Atlanta semi-weekly journal. (Atlanta, Ga.) 1898-1920, 1917-06-22

wv cannot preserve food by canning it this
summer, for the reason that they have no
place TO store large quantities of jars dry it,
This is what our ancestors used to do when there
were no food factories to help them out during the
winter; this is what Europe has done for the past
two years, and it is turn. 1t is every
scarcity by doing something to conserve the food
that would otherwise go to waste this summer.
This is meant for the men as we'll as the
women of the nation, for the cannot very
we'll dry fruits and vegetables without a drying
outfit. 1t is up the man of the family to get
MS check book, or his saw and screw driver, and
produce dryer. Filing sheet iron and galvanized
screening into the form of drying apparatus is not
an easy job but the self-sacrice is certain to be
rewarded next winter when your attic is full OF
string beans and peaches and your less diligent
neighbor is dining cheese and corn meal.
The predictions concerning next winters food
supply have already been made gloomy enough to
everybody into action, but the real serious
ness of the situation may be appreciated when it
Is known that the government is actually going
around and teaching people how to preserve the
seasons crops Last summer, carloads of peaches
and truck vegetables were not even gathered,
and when winter came there were food riots in the
cities. This waste must not happen this year, de-
clares the government.
For the past two years the governments of the
European belligerents have been supervising the
matter of food. Nothing has been wasted. In
England, the supervision has not been quite so
minute, and the nation has suffered a result,
but in France, Italy Austria, Russia and Germany,
every bit of leftover produce in the city markets
has been Immediately hurried to municipal can
ming factories, while government representatives,
accompanied by drying machines have toured all
the villages and dried all the fruits and vegetables
that could be spared from the seasons consump-
ton.
We have not quite come to that Here the
responsibility still rests the individual as to
whether food is wasted not, and the government
trust to the thrifty American.
The drying of fruits and Vegetables is very
simple process requiring less wark than canning,
usually satisfactory.
Many American women today still dry their
pumpkins and squash because they make the best
pies. In the of fruits, the original flavor is
sometimes lost but their nutritive value is greatly
increased, owing to the evaporation of water. AS
to dried vegetables, there is more attractive
winter dish than pint Of dried string beans cook
ed with a little onion or bacon.
There are many types Of driers. The ordinary
oven will do very well, if supplied with trays and
the door left open, but whenever possible it is bet
ter to apparatus which maintains con-
slant circulation of air. This is because vegeta-
bles and fruits, when cut and dried out, imme
diately begin to evaporate moisture into the air
around them If they enclosed in a sealed
compartment the air becomes filled with
moisture, and the result is mold. If, however,
current of air is blown over them, the evaporation
is slow and steady until they dry and crisp.
The type of homemade drier which is now be-
ing used extensively in the south, where the de-
partment of agriculture has been stimulating in
terest in drying, is one that be used on
wood or coal range a kerosene stove, and is
easy to make. The bottom is made of a piece OF
galvanized sheet iron "a inches long by 16 inches
wide and six inches high. Upon this base is built
a framework of thin strips of wood SO inches apart
which act cleats to hold the trays of food. The
framework is then covered with galvanized iron,
and you have the drer complete except for the
trays, a door with hinges and another sheet of
iron-perforated and little smaller than the
base-which is suspended by wires a couple of
inches above the base, preventing the direct heat
from coming in contact with the product and serv-
ing as a radiator to more evenly spread the heat
An electric fan placed in front of
this form of drer is of the most effective dry
ing devices The trays for this drier also made
of a frame of thin strips of wood to which is tack
ed a sheet of galvanized screen wire, which forms
the bottom of the tray. 1t is best to make the
trays three inches shorter than the drier itself,