A Three Year Old Cultivated Root.
It is very simple to prepare a few wild roots for market. Wash them thoroughly, this I do with a tooth or nail brush, Writes a Northern grower, as they will remove the dirt from the creases without injury. Only a few roots should be put in the water at once as it does not benefit them to soak.
I have usually dried wild roots in the sun, which is the best way, but never put roots in the hot sun before the outside is dry, as they are apt to rot.
The cultivated root is more difficult to handle. They are cleaned the same as wild roots. On account of size and quality they have to be dried differently. My first cultivated roots were dried around the cook stove, which will answer for a few roots, providing the "lady of the house" is good natured.
Last year I dried about 500 pounds of green roots and so had to find something different. I made a drier similar to Mr. Stanton's plan, i. e., a box any size to suit the amount of roots you wish to dry. The one I made is about two feet by two and a half feet and two and one-half feet high, with one side open for the drawers to be taken out. The drawers are made with screen wire for bottom.
They should be at least two inches deep and two and one-half inches would be better. I bored a three-fourth-inch hole in the top a little ways from each corner and five in the center in about ten inches square, but now I have taken the top off, as I find they dry better.
I started this on the cook stove, but did not like it as I could not control the heat. As I had two Blue Flame oil stoves I tried it over one of them and it worked fine.
They were three-hole stoves, so I laid a board across each end for the drier to rest on. The drier has a large nail driven in each corner of the bottom so that it was four inches above the stove. Then I fixed a piece of galvanized iron about 10x20 inches so that it was about two inches above top of stove, for the heat to strike against and not burn the roots.
At first I left out two of the lower drawers for fear of burning them. I only used the middle burner — and that turned quite low. I tried the flame with my hand between the stove and roots so as not to get it too high.
In this way I could get a slow heat and no danger of burning, which is the main trouble with drying by stove. It would take from two to four days to dry them, according to size. As soon as they were dried they were put in open boxes so if there was any moisture it could dry out and not mould, which they will do if closed up tight.