378 



DRYING PRUNES AND OTHER FRUITS. 



wreaths of pure white blossoms will soon 

 be the ornament of every conservatory in 

 winter, as of every flower garden in the 

 spring. Although only introduced last 

 spring, we observe that several of the lead- 



ing nurserymen and florists have plants for 

 sale alread)^ ; so freely does it grow from 

 layers and cuttings. We repeat the cut 

 given in the first volume, which conveys 

 only a feeble idea of its beauty. Ed. 



APPARATUS FOR DRYING PRUNES AND OTHER FRUITS. 



The cultivation of the plum, in some parts 

 of the United States, is carried to great 

 perfection. Not only are very large crops 

 grown, of the highest quality, but new va- 

 rieties of most excellent qualities have been 

 originated. The banks of the Hudson river, 

 wherever the soil inclines to heavy loam, 

 the environs of Albany and Schenectady, 

 and a considerable part of western New- 

 York, are perhaps the finest plum districts 

 in the country. In many other parts of the 

 country, where the climate is equally good, 

 and the soil excellent, the latter is so light 

 that it affords too complete a nursery for 

 the curculio — that pest of smooth skinned 

 stone fruit; and the plum crop is a very 

 indifferent one. 



There is no reason why, in the best plum 

 districts, prunes should not be made on a 

 large scale, so as to become an article of 

 profit to the grower. A very large amount 

 is paid by us for French prunes, imported 

 into this country; and the labor of pre- 

 paring them is not so great that we cannot 

 (with the additional price imposed on the 

 foreign article by freights, &c.,) compete 

 profitably with the French growers. 



Excellent prunes, indeed, are made every 

 year by families on the Hudson for their 

 ovrn private consumption ; and those made 

 of the Green Gage are much more deli- 

 cious than many of the imported prunes. 



Minute directions for preparing prunes 

 will be found in our work on Fruits. Our 



attention has been directed again to the 

 subject, by a plan for an oven for drying 

 prunes, with some description of the pro- 

 cess in Liegel's work on the plum, — one 

 of the highest German authorities. We 

 give the engraving of this oven, as it may 

 assist those about undertaking the process. 



The drying of peaches, for market, is 

 carried on to a much greater extent in this 

 country than in any other. The same ap- 

 paratus, with slight modifications, may, per- 

 haps, enable us to dry peaches, as well as 

 plums, so as to retain the utmost possible 

 flavor ; for it is often the case, that the ope- 

 ration is so carelessly and imperfectly per- 

 formed that half the flavor is lost. 



"Prunes," says Liegel, "have become 

 an important article of commerce. In or- 

 der to have them fair and glossy, they 

 must be suddenly cooled, when withdrawn 

 from the oven. 



" The country people in this part of Ger- 

 many, prepare their prunes by putting them 

 into their bread-ovens. I have put up, for 

 my own use, a very conveniently arranged 

 drying apparatus, which, after the experi- 

 ence of many years, I am induced to recom- 

 mend ; and for the construction of which I 

 give the annexed drawing and explanatory 

 description. 



" The vault or exterior of the oven, four 

 and a half feet long, is surrounded by a 

 brick wall one foot thick, so that the whole 

 stove, a b c d,is exactly six feet every way; 



