56 BULLETIN 1141, U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 



and the drying progresses to the point where the fruit can be stored 

 safely without danger of spoiling. 



The curing room should be an airy, well-ventilated place. The 

 fruit, if handled in bulk, may be placed in piles from 6 to 18 inches 

 deep. However, some advantages are claimed for the method of 

 handling the fruit in boxes having a capacity of a bushel or so, dur- 

 ing the period of curing. In this way the fruit can be aerated 

 thoroughly by pouring the contents of one box into another. 



The variety, condition of the fruit, and other factors influence the 

 shrinkage in drying. It requires, on an average, a little over 3 quarts, 

 or about 4 pounds, of black raspberries to make 1 pound of the dried 

 product. In a rainy season it may require 4 quarts to make a pound 

 of dried fruit, while near the end of the season, when the berries are 

 small, 2 quarts of fresh fruit will yield a pound of the dried product. 

 Other estimates put the shrinkage at about 24 pounds of the Ohio 

 variety to a pound of dried fruit, while it requires about 3J pounds of 

 the Farmer for 1 pound of the dried product. Four or five quarts of 

 red raspberries are required for a pound of evaporated fruit. Red 

 raspberries, however, are rarely dried. 



LOGAN BLACKBERRIES. 



The Logan blackberry is grown extensively only in the Pacific 

 Coast States, and naturally it is in those States that particular atten- 

 tion has been given to the utilization of the fruit. Lewis and Brown, 

 of the Oregon Experiment Station, have reported results of investiga- 

 tions in evaporating it. In that State both stack (or prune tower) 

 and tunnel types of evaporators have been used in drying the berry, 

 with preference for the latter, provided that the tunnels do not exceed 

 20 to 23 feet in length. 



In drying Logan blackberries in the tunnel evaporator, the fur- 

 nace should be so regulated that the air temperature at the upper end 

 of the tunnel does not exceed 130° F., while that at the lower end 

 does not rise above 150° or 155° F. Employing the temperatures 

 named, the time required for drying ranges from 16 to 20 hours, vary- 

 ing with the weather conditions. As these berries are considerably 

 larger and more juicy than black raspberries, it is readily understood 

 why they do not dry as quickly as the latter. 



The manner in which Logan blackberries are handled will affect the 

 weight of the dried product, but on an average 1 pound of dried fruit 

 is made from 4J to 5^ pounds of fresh fruit. 



It is advised to remove the fruit from the evaporator while it is 

 still hot ; otherwise the berries will stick to the trays. When cool 

 the fruit is transferred to the conditioning room and stirred daily for 

 10 days to 3 weeks, after which it may be stored in bulk in the same 

 manner as other fruits. 



OTHER SMALL FRUITS. 



Strawberries, blackberries, blueberries, huckleberries, and other 

 small fruits are sometimes dried in very limited quantities. No 

 special mention of details is needed in this connection, since the 

 methods already described for black raspberries and Logan black- 

 berries may be used in handling other fruits of similar character. 



