II Dec, 1911.] 



French Prunes. 



81 



The yield in marketable prunes was considered to be the main point 

 in connexion with the working of the ovens. If one avoids over-heating, 

 which causes the juice of the fruit to run, and if sufficient desiccation is 

 obtained to assure good keeping power, the most difficult part of the drying 

 problem has been solved ; many prune growers consider expenditure of 

 labour and fuel to be points of secondary importance. 



A distinction is made between ovens or 

 etuves, such as the type shown in the diagram, 

 and evaporators ; in the latter, the fruit 

 is exposed to air which becomes gradually 

 hotter and drier. In some models a series 

 of trucks are moved forward in a long 

 drying chamber, in reverse sense to the 

 movement of the hot air, so that the almost 

 finished fruit comes in contact with the 

 hottest and driest air. Evaporators appear 

 to be less popular, in the Agen district, 

 than ovens of the older style. 



An illustration is reproduced of a small 

 evaporator of rather different type, manu- 

 factured by the well known firm of Vermcjrel ; 

 though too slow for dealing with large 

 quantities, and requiring much supervision 

 and fuel, the prunes turned out with it 

 were of very excellent quality and great 

 keeping power. This machine would no 

 doubt prove useful for the drying of fruit 

 on a small .scale. 



Method Hitherto Followed in Victoi^ia. 

 The method of drying hitherto followed 

 in Victoria differs considerably from the 

 above, as will be seen from the following 

 extract from Guide to Growers, No. 8, 

 issued by the Department of Agriculture 

 some years ago and now out of print : — 



" Dip in lye to thin and crack the skin, which facilitates the escape 

 of moisture in the drying process. In a large cauldron, lye is made 

 with I lb. of concentrated lye to each 20 gallons of water, and kept 

 boiling hot ; or i lb. of washing soda to two buckets of water. Put 

 the fruit into wire baskets, and then dip into the boiling lye for about 

 a minute, or until the skin has a wrinkled appearance ; then plunge 

 the basket into clean cold water to rin.se off the lye. The rinsing 

 water must be frequently changed, for it soon l-jecomes very alkaline. 

 After this dipping, the prunes are placed on trays ready for the 

 machine-drier or the sunshine. In the sun, the prune dries sufficiently 

 in from one to two weeks, according to the situation and weather. 

 When sufficiently dried, the prunes are put in boxes to sweat for 

 about two weeks, and then they are ready for parking. 



" Glossing Prunes. — The prevailing practice is to relv upon Ivt 

 water, to which pure glycerine is added at the rale of i lb. to 

 20 gallons of water." 



VERMOREL EVAPORATOR. 



