61 



common sheeting tacked on well with nails— 2, 2, 2, are shelves, made tight, and 7 

 inches apart, and to come within 10 inches of the sides of the house. 



3, 3 arc the furnaces ; they are made of sheet iron, half round, and laid on brick 

 arches, and are the whole length of the house ; the chimney is on the outside. The 

 sheet iron should be made of No. 4— with a flange, so that one course of brick can be 

 laid on the flange, to make it smoke tight. 



The drawers should be made all alike, so that if you wish to change them from top 

 Jo bottom, they will fit anywhere, and they should be made to fit tight, so that when 

 they are.all in they will make the sides of the house tight. The shelves, 2, 2, 2, &c, 

 are to distribute the heat to all the drawers ; the beat will strike the first shelf, and 

 pass to the side of the house, and thence under the first drawer to the center, and then 

 over the drawer, and then the other, &c, &c, till it gets to the top. 



The drawers, as you will see by the drawing, is put in from the outside of the house 

 and in the center of the space between the shelves ; 5 is a drawer 6 inches deep, 5 feet 

 wide, and 6 feet long, to be used as required — good to use to finish fruit when in a ( 

 hurry. 

 O is a ventilator, the space in the roof 8 inches wide. 



No. 7 is a box, open at each end, to let in cold air — placed between the furnaces, so 

 that the air will be heated in passing over them. 



The temperature of the house should be kept a little below the scalding point ; if it 

 should get too hot the lower drawers can be pulled out about six inches, and that will 

 let in a draft of cold air, and soou bring clown the heat to the desired point. Small 

 •pulpy fruit should not be more than three-fourtlis of an inch thick, for if thicker, the 

 air will not pass through the fruit, and it will not dry so quick. 



After the fruit has become partly dried put three or four drawers together and finish 

 ix*. The advantages of the house are, 

 1st. You dry quickly and save time. 



2d. You keep off flies and millers, and yon don't get any moths' eggs. 

 3d. Your fruit is of a better color and flavor, for you dry so quick that the fruit 

 d *es not become sour. 



The cleats that the drawers slide on should extend outside of the house two or three 

 feet, so that they can be filled if necessary without taking down. Put a piece of 

 sheet iron over each furnace, say 6 inches high, to protect the first shelf, for if a care- 

 less attendant should build a very hot fire it might burn the shelf. The house can be 

 built larger or smaller, so as to meet the requirements of any fruit grower. 



FRUIT BOXES. 



For making-a cheap and strong dry measure quart box, and those which can be 

 packed in the smallest and most convenient compass, have plank got out precisely^ 

 inches thick. Have these worked up with a fine buzz saw into end pieces 4| inches 

 lonff 3i inches wide, and one-quarter inch thick, and sides 5 inches long, 8* inches 

 wide and one-eighth inch thick, and bottoms 4| inches long, and same width and 

 thickness Use two of these slats for bottom, having them nailed made one-fourth 

 from the' bottom of sides and ends, so that one box can set above another in the 

 Packing case without bruising the fruit on top of the box under. When nailed 

 tiwettilr thev make a strorg, dry measure quart box, just five mches square outside, 

 anffieinchrdeep msid?: Another plan, by which the fruit gets more air, is to 

 naflon the sides three slats, the same length and thickness, and five-eighths inches 

 wide which, by nailing the lower one three-eighths inches from the bottom, leaves 

 three cracks, three-eighths inches wider for nailing together. Use brads five-eighths 

 or three-quarter inches long. 



PACKING CASES. 



v r napkins the above quart boxes in to ship, get out end pieces three-quarters inch 



•SSa cleat one-half inch thick and two inehes wide, nailed on the outside even 



•!S,tk La to prevent the end pieces from splitting. Have these end pieces 20£ inches 



with tneenu^ s f ^.^ ( w hich makes the height, and width of box, inside sufficient to 



long ana / 1 d ^ gw . ^ QKe8 ^e.) <Jet out slats for nailing on the bottom 



hold two uers w- wv -~ 



