374 
SPICES 
CHAP. 
allowed to lie in the sun for one day after being picked, 
in order to toughen the stems and prevent them break- 
ing during the process of curing. 
Stringing . — A common method is to cut strings of 
strong smooth twine 8^ ft. long. Draw this through a 
needle about 10 in. long, which is often made of a 
bicycle spoke. 
Peppers having any break or blemish must be thrown 
away, as they would decay before drying properly. Of 
course, where there is an evaporator in use these can be 
saved. After the strings are full and tied they are 
hung on nails driven into a rough pole or other frame- 
work, standing about 6 ft. from the ground, and left 
until dry, or, if shelter is available, they may be moved 
before becoming fully dry and hung closely together 
under the shelter, but where there is a free current 
of air. 
Evaporating . — Many growers prefer evaporating 
instead of drying. The evaporators should be large 
enough, when the peppers are dried on strings, to hold 
not less than 500 strings. The usual plan is to have a 
furnace with several turns of 8 to 10 in. pipe in the 
basement, the peppers being placed in a second story 
over a very open floor, and with good ventilation. The 
temperature can be kept at 110° Fahr., and in this way 
the house can be refilled every four days. 
Yield and Price. — Both of these vary of course 
with the season, soil, and water-supply. Two hundred 
and fifty strings of 5 lbs. each is called a good paying 
crop, but with all things favourable, including a late 
warm season, as high as 400 strings or even 2,400 lbs. of 
dried pepper per acre may be grown. 
Prices range from 35 to 75 cents (American dollar) 
per string if sun-dried, and 7^ to 12^ cents per lb. if 
evaporated. 
IN AUSTRALIA 
A writer in the Queensland Agricultural Journal 
for April 1902 states that the ease with which chilies 
