July, 1917 
WISCONSIN HORTICULTURE 
191 
In drying fruits or vegetables 
in the sun outdoors be sure to 
cover them with mosquito netting 
to keep off flies. It is a good plan 
to have a lath frame tacked to the 
ends of the drying board to 
raise the netting two or three 
inehes above the fruit. 
Another wise precaution is to 
set the legs of the table, or sup- 
ports in small pans of water in 
which a little kerosene has been 
dropped so that ants and cater- 
pillars cannot crawl over and up. 
Ants will swim through clear wa- 
ter but not any with kerosene in 
HOME DRYING. 
Scarcity of Cans or Glass Jars 
Makes Drying Desirable. 
Dry vegetables and fruits for 
winter use in tin cans for glass 
jars for canning are scarce or ex- 
pensive. 
This is the advice of specialists 
of the United States Department 
of Agriculture, who recently have 
studied the possibilities of con- 
serving food to meet war needs in 
spite of any difficulties that may 
be experienced in obtaining can- 
ning containers. Drying was a 
well-recognized and successful 
way of preserving certain foods 
before canning came into general 
use, the specialists point out, and 
modern methods make it still 
more practicable than formerly, 
either in the home or by commu- 
nity groups. 
METHODS OF DRYING 
Three methods of drying have 
been found by the department 
specialists to give satisfactory 
results. These are sun drying, 
drying by artificial heat, and dry- 
ing with air blasts, as before an 
electric fan. Trays for drying by 
any one of these methods, as well 
as tray frames for use over stoves 
or before fans, can be made satis- 
factorily at home. Frames and 
trays for use with artificial heat 
may be purchased complete if de- 
sired. 
Homemade trays may be made 
of side and end boards three- 
fourths of an inch thick and 2 
inches wide and bottom boards of 
lathing spaced one-fourth of an 
inch. If desired, 14-inch galvan- 
ized wire mesh may be tacked to 
the side and end boards to form 
the bottoms of the trays. Frames 
for use before fans may be made 
of wood of convenient size. 
Frames for use with artificial 
heat should be made of noninflam- 
mable material to as great an ex- 
tent as possible. As many as six 
trays may be placed one above 
the other when artificial heat is 
used. In drying before a fan the 
number of trays that may be 
placed one above the other will 
depend, to a large extent, upon 
the diameter of the fan. In dry- 
ing in the sun, trays as described 
may be used or the products to be 
dried may be spread on sheets of 
paper or muslin held in place by 
weights. 
PREPARING PRODUCTS FOR DRYING 
Vegetables and fruits will dry- 
better if sliced. They should be 
cut into slices one-eighth to one- 
fourth of an inch thick ; if thicker, 
they may not dry thoroughly 
While drying, the products should 
be turned or stirred from time to 
time. Dried products should be 
packed temporarily for 3 or 4 
day r s and poured each day from 
one box to another to bring about 
thorough mixing and so that the 
whole mass will have a uniform 
degree of moisture. If during 
this “conditioning” any pieces of 
the products are found to be too 
moist, they should be returned to 
the trays and dried further. When 
in condition the products may be 
packed permanently in tight pa- 
per bags, insect-proof paper boxes 
or cartons, or glass or tin con- 
tainers. 
Notes on the Drying or Dehydra- 
tion of Fruits and Vegetables. 
Blanchard Harper. 
An oi l window screen fram 
covered with galvanized netting 
or cheese cloth makes a capital 
drying tr v. 
Remember that dried fruits are 
moistur ; absorbers and mo'sture 
«oon ti omes mould. Dr ; e ’. 
fruits and vegetables must be 
kept dry. After drying thorough- 
ly hang up in a paper bag back 
of the kitchen stove for a few 
days then toast a tin box or cov- 
ered can. while uncovered, in chc 
oven for a few minutes before 
putting ' he fruit or vegetables in 
it and putting on the tight cover. 
All solid fruits like apples, 
peaches, pears, etc., must be cut 
up and peeled before drying 
Also all vegetables like carrots, 
etc. 
Sundried fruits are darker thar. 
oven dried — many think the flav- 
or of sui. dried preferable to that 
of oven dried. 
Never leave drying fruit out 
doors a: ter sundown, or put out 
before the dew is dried. 
Plan <0 store vegetables that 
will keep without canning by 
some of the other processes for 
preserving such as- dng or de 
hydrating, wrapping in paper in 
a dark cellar such as onions, 
squash and cabbage, storing roots 
in sand, etc. 
Send to the Department of Ag- 
riculture ior Bulletin on Canning 
in the Home; Dehydrating Fruits 
and Vegetables in the Home. 
