56 



GENERAL AGRICULTURAL NOTES. 



[June 1896. 



at the bottom, and air, which is drawn in from the basement' 

 passes over the heated surface and ascends through the shaft, 

 drying the fruit as it rises, and carrying off the vapours into the 

 atmosphere. The fruit is spread on trays and placed in the 

 dryer on the first floor, and, as new trays are put in, those 

 which were first inserted are elevated in the tower. The trays 

 finally reach the second story, by which time the fruit should 

 be finished. The trays are then removed and emptied, and 

 taken back to the first floor to be used again. 



These " stacks " are generally built of brick. There is a 

 " lifting device," by means of which the trays are elevated, 

 consisting of a chain winding on an iron bar turned by a crank 

 outside the stack or tower. 



In the Williams evaporator the trays are permanently fastened 

 to endless chains worked wholly inside the stack, and are brought 

 back to the feeding door, for the removal of the fruit. This 

 saves running up and down stairs with the trays, and allows 

 the operator to inspect any tray of fruit at will, by turning 

 the crank and bringing it back to the door. 



Another " tower dryer," constructed on a different principle, 

 is termed the automatic, in which the trays themselves fit one 

 into another and form the stack. The entire pile, or stack, of 

 trays is lifted by a crank, and a new tray is inserted at the 

 bottom. 



Other tower dryers are more simple, having no " lifting 

 devices." The trays slide into slots, and may be taken out and 

 moved higher up, or the evaporation may be controlled merely 

 by attention to the heat and by regulating ventilation. Most 

 machines for familv use and small growers are of this 

 kind. It is said that any one handy with tools may make a 

 machine which will evaporate from 2 to 10 bushels per day, 

 and thus be able to save most of the fruit about a small planta- 

 tion which ordinarily goes to waste. A machine of 10 or 12 

 trays, 3 feet square, should evaporate 10 bushels of apples per 

 day easily. A small stove may be used as a heater, or a brick 

 furnace can be built. 



Steam is sometimes used in kilns, but it is most efficient when 

 applied in closed " stacks," or boxes, below the trays. For large 

 concerns steam is held to be the most efficient and economical 

 heat, particularly where power is wanted for driving paring, 

 coring, ringing, and other machines, and can be easily carried to 

 aU parts of the building. Coils of steam pipe are laid in 

 horizontal tiers, the space between them allowing the insertion 

 of one or two trays. 



Many of the evaporator buildings are remodelled from old 

 houses, shops, or other buildings, but these are rarely so good as 

 those built for the purpose. It is pointed cut that, when building, 

 these stacks should occupy a comparatively small part of the 

 establishment. The room required for working and storing 

 much exceeds that necessary for the drying towers. A building 



