408 



THE PLUM. 



to the drying of other fruits, is given in Liegel's Treatise, (German,) 

 as quoted in the Horticulturist. The amount of heat obtained by a 

 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 com- 

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

 denly cooled, when withdrawn from the oven.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, abed, (see figs. 1 and 

 2,) is exactly six feet every 

 way; the front wall, n, 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 four- 

 teen inches square. The hur- 

 dles or trays, m m, for containing the prunes, rest upon shelves fixed 

 upon two bearers. It would be better if they rested upon rollers, 



so as to admit of their being 

 pushed in and drawn out with 

 greater ease. These lines of 

 trays are place 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 m ore robust person. 



