48 STATK rOMOLOGICAL SOCIETY. 



The first evaporators were square structures reaching- from 

 the first floor of the building to nearly the top of the second story 

 with a wood or coal furnace in the basement, using hot air as 

 it radiates from the very highly heated surface of the furnace 

 to evaporate the moisture from the newly cut apple or other fruit 

 and carry it to the top of the building where it was discharged 

 laden with its burden. 



The newly cut apple was first placed over the furnace or in 

 the lowest part of the evaporating flue, and as it became heated 

 it was gradually raised and other trays of fruit put in its place 

 until that first put in arrived at the top of the flue. 



This process was theoretically perfect, but in practice the cur- 

 rents of hot air were not evenly distributed, with the result that 

 while some of the apple was dried too much, other parts of the 

 same trays would be dried little if any. 



Others tried the inclined flue, giving a chance for the air after 

 becoming charged with moisture to pass off without going- 

 through the trays of nearly dry fruit. 



This evaporator, it was claimed, could be managed with 

 greater economy than the others ; but soon gave place to the 

 steam evaporator where the trays of prepared fruit are placed 

 between pipes heated by steam, giving the operator perfect con- 

 trol over the amount of heat to be used, distributing the hot air 

 evenly throughout the whole lot; with the result that the apple 

 is dried evenly, thoroughly and v/ith perfect cleanliness, which 

 is so characteristic of the best evaporated apple found in the 

 markets to-day. We believe this process to be the best yet 

 devised for the purpose. 



An ideal plant for evaporating apple where the capacity would 

 be forty to fifty bushels per day would be a building about thirty 

 by thirty-six feet, with either a basement or an adjoining room 

 for the steam boiler, which should be enough lower than the floor 

 in the main room so that when the boiler is set, the water which 

 condenses very rapidly in the steam pipes may flow readily and 

 rapidly back into the boiler. 



There should be one thou.sand feet of pipe placed in branch 

 T's with perhaps five pipes in the lowest bank or tier and four 

 in each one above, placing these tiers of pipes one above the 

 other and about one foot apart as high as is desirable. The 

 pipes should be cased up in front with doors ten inches wide and 



