilating holes at the base and 

 apex. 



To Make 



Two panes of glass 36 by 36 inches 

 each are required. Figure II shows one 

 of these glasses cut diagonally so as 

 to form two right-angled triangles. 

 Figure III shows the second glass cut 

 so as to form a triangle with two equal 

 sides. In Figure III there is a waste of 

 the two upper corners of the glass. 



These three triangles are cased with 

 wood in much the same way as a win- 

 dow sash. 



For the base of the dryer build a 

 square wooden platform of the same 

 dimensions as the base of the cased 

 glass. This should be placed on a table 

 or substantial frame in the dooryard 

 where it will have a good exposure to 

 the sun, i. e., place the triangle ABC 

 on the south side of the base, as shown 

 in Figure I. On the east and west sides 

 of the wooden base place the two tri- 

 anges shown in Figure II, A' and A", in 

 each case being placed on the wooden 

 base. The edge C' is joined to the edge 

 C. The edge B' is joined to the edge B. 

 The edges B' and C will be slightly 

 longer than the edges of B and C, but 

 these can be extended up into the 

 woden apex. The back of this dryer 

 may be made of tightly-matched boards, 

 hinged along the north side of the base; 



or it may be made of the wire gauze 

 screening. Where dust storms or sud- 

 den showers are likely to occur the 



wooden back is preferable. The door 

 is fastened to the apex of the dryer 

 with a suitable catch. A removable 

 frame of wooden slats or heavy wire 

 elevated an inch or two above the base 

 will furnish a free circulation of air 

 from beneath, and the food spread on it 

 will dry more quickly. The air enters 

 the small holes at the base and, accom- 

 panied by the moisture from the evap- 

 orating fruit, passes out at the inch 

 hole in the apex. 



To save steps the dryer might be 

 placed against a south window and 

 could thus be filled and emptied with- 

 out going outside. For protection in 

 winter the dryer can be set under a 

 shed. The owner of this dryer reports 

 that it cost her six dollars complete. 

 The position of the glass aids in con- 

 centrating the sun's rays and increas- 

 ing the heat. The enclosure prevents 

 the entrance of dust and insects. 



The Bing cherries that were offered 

 as samples were delicious and could be 

 substituted for raisins, currants and 

 other similar fruits in puddings, cakes 

 and confectionery. Since the price of 

 sugar is so high the drying of fruits 

 should be of interest to all. 



F.jjs.n 



Fig.m 



