DRIED FRUITS OF PROVENCE. 97 



former are thirty francs the quintal of 100 pounds, the 

 latter are only from 20 to 25. The third quality con- 

 sists of the smaller and loose grapes of the others, which 

 are packed in frails ; they are worth from 15 to 18 francs 

 per quintal. The raisins of Roquevaire are packed in 

 boxes, containing 12, 25, and 50 pounds, as at Malaga; 

 but between every two inches in thickness of grapes they 

 spread a sheet of white paper. These raisins, M. Brest 

 says, keep the whole year through. They are certainly 

 in every respect inferior to the raisins of Malaga. Their 

 preparation invariably consists in immersion in a boiling 

 lye previous to drying. They do not appear to be aware 

 that it is possible to preserve the raisins without this 

 previous preparation. M. Negrel says, the effect of the 

 lye, in which they are kept from 15 to 20 seconds, is to 

 open very fine cracks in the skin of the grapes, by which 

 cracks the moisture evaporates. The strength of the lye 

 is of the fifth degree of Beaume's hydrometer, which is 

 equal in specific gravity, at the temperature of 55 of 

 Fahrenheit, to about 1-032. After having been dipped 

 in this lye, the grapes are spread out on claies, which con- 

 sist of a number of reeds tied together, so as to form a 

 flat surface of about seven feet by four. They are 

 brought under cover every night, and if the season is fine, 

 they are usually sufficiently dried in five days, though in 

 the latter part of the season, it sometimes requires fifteen 

 days to dry them sufficiently. The preparation of raisins 

 commences about the 25th of August, and continues 

 during the whole of September, and sometimes as late as 

 the 1st of November. Those raisins are finest which are 

 dried in the shortest time. The neighbourhood of Roque- 

 vaire is the only part of France where dried raisins are 

 prepared as an article of commerce, in other parts they 



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