590 Journal of Agriculture, Victoria. [10 Oct., 1917. 



20 X 20 kiln is universally called a bundrod-buSliel drier tihrougliout New 

 York, as it is reckoned that 8 square feet of kiln floor are necessary to 

 dry the slices made from. 100 lbs. of apples. The actual daily working 

 capacity for a kiln of this size varies from 100 bushels to 75, or less, by 

 reason of atmospheric conditions, peculiarities in the construction of the 

 building, the varying efficiency of the furnaces employed, or the care 

 om,i)loyed in spreadiiig and turning tlie drying fniit. 



The Uses and Limitations of the Kiln Evapoeatoe. 



The chief use of the kiln evatporabor in New York, Pennsylvania, 

 Missouri, and Virginia is for the drying of apples, and many long estab- 

 lished plants had never dried anything else until the past winter, during 

 which many evaporators ran at full capacity, drying carrots and cabbage 

 for the use of the European armies. 



In the raspberry grooving districts of New York, kilns are employed 

 in the evajporatiou of the sui-pius crop, the method employed being to 

 cover the kiln floor with burlap or sheeting, to spread the berries in a 

 layer not more than 2 inches deep, and to leave them undisturbed until 

 sufficiently dry to stir without crushing. Loganberries and blackberries 

 can be satisfactorily dried in the same manner. Unpeeled peaches can 

 be treated precisely as apples are, peeled peaches are best handled in the 

 manner suggested for berries. A somewhat more satisfactory product will 

 be obtained in the case of loganberries or raspberries by the use of trays 

 supported by racks placed upon the kiln floor.* Prunes cannot bo dried 

 successfully except by tiie ennployment of trays. 



In a word, if apples are the chief product to be handled by the 

 evaporator, the kiln type of plant is the most economical and efficient 

 type of construction to employ. If prunes, loganberries, and raspberries 

 make up the greater part of the raw material, and apples are a distinctly 

 minor part of it, a tunnel or a Carson-iSnyder evaporator should be built. 

 The cost of operation when apples are being exaporated will be slightly 

 greater, but the quality of the product made from berries or pnines will 

 be considerably ibetter. 



The Consteuction of the Building. 



While the writer is fully conscious of the importance and necessity 

 of keeping the cost of construction of buildings down to the lowest pos- 

 sible figure, and keenly anxious to prevent unnecessary expenditure, he 

 must strongly advise against the building of such cheap, flimsy slieds of 

 rough lumber as have been suggested by one or two authors. In sncli 

 buildings there is a very great danger of fire; insurance rates, when 

 insurance can be secured at all, are high ; the wliole stracture deteriorates 

 rapidly, soon bcomes an eyesore, in spite of heavy annual repair bills, 

 and must be torn down and replaced after a few years. Successful and 

 economical drying depends upon j)erfect control of the temperature in 

 the kiln, combined with the greatest possible utilization of the heat 



• Inexpensive skeleton racks, each capable of holding one or two tiers of 12 or 16 trays which 

 are placed two or three inches apart to insure good circulation of air, are easily constructed and put in 

 place on the kiln floor, with spaces between them to permit passing to and fro. They should in no 

 case be filled to a depth of more than li inches. As the dr>-ing in the lower trays will be much more 

 rapid than in the upper ones, it will be^necessary to shift the trays freciucntly to secure uniform drying. 

 Obviously this metiiod is too laborious to be practical when large quantities of berries or prunes arc to 

 be dried, but it is quite possible to work up these fruits into a satisfactory product as a side line in an 

 evaporator whose prim.ary purpose is the drying of apples. 



