68 
[July  1,  189G 
Supplement  to  the  “ Tfopical  Agviciiltui  ist. 
There  is  another  wny  of  preserving  frmt 
which  might  be  referred  to  in  clof-ing  tins 
pnper,  viz.,  by  drying.  The  priiclice  oi  presen  mg 
fruit  by  drying  in  the  sun  is  very  old. 
late  in  America,  and  to  some  extent  in  Europe, 
this  primitive  practice  has  given  place  to  cann- 
ing and  the  better  method  of  drying  ; but  even  je 
in  parts  of  Europe  and  the  East  the  sun  drying  o^ 
fruits  is  a common  em])loyment.  Figs,  dates, 
raisins,  currants  and  prunes  are  to  a very 
extent  dried  by  this  original  method.  JNo 
long  ago  in  Australia  ap])les,  peaches,  pears 
&c.,  were  pared  and  dried  on  house-tops  or 
upon  elevated  platforms  on  crates  or  lac  ^s. 
In  thus  drying  apples,  for  instance,  the  fiui  s 
were  pared,  cored  and  ((uartered  and  then 
placed  on  tables  and  drying  boards  tilted  up 
so  as  to  get  the  greatest  sun  exposure.  Often 
the  fruits  were  strung  on  strings,  and  hung  on 
festoons  near  the  ceiling  over  tlie  kitchen 
fire — a practice  not  to  be  commended  for  obvi- 
our  reasons.  Later  on,  fruits  came  to  be  diied 
over  stoves  variously  designed.  A common  but 
really  efficient  form  of  these  primitive  driers 
is  thus  described  by  an  American  writer ; It 
was  composed  of  three  things,  viz.,  a hogs- 
head, a tin  box  and  a small  stove.  The  hogs- 
head stood  on  end  and  half  a door  sawed 
out  of  the  side  to  admit  the  stove : a hole 
18  inches  scpiare  was  sawed  in  the  head  of 
the  hogshead  to  let  the  heat  of  the  stove  up, 
and  a six  or  seven  foot  box,  having  the  lower 
eiul  knocked  out,  stood  on  end  in  ^ tlie 
tojr  of  the  hogshead,  and  was  carefully  fitted 
over  the  hole  in  the  head  of  the  hogshead. 
The  heat  ascended  from  the  stove  through  the 
top  of  the  hogshead  and  on  through  the  box. 
A pipe  hole  was  made  in  the  hogshead  oppo- 
site the  door  to  let  the  smoke  out,  so  that 
none  ascended  through  the  box.  The  lid  of 
the  box  was  fitted  with  binges,  and  cleats  or 
supports  were  put  in  on  which  to  rest  the 
open  shelves  or  crates  which  held  the  fruit. 
The  stove  was  heated  by  wood  or  coal.  Some 
such  simple  contrivance  as  the  above  might 
be  made  by  any  one  capable  of  using  a saw 
and  hammer,  and  enable  him  to  dispose  of 
frnit  when  available  in  a convenient  and 
palatable  form. 
Practically  all  fruits  are  suitable  for  canning, 
and  more,  may  be  preserved  by  drying,  and  a 
large  variety  of  vegetables,  such  as  potatoes, 
pumpkins,  tomatoes,  carrots,  beans,  peas,  In- 
dian corn,  &c.  Fruits  that  are  generally  peeled 
before  cooking  must  be  pared  before  evax^orating, 
and  all  must  be  sufficiently  divided  to  make 
rapid  and  thorough  drying  possible.  The  point 
to  be  arrived  at  in  evaporating  is  to  secure 
thorough  and  not  too  rapid  drying.  If  too 
great  or  too  dry  heat  is  employed  the  fruit 
is  partly  cooked,  or  else  evaitoraled  so  ra^ndly 
that  the  fruit  cells  are  rui)tured  and  a flavour- 
less insipitl  article  is  tlie  result.  The  tem- 
perature of  the  air  nearest  the  source  of 
heat  must  not  be  above  ‘J00“  F.,  but  for  dry- 
ing the  more  delicate  fruits  and  vegetable.s 
this  temperature  is  somewhat  too  high.  To  mo- 
dify the  influence  of  healed  dry  air  it  is  the 
jira'ctice  to  introduce  into  the  evaporator  shal- 
low ve.ssels  filled  with  water,  placing  them 
where  the  heat  is  greatest  and  driest,  near  the 
stove  or  other  heater  employed. 
