Exhibited at Windsor. 
495 
the present volume of the Journal, the only modilication being 
the addition of an outer air-jacket round the stove. For trial, 
the No. 2 machine was selected as the most suitable for the re- 
quirements of a middle-sized farm. 
A preliminaiy trial of the machine was made, when samples 
of carrots, parsley, and apples were passed through the machine, 
the appearance of the dried products at once warranting a 
further trial. 
Experiment No. 1. — Fifteen pounds weight of apples were 
weighed out ; they were peeled, cored, and sliced, or cut into 
rings, and the net weight of fruit placed in the evaporator was 
10 lbs. 15 ozs., the dried weight of which was 1 lb. 11 ozs., 
the whole time occupied being 5 hours 35 minutes. The time 
occupied in drying this quantity of fruit is no guide to the 
capacity of the machine, as the smaller pieces of apple obviously 
dry more rapidly than the larger ones (some being finished 
within 2\ hours) ; in regular working such dried pieces would 
be removed as soon as dried, the fruit on the trays would be 
re-arranged, and additional fruit added to the lower trays. 
Exferiment No. 2. — The evaporator w^as again heated up ; 
145 lbs. 11 ozs. of apples were weighed out; these were peeled, 
cored, and sliced, the net weight put into the evaporator being 
106 lbs. 15 ozs. The first dried portions of the apples were 
taken out of the machine within 1 hr. 55 mins. of charging ; the 
whole was finished in 9^ hrs., and the weight of dried fruit was 
15 lbs. 4 ozs., which presented a uniform appearance and was 
of excellent quality. 
From this experiment it would appear that the waste in peel- 
ing and coring amounts to a little over l-4th of the gross weight, 
and that the dried product weighs about 1-1 0th of the gross 
weight. 
Some cherries were then tried ; they were unfortunately 
anything but a good sample of fruit to start with ; the drying, 
however, was complete, and any deficiency in appearance was 
fairly attributable to the bruised condition of the fruit. 
To produce a good sample of dried fruit, much depends upon 
the skill and attention of the operator. Thus, in drying apples, 
the short exposure to the atmosphere, after peeling and slicing, 
until the portions can be arranged on the trays ready for drying, 
will cause them to lose their white appearance and turn them 
brown, which discolouration is intensified by drying. To obviate 
this, as soon as they are sliced, they are at once plunged into 
water in which a small quantity of salt is dissolved. Other 
kinds of fruit, dried in their skins, may require steaming to some 
extent. 
X K 2 
