1883.] 
AMERICAS' AGRICULTURIST. 
333 
“Evaporating” Fruits and Vegetables. 
The term “evaporating” of fruits and 
vegetables, is applied to the use of heated air 
to carry off the moisture, and as distinguish¬ 
ed from drying by the heat of the sun. That 
this is already an important industry, and is 
destined to become still more important, is 
shown by the various “evaporators” now 
offered, and the numerous letters of inquiry 
sent us concerning them. We can answer, 
in -a general way, that the use of a current 
of hot air for the purpose of drying fruits 
and vegetables, is not patentable, while the 
various devices for producing the hot air, 
and applying it to the fruits, etc., may be. 
There are at least half a dozen of these de¬ 
vices now offered, and it is not possible for 
us to say which is the best. So far as we 
have seen the products of the leading ma¬ 
chines, as they are offered in the market, 
there appears to be very little difference be¬ 
tween them. The best advice we can give 
those who write us letters of inquiry is, to 
send for the descriptive circulars of each and 
give them careful study. It is hardly possi¬ 
ble to give a plan for the use of hot air for 
drying or “evaporating” vegetable sub¬ 
stances, without unintentionally using some 
device covered by a patent. Besides, it must 
be remembered that the various evaporators 
and dryers now offered, have been subjected 
to the test of actual use. Any affair that 
one might make for himself must be experi¬ 
mented with, and in the end will cost more 
than to purchase one that has been already 
tested. The different evaporators, so far as 
we have seen them, or their descriptions, 
have several advantages over sun-drying. 
They allow the drying to go on rapidly, so 
that there is no chance for incipient fermen¬ 
tation. The drying is done in the dark, 
which prevents discoloration of the article. 
With apples and other light-colored pro¬ 
ducts, they allow of the use of sulphur 
fumes to bleach them and improve their ap¬ 
pearance, an operation which, if properly 
performed, is not objectionable. 
European Horseradish. 
The engraving illustrates the peculiar bun¬ 
dles of the European horseradish. A dozen 
or less of the roots are firmly bound by 
means of a willow withe, to form a bundle. 
The roots are bunched without first washing 
them, and do not present a very attractive 
A BUNCH OF HORSERADISH. 
appearance. Being closely packed in casks, 
during the voyage in the warm hold of the 
steamer, the tops start into growth, and 
when the casks are opened, they present a 
mass of drawn-out, blanched leaves, which 
must be removed before the bundles are of¬ 
fered for sale. An inspection of these im¬ 
ported roots shows that the Holland growers 
treat the plant the same as we do in this 
country, i. e., they plant a set made of a slim 
side root, and allow it to grow but one sea¬ 
son. The English market-gardeners often 
follow the old method of planting out the 
crowns, and have a far less satisfactory crop. 
The Chrysanthemum. 
When we compare our flower culture with 
that of other countries, no feature is more 
Fig. 1. —STANDARD CHRYSANTHEMUM. 
striking than the difference as to Chrysan¬ 
themum culture. While in England there 
are over twenty societies, kept up solely 
for the encouragement of the culture of 
the Chrysanthemum, in this country it has 
received very little attention. The plants 
being hardy, they are generally treated as 
other hardy perennials. They are set out, 
and left to take their chances. While 
treated in this manner, they do good service 
by making the garden gay at a time when 
there is little else in bloom ; it does not put 
this plant to its best use, that of ornament¬ 
ing the conservatory or window garden dur¬ 
ing the autumn and early winter months. 
Let us say, in the first place, that the florists 
make three very distinct classes of Chrysan¬ 
themums, the “ Large-flowered,” the oldest 
sort; the “Pompone,” a class distinguished 
by its very small flowers, produced in great 
abundance; and the “Japanese,” a set re¬ 
cently introduced, and distinguished by their 
very long florets, which give the flower a pe¬ 
culiar aspect. All these are desirable, but if 
the beginner can have only one kind, let him 
by all means select the Pompones. 
English writers upon floriculture recom¬ 
mend the Chrysanthemum to novices as a 
plant upon which to practice training, as it 
most readily yields itself to the treatment. 
At the Chrysanthemum Shows in England, 
plants are trained in three principal forms : 
the “convex,” the “standard,” and the 
“pyramidal.” In the convex form, the 
plant is, by pinching and training to a wire 
frame, made to present a convex mass, a few 
inches high, and with a much larger diame¬ 
ter than that of the pot. We pass this by as 
being rather difficult for the beginner. The 
standard form is shown in figure 1. To pro¬ 
duce this, a potted plant is grown to a single 
stem, and kept tied to a stake. Side shoots 
will appear upon the stem, which are pinch¬ 
ed back to two leaves. When the stem 
reaches the desired hight—a foot or more— 
the growing point is then pinched out. This 
will cause a number of shoots to start from 
near the top of the stem, and these are train¬ 
ed to form a head. When these shoots are 
about six inches long, they are stopped by 
pinching out the point. This will cause sec¬ 
ondary shoots to appear, which, with the 
others, are tied out, using secondary stakes, 
if needed, to form a symmetrical head. By 
mid-summer the head will be formed, and 
but little training is needed after that time. 
To form the pyramid (fig. 2), the side shoots 
at the bottom are allowed to grow six inches 
long or more before they are stopped, by 
pinching the growing end. The shoots above 
these are gradually shorter, and by the aid 
of sticks, to which the branches are tied out, 
a pyramidal form is secured. A simpler 
method of training is the “ Bush-form,” 
which may be practised upon plants in the 
open ground. It consists in pinching out the 
end of every shoot at the time the plants are 
making their growth. This will produce a 
round-headed bush, which may afterwards 
be potted. Those who have plants in the 
border, should pot a share of them for bloom¬ 
ing in the greenhouse, or in the window of 
the dwelling. As soon as the buds appear, 
take up the plants and pot them in rich, 
loose soil. They may wilt at first, but by 
shading for a few days, they will recover. 
Those who exhibit Chrysanthemums, re¬ 
move a portion of the buds, and, of the large- 
flowered kinds, allow but one bud upon a 
shoot. After potted plants have bloomed, 
withhold water gradually, and when they 
Fig. 2. —PYRAMID AT. CHRYSANTHEMUM. 
are at rest, cut back the stems and place the 
pots in the cellar, but do not let the roots 
get “ killing dry” during the winter. 
