138 THE BANANA 



hinged ventilators on the sides near the bottom and top, 

 which can be opened at the bottom on the side from which 

 the wind is blowing, and at the top on the opposite side ; 

 so that the moist air above the fruit may be carried off, and 

 the whole structure shut up tight in case of rain and at 

 night. This method has also been successfully applied 

 to the drying of coffee, as an aid to the ordinary method, 

 by B. S. Gosset in Jamaica, but the glass structure is of 

 large dimensions a modification of the horticultural hot- 

 house. 



Artificial Driers. Exposure to sun and air is most 

 effectual, but frequently the sun is obscured by clouds for 

 days or weeks at a time, and the wind may be already 

 laden with moisture. The uncertainty of the weather has 

 led to various methods of artificial drying by which the 

 conditions can be kept under control. The easiest plan 

 on a small scale is to apply heat from a stove or from waste 

 steam. A high temperature may, however, be injurious 

 to flavour, and a fermentation change may cause some 

 deterioration. This has led to the adoption of the vacuum 

 driers, where a moderate heat is sufficient, or to a system 

 of drying by air deprived of moisture,* but not heated. 



Drying Closets or Rooms. If a high temperature is not 

 injurious, a closet or room of any convenient dimensions 

 may be used, and the stove placed either inside or outside. 

 Ventilators are provided as in the glass receptacles. The 

 higher the temperature, the greater is the amount of water 

 which the air can take up, but the saturated air must be 

 carried off by some means, or the material will simply be 

 steamed, and the moisture re-deposited when the air cools* 

 Full and free ventilation is of the utmost consequence. 

 If a stove is used, the situation of the furnace some feet 

 below the room may create a sufficiently strong current of 

 warm air through the inlet pipe to enable it to pass out by 

 a simple outlet, but this is only in case there are no sur- 

 roundings and no down -blow of external air. If there is a 

 chimney in the room, it may induce a natural draught, or 

 * See Spon's " Workshop Receipts," iii. 455 (1909). 



