374 SPICES 



CHAP. 



allowed to lie in the sun for one day after being picked, 

 in order to toughen the stems and prevent them break- 

 ing during the process of curing. 



Stringing. A common method is to cut strings of 

 strong smooth twine 8^ ft. long. Draw this through a 

 needle about 10 in. long, which is often made of a 

 bicycle spoke. 



Peppers having any break or blemish must be thrown 

 away, as they would decay before drying properly. Of 

 course, where there is an evaporator in use these can be 

 saved. After the strings are full and tied they are 

 hung on nails driven into a rough pole or other frame- 

 work, standing about 6 ft. from the ground, and left 

 until dry, or, if shelter is available, they may be moved 

 before becoming fully dry and hung closely together 

 under the shelter, but where there is a free current 

 of air. 



Evaporating. Many growers prefer evaporating 

 instead of drying. The evaporators should be large 

 enough, when the peppers are dried on strings, to hold 

 not less than 500 strings. The usual plan is to have a 

 furnace with several turns of 8 to 10 in. pipe in the 

 basement, the peppers being placed in a second story 

 over a very open floor, and with good ventilation. The 

 temperature can be kept at 110 Fahr., and in this way 

 the house can be refilled every four days. 



Yield and Price. Both of these vary of course 

 with the season, soil, and water-supply. Two hundred 

 and fifty strings of 5 Ibs. each is called a good paying 

 crop, but with all things favourable, including a late 

 warm season, as high as 400 strings or even 2,400 Ibs. of 

 dried pepper per acre may be grown. 



Prices range from 35 to 75 cents (American dollar) 

 per string if sun-dried, and 1\ to 12^ cents per Ib. if 

 evaporated. 



IN AUSTRALIA 



A writer in the Queensland Agricultural Journal 

 for April 1902 states that the ease with which chilies 



