508 



safe to say that one-fourth at least become useless and perish, because 

 there are no means at hand for their preservation. From seventy to 



ninety per cent, of them all con- 

 sists of water, which is the cause 

 of their decay. 



In all time the desiccation of 

 fruit and vegetables has been 

 deemed an industry of some im- 

 portance and of great necessity ; 

 but it is carried on by a process 

 so slow, so uncertain, so ineffi- 

 cient, and so unprofitable, and, 

 withal, so unsatisfactory in its 

 results, because of the oxidation 

 of the substance dried, of its loss 

 of some of its valuable constituent 

 parts, and especially of its expos- 

 ure to vermin during the long i)ro- 

 cess of drying. It is, therefore, a 

 matter of congratulation that the 

 minds of ingenious men have been 

 successfully applied to the inven- 

 tion of machinery by which any 

 species of fruit or vegetable may 

 be so eftectually, speedily, and 

 cheaply desiccated as that it may 

 be kept for any time and in any 

 climate, without decay or injury. 

 Within the last few years three 

 several machines have been pat- 

 ented, each of which professes to 

 have attained the desired object — 

 a perfect desiccation of fruits and 

 vegetables. 



In 1861, letters-patent were 

 granted to Francis H. Smith, of 

 Baltimore, " for improvements in 

 .the drying and preserving of 

 fruits, vegetables," &c. In 1870, like letters-patent were granted to C. 

 Alden, of New burgh, N. Y. In June, 1875, letters-patent were granted 

 to A. J. Eeynolds, of Baltimore, for a machine called " Eeynolds's im- 

 proved evaporator." 

 . It may be truly said of all these, that it is their object, their principle, 

 their plan, and mechanical operation, by the application of artificial 

 heat, to drive off all the water which is contained in the matter sub- 

 jected to them, without depreciating in any degree its valuable proper- 

 ties; so that when the fruit or vegetable is again subjected to water, it 

 is restored essentially to what it was before it went into the machine. 

 It is doubtlessly true that the slow process of drying by exposure to the 

 sun and air greatly oxidizes and discolors the material, and doubtless 

 deprives it, to some extent, oi its saccharine constituent ; while the oven, 

 which is used for the same purpose, is somewhat irregular in its action, 

 not effectually drying some and scorching some, while it also deprives 

 the material of some of its valuable constituent parts. The merits of 

 the machines lately invented, I beli'eve, consist in the application of 

 artificial heat to the material to be desiccated, within a confined space, 



