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of clean small gravel, on which the grapes are laid; on these they 
dry evenly, whereas if laid on the bare hard earth, one side is often 
dry, whilst the other remains moist. 
The drying ground is, however, cumbersome and antiquated, 
and can with advantage be superseded by the drying tray or the 
drying racks. The trays are made of different sizes, but for the 
sake of convenient handling, trays 36 inches long and 24 inches 
wide are to be recommended, 
They are either made of four 6in. matchboards, 3ft. long, held 
together by nailing head pieces of 2!5in. x lin. and 2ft. long at 
each end, or instead of matchboards, on which in damp weather the 
fruit mildews more than on lath trays, or of broad Oregon laths, 
set close, side by side, and which allow a free circulation of air. 
On the upper side a 34in. rim is nailed all round the trav, and 
keeps the fruit from slipping off when turning it. 
Over these trays the fruit is placed and exposed to the sun. 
When half dry they are turned. This is done by placing an empty 
tray upside down over the first tray to be turned, and swinging 
the lot over. The tray which had the fruit is then empty and ready 
for use in turning over the next tray in the row, and so on until 
they have all been turned over. 
Of late years in Australia, these wooden trays have been dis- 
carded for the Raisin drying racks, made of a wooden framework, 
with wire netting shelves, over which the cut bunches of ripe grapes 
are placed to dry. As a protection against wet weather these drying 
racks generally carry a light galvanised iron roof. These racks 
are now superseded by the cheaper and more suitable wire netting 
trays. These consist of wooden battens, 3in. x lin. of desired 
lencths, 6 to 1l0ft. by 3ft. wide, for instance, set on edge, 
with inch battens nailed across to keep them apart, 214 to 
3 inches; over these wire netting, 115in. in mesh, is nailed. The 
currants are evenly spread over the netting, the muscats with the 
larger bunches cut into handy sizes, are laid over, and when, one 
tray is full, another is placed on top, and also charged. They are 
thus built up into stacks of convenient height—3 to 5ft. The cross 
inch battens also provide an opening which permits the air to 
freely circulate over the currants, while the strong light does not 
affect the fruit, and a better colour results. In broken weather, 
wooden trays or loose sheets of galvanised iron are placed on top 
to throw off the rain. The orientation of the trays does not matter 
much, but if placed east and west, the influence of the sunlight 
would be less pronounced. 
When drying sultanas or museatels, it is advisable to give more 
space between the trays to avoid erushing and close contact, and 
for that purpose bricks or blocks of wood are placed between the 
trays to provide a greater interval. 
