GARDENING FOR ALL. 141 
“JT will now describe the construction of the machine, 
and, although the greater part consists of wood, there is no 
danger from fire under ordinary circumstances. First, there 
is a furnace or stove made of cast iron and standing on iron 
legs. The stove has corrugated sides enclosed in an iron 
jacket, which allows the fresh air to enter at the bottom, and 
passing upwards between the outside jacket and the stove, is 
thoroughly heated before entering the machine. From the 
back of the stove proceeds an iron pipe for the purpose of 
carrying away the smoke produced, and it can be extended 
any length required to convey the smoke directly outside the 
building or into any neighbouring flue or chimney. Above 
this stands an iron chamber in which the different currents of 
heated air are thoroughly mixed before entering the inclined 
flue or drying chamber of the evaporator. This chamber may 
be increased in size with an extra wooden part should the 
necessity arise for raising the lower end of the evaporator, as 
in the case of the stove being placed in a low or under-ground 
position. The evaporator proper consists of a wooden trunk 
divided into two parts—upper and lower—and rests on the 
iron air chamber at an angle of about 18°. In this inclined 
flue consists the superiority over other evaporators. 
“The machine is supplied with trays of wooden frame- 
work and wire-woven bottoms, on which the articles to be 
dried are thinly spread. These are entered in tiers of two in 
the old pattern or deep trays, and in threes in the new pattern 
or low trays, which are then pushed forward as others are 
entered until the machine is full. 
“The method of preparing the apples to be evaporated 
is as follows :—They are first pared, cored, and sliced by the 
Electra, a very simple and ingenious machine which will 
either pare, core, and slice the apples, or, by removing a 
knife, will only pare them as for whole apples or the so-called 
Normandy Pippins. After the apples have been pared, cored, 
and sliced they are placed in a tub of perfectly clean water, 
containing a small quantity of salt, which prevents oxidation 
and discolouration. They are then cut once vertically, and 
all bruises, specks, and parings trimmed away to produce the 
well-known apple rings of commerce. They are then placed 
thinly on a tray and entered at the lower end of the upfer flue. 
Sometimes a little sulphur may be sprinkled on the furnace 
