The Republican. [volume] (Oakland, Md.) 1877-current, 1897-11-04
NEW AMERICAN INDUSTRY
California Has Place Where VeGc-
tables Arc Dried like Ermit.

California Has n Place Where Negc-
tables Are Dried Like Fruit.
A new and important industry has
come into existence in Santa Glars
county, which bids fair in time to rival
the fruit drying. This is the prepare
ton of dried vegetables for the mar.
ket, which at present is generally con.
fined to the short season at the drlers
between the ripening of the different
fruits. just lately the vegetables have
been usurpng the place of the apricots
but they have now already begun ia
give way in turn to the prunes.
On approaching a drier it does not
take one long to decide whether fruit
Or vegetables are being prepared, for
II the latter case a pungent odoG
rushes out to sting ones eyes and
crawl intentionally up ones nostrils
for the trail of onions is over the land
Within a lively scene is presented. Men
are hurrying to and fro bearing traps
and boxes, while long rows of women
and children sit busily peeling pOta
toes and carrots, which, together with
t4iC OlilOllns NJ III u DlNoNlt tAiN So HAN
product. When boxes of potatoes OF
carrots are filled, they are poured into
large hopper, and from there fed to {
! machine with rotating knife-blades,
which cuts them up into small slives
q quarter of an inch thick. The fur.
Their process which the potatoes under
go is simple, and for carrots and the
:. e. II.r
the same.
After being sliced the tubers are
slightly sulphured in a chamber built
Of wood. Here great discrimination
must be used, for, if they are sulphured
too much the potatoes will taste Of
The fumes; if too little, they will not
contain enough antiseptic property,
and bacteria attracted by the starch will
develop. Moreover, a little sulphuring
is necessary to preserve the color of
the vegetables as far as possible and tc
prevent decay.
After this process the potatoes are
not spread out in the sun, but put into
al evaporator The latter looks like
a small Ferris wheel, and is inclosed in
u sort of brick oven with glass windows.
| Within this it revoves close to hot-air
pipes for few hours. When the mois-
ture is sufficiently evaporated the cars
| OF the wheel are emptied through the
windows, and their contents are now
ready for shipment in sacks.
When this stage is reached the sliced
potatoes resemble dry chips, and it
takes six or seven pounds of the fresh
to make one pound of the dried.
BY their pungency onions possess the
power Of warding off bacteria, and are,
therefore, only slightly sulphured to
preserve their color. They are next eyap,
grated until One-third of the moisture is
expelled, and then placed in trays in
| the sun, just as is done with fruit. The
| drying process shrivels the onions so
to make one of the dried. While tina
onions are being cut up the moisture
coming from them is very disagreeab BILE
and hard on the eyes of the employees.
When carrots are evaporated it takes
about nine parts of them to make one
dried part. Perhaps the drying process
used in the case of both carrots and
potatoes might be improved upon were
steam employed. BY using the latter
the starch in the potatoes would be part.
| ly cooked and sterilized, and after this
the tubers could be evapOrated III a
chamber similar to the one above de-
Bcribed. In this way the potatoes could
be rid of sulphur, well dried and yet
capable of being quickly soaked, and
there would be no chance for bacteria
to develop.
Other vegetables than these mem
toned are at present in process Of de-
| velopment; but so far the industry has
proved very profitable, as eyinced by
| the increased demand for dried vege,
tables all over the country, but espe.
cially in the mining regions.-San Fran
cisco Call.