140 THE WAR GARDEN VICTORIOUS 



process takes a long time and the addition of heat is 

 desirable. 



A slicer for vegetables costs ^1.50 or more, according 

 to size. Tables and other utensils may be collected 

 from the different households. White oilcloth for ta- 

 bles, cheese-cloth for use in protecting material from 

 insects and dust, and pasteboard cartons for containers 

 of dried products would make necessary slight extra 

 purchases. Butter containers are useful for holding 

 dried products, as are also baking-powder cans and 

 similar covered tins. 



If an entire community is to be organized, it will be 

 necessary to ascertain how many families will use the 

 community plant and approximately how much mate- 

 rial will be dried daily. These things determined, a 

 drier can be chosen intelligently. Because of its usual 

 hot-air blast, which dries products more quickly than 

 they can be dried by the evaporating process, a dehy- 

 drator is often preferable. The cost of a satisfactory 

 dehydrator may be put at $1,000 to ^2,500. A home- 

 made outfit may be constructed at considerably less 

 expense. Carpenters and men installing heating appa- 

 ratus will usually be glad to furnish estimates of cost, 

 if supplied with a description of the apparatus desired. 



Mr. C. W. Pugsley* devised a successful community 

 plant, which was first used at Lincoln, Nebraska. His 

 method is dehydration minus heat, which system is 



* For dimensions and detailed directions, see "A Successful 

 Community Drying Plant," by C. W. Pugsley, Farmers' Bulletin 

 916, United States Department of Agriculture. 



