482 



THE PLUM. 



small quantity of fuel, commends it to the particular attention of 

 those engaged in drying fruit : 



" Prunes," says Liegel, " have become an important article of 

 commerce. In order to have them fair and glossy, they must be sud- 

 denly/ cooled, when drawn from the oven. 



" The country people in this part of Germany prepare their 

 prunes by putting them into their bread ovens. I have put up, for 

 my own use, a very conveniently arranged drying apparatus, which, 

 after the experience of many years, I am induced to recommend ; 



and for the construction of 

 which I give the annexed draw- 

 ing and explanatory description : 

 " The vault or exterior of the 

 oven, four and a half feet long, 

 is surrounded by a brick wall 

 one foot thick, so that the whole 

 stove, ahc d (see figs. 1 and 2), 

 is exactly six feet every M'ay; 

 the front wall, w, being only half 

 a foot in thickness. At the top, 

 the vault is arched over with 

 six inches of brick-work at the 

 crown of the arch. The flues, 

 I i, are about fourteen inches 

 square. The hurdles or trays, 

 upon shelves fixed upon two 



Tiff. 1. 



7n m, for 

 bearers. 



contaming 



the prunes, rest 

 It would be better if they rested upon rollers, so as to ad- 

 mit of their being pushed in and 

 drawn out with greater ease. 

 These lines of trays are placed at 

 a distance of six inches from the 

 furnace, so as to keep the fruit 

 from too great a heat ; they may 

 be made entirely of wood, but it 

 will be better if the bottoms are 

 of open work, like shelves. Their 

 weight is such that they may be 

 easily managed by a woman ; 

 but in preparing prunes on a 

 large scale, let them be made of 

 greater length and breadth, so as 

 to just come within the strength 

 ■^^°' ^" of a more robust person. 



" The wooden frame, h h, is that on which the two doors are hung. 

 The door, g, which covers the arch (and which is represented in the 

 cut as open and fastened up), shuts up the front of the upper part 