PRUNING. 
[1  .'-end  you  a few  notes  on  pruning,  n hich  1 shall 
be  very  thankful  if  you  will  publish,  my  object 
being  to  try  and  remove  .some  itrejudices  against 
the  operation  and  acquaint  fruit  growers  with  some 
of  the  mistakes  made  by  them  in  their  system  of 
fruit  growing  in  the  Island.  A little  personal 
exjierience  following  upon  the  lessons  of  illus- 
trious authors  on  agricultural  science,  such  as 
Boussingault,  Liebig,  Ville,  Wagner  and  others 
has  aided  me  in  this  attemijt,  so  that  if  your  readers 
find  my  notes  of  any  value  at  all,  let  them  render 
their  thanks  to  those  high  authorities  and  be 
thankful  only  to  them.] 
The  pruning  of  fruit  trees  is  the  most  impor- 
tant i>art  of  fiiiit  culture  when  we  want  to  obtain 
a x'l'oper  and  well-matured  crop.  I have  seen 
very  little  done  in  this  line  in  Ceylon  by  a few 
amateur  growers,  and  nothing  at  all  by  the 
natives  who,  on  the  contrary,  dare  not  cut  a 
single  sucker  off  a tree  fearing  they  might  injure 
it.  I’lenty  of  wood,  little  fruit,  and  that  sour,  are 
the  results  of  this  treatment.  If  oranges  are  cul- 
tivated properly,  there  is  nothing  in  this  island  to 
Xjrevent  the  trees  giving  us  fruit  as  good  as  is 
obtained  in  other  countries.  I am  not  blaming 
the  poor  villager  for  leaving  his  fruit  trees  to 
grow  wild,  and  so  lose  the  chance  that  nature, 
assisted  by  a little  care  and  labor,  offers  him. 
If  he  does  not  know  any  better,  is  he  to  be  lett 
in  his  ignorance  for  ever  ? And  is  it  not  the  duty 
of  somebody  to  begin  to  show  him  his  errors,  and 
so  encourage  him  towards  earning  an  honest  and 
remunerative  livelihood,  and  thus  render  his  life 
more  useful  and  hniixiier  than  it  is  today  ? 
1 will  not  say  that  by  pruning  old  trees  we  will 
obtain  at  once  good  fruit  tas  no  grafting  has  ever 
been  attempted  but  all  trees  grown  from  seed- 
lings, generation  after  generation,  a good  fruit 
cannot  easily  be  obtained)  but  by  taking  one  of 
these  treesthoroughly  in  hand  andlettingit  undergo 
rational  pruning,  the  improvement  in  crop  and 
quality  must  follow.  13y  suppressing  a useless 
branch  the  saj)  which  w^ent  to  support  it  will  go 
to  the  benefit  of  those  remaining,  and  their  buds 
being  well  nourished  will  soon  bring  forth  the 
healthy  shoot  which  in  lime  will  carry  blossom 
and  fruit. 
I consider  the  very  last  days  of  drought  the 
best  time  for  pruning  here ; at  this  period  there 
being  practically  a cessation  of  growth,  the  plant 
will  be  saved  from  the  shock  of  heavy  pruning. 
The  tree  must  be  trained  from  the  very  first 
to  a .single  stem,  and  i)reference  always  given  to 
the  healthiest  and  straighlest.  This  attention 
paid  to  a young  tree  will  make  it  grow  fast  and 
vigorously,  and  tliere  will  be  no  harm  in  allowing 
it  its  own  way  till  it  reaches  its  third  year  of  exis- 
tence, when  w'c  will  have  to  i)runeit  .so  as  to  give  it 
a uniform  appearance.  The  vigour  of  a tree  de- 
pends mostly  on  the  equal  di.staibution  of  .sap  to  all 
its  blanches.  If  a brancli  does  not  receive  a full 
and  regular  flow  of  saj>,  it  becomes  weak  and  bears 
but  ]mor  frnit  which  will  never  attain  i)ioper 
maturity.  It  is  hence  necessary  if  we  want  to 
secure  lor  our  trees  both  symmetrical  form  and 
vigorous  health  to  prune  so  as  to  maintain  an 
equally  distributed  How  ol  saj)  through  all  primary 
branche.«.  Thu  way  to  bring  about  this  ecpuilized 
How  consists  in  cutting  little  or  nothing  ofl'  the 
weak  branch  but  shortening  the  strong  branch 
