306 THE APPLE CULTUMIST. 



is completed. Our climate is too precarious to think of 

 drying fruit properly in the open air, even for the earliest 

 varieties. Some artificial arrangement for the purpose 

 must therefore be devised. 



As soon as an apple is peeled, the sooner the water can be 

 removed from the juice, the more delicious the dried fruit 

 will appear. Ripe fruit must be dried rapidly, or it will 

 begin to decay before the pieces are sufficiently dry to con- 

 tinue sweet during the entire year. Apples are frequently 

 spread out on boards, and placed in an oven to hasten the 

 drying process. The only objection to heating the fruit in 

 an oven is a want of circulation. Heated damp air tends 

 to cook the fruit rather than to dry it If there could be a 

 rapid current of warm dry air passing through the oven, so 

 as to carry away the dampness from the fruit, a large oven 

 would be an excellent place for drying fruit. When fruit 

 is heated in a close oven, it is quite liable to be exposed to 

 a degree of heat that will be injurious to it, so much so 

 that it is often half-baked and afterwards dried. Hence 

 such fruit is dark-colored, and deficient in that excellent 

 aroma which dried fruit will possess when it has been dried 

 in a current of rarefied or warm air. Rarefied air in mo- 

 tion possesses a wonderful capacity to absorb and convey 

 away the moisture of fruit. When fruit is surrounded by 

 . 123. warm air that is not in motion, 



decay will soon commence. 



A Cheap Fruit-drying Ap- 

 paratus. Figure 123 repre- 

 sents a cheap and convenient 

 device for drying any kind of 

 fruit, which may be employed 

 in small families with the 

 most satisfactory results. It 



A convenient fruit-dryer. Consists of a Strong box, two 



