Methods of Drying 77 



rolling off. The trays rest upon long horses made of scant- 

 ling, to hold them at a convenient height from the ground. 

 A little block is tacked across each corner of the trays, so 

 that at night or in case of a shower they can be stacked up 

 on top of each other and covered with boards or canvas. 

 This is of necessity a slow way of drying, and the cost of 

 lumber for trays to handle a large crop would be an im- 

 portant item. One of the chief objections to the method is 

 the large number of flies which it calls to the scene, the at- 

 tentions of which do not render the fruit more appetizing. 

 Indeed, those who are familiar with the method are often 

 prejudiced against all dried raspberries. Sun-dried rasp- 

 berries are usually quoted about one cent a pound below 

 evaporated berries, but consumers can never be sure which 

 they are getting. These trays might be covered with fly 

 netting, but this would increase the time needed for dry- 

 ing, and would not wholly obviate the difficulty, unless 

 the netting were held above the fruit. If laid directly upon 

 it little would be gained. A single attempt to dry black- 

 berries under glass when covered with netting proved 

 such a failure, inducing so much more molding than with- 

 out the netting, that the plan would probably prove un- 

 satisfactory. 



Drying under Glass 



Another method employed by those who have green- 

 houses for the winter forcing of vegetables, is to utilize the 

 space under glass during the berry season for this purpose. 

 In this situation the berries usually dry in about three 

 days, in bright, warm weather. The glass affords pro- 

 tection from storm but not from flies. It is advisable to 



