AITKNIUX. 99 



which arc again covered witli a WDollcn ( loih, ami placed in the oven, where they 

 are allowed to remain until the mercury of the thermometer (alls to atK)Ut 90 dc^reis 

 Fahrenheit, after which they are n-moved and placed in a wootk-n !>' nd 



cooled gradually ; when nearly cold they are exptjscd to the sun oti • d 



with blankets, on which, when warmed by the sun, the pods are spread. 



Some growers, instead o( letting the pod be exposed to the direct rays of the 

 sun, cover them with a black woollen cloth, which by absorbing a great amount ul 

 heat from the sun, as well as moisture from the ptxl, modifies the process of drying, 

 and imjiarts to the fruits a superior flavor and colour than they otherwise would 

 have ; after iK-ing thus exposed for two or three days, they ought to be of a 

 dark brown, or coffee colour ; they are next laid on jK-rforateil shelves in an airy 

 room, where they are allowed to remain for one month, or until dry, when they will 

 be found to have shrunk to one fourth of their natural si/e, and of a blackish hue 

 with a somewhat silvery ap|K.'arance. 



1»RK1'ARIN'(; THL l'Ui»^ iuK MARKET. 

 In preparing the pods for market those of a si/.e are carefully selected, and tied 

 in bundles of fifties. Good marketable pods are about 8 inches long, and 50 of those 

 will generally weigh three <iuarters of a pound ; the smaller pods half-a-pound. 

 After l)eing thus arrangetl they are jxicked in tins, about 12 or 16 lbs. each, and 

 sent to the London market. 



(^^'i^y^LiiJ'^'^f^ti 



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