366 GRAPE CULTURE AND WINE-MAKING. 



ed for drying, more especially, however, the hard and fleshy ones. 

 Cherries require to dry slowly ; the sun will bo the most valuable 

 help ; and, after they have lost considerably in bulk, they may be 

 taken to the drying-room to be finished. 



It may be well to remark that all dried fruit should be exposed 

 to the air from four to six days after leaving the drying-room. 

 That the different varieties of dried fruit are to be kept by them- 

 selves is a matter of course. 



Expenses of Fruit-drying in Germany. 



Apples and Pears. — An experiment made with a drying-room 

 containing 50 frames, each 6 square feet, showed the cost of dry- 

 ing 80 pounds of apples, for help, at 6 kr., and 30 pounds of pears, 

 at 9 kr. 120 pounds of apples required a space of 12 square feet ; 

 the same weight of pears required 18 square feet ; it required 1 

 pound of wood to evaporate 1.65 pounds of water ; 40 pounds of 

 pears lost 32 pounds of water ; the drying of this fruit required 

 20 pounds of wood, at 6 kr. A bushel of dried fruit would cost, 

 if a bushel of green fruit cost 30 kr. : 



1. 4 bushels of fruit, at 30 kr 2 fl. — kr. 



2. Expenditure of wood " 36" 



3. Hired help " 12 " 



4. Expense for peeling " 48 " 



5. Loss of the peeling " 12 " 



One bushel of dried fruit 3 fl. 48 kr. 



A bushel of dried peeled apples, weight 19 pounds 2 ounces. 

 " " " pears, " 27 pounds. 



" not peeled " 29 pounds 8 ounces. 



The worth of the dried fruit is, 



a. 1 pound dried pears, not peeled 8 kr. 



b. 1 " " " peeled 11 " 



c. 1 " " apples of good (juality 14 " 



Per hundred, a. 13 fl. 20 kr. ; b. 18 fl. 20 kr. ; c. 23 fl. 20 kr. 



Prunes. — One bushel of dried plums cos^40 kr. for fire-wood; 

 hired help for drying, 15 kr. 3|- to 4 bushels of fresh plums pro- 

 duce one bushel of dried fruit, which will weigli from 33 to 35 

 pounds. One bushel of fresh plums require 30 square feet space 

 in the drying- room. The average price of one bushel of fresh or 

 green plums is 30 kr. ; so one bushel of dried fruit costs : 



1. Z\ bushels fresh plumsj at 30 kr 1 fl. 45 kr. 



2. Fuel 45 " 



3. Hired help 15 " 



4. Refuse 10 " 



5. Interest of capital invested 1 " 



3 florins. 



The retail price of 33 pounds, or one bushel, is 4 fl. 24 kr. 



Net 1 fl. 24 kr. 



When pears boil considerably in their own steam at the com- 

 mencement of drying, they will be of a beautiful red when cook- 

 ed. If they are required to be transparent on the tabic, they are 

 not so much steamed at the commencement, and are allowed to 

 cool quickly when taken out of the drying-room. 



