f the eyes. They should be sliced into one-eighth to
one-quarter inch slices. Blanch five minutes, cold-dip, remove
superfluous moisture and dry. Leeks are handled as are onions.

Select well-developed heads of cabbage and remove all loose outside
leaves. Split the cabbage, remove the hard, woody core and slice the
remainder of the head with a kraut slicer or cutter or with a large,
sharp knife. Blanch five to ten minutes and cold-dip; dry.

Spinach and parsley should be carefully washed. Steam, cold-dip and
dry. If the spinach is sliced the drying will be greatly facilitated.
Beet tops, Swiss chard and celery are prepared like spinach.

Select sound, well-matured Irish potatoes. Wash and boil or steam
until nearly done. Peel and pass through a meat grinder or a potato
ricer. Collect the shred in layers on a tray and dry until brittle. If
toasted slightly in an oven when dry, the flavor is improved somewhat;
or boil or steam until nearly done, peel, cut into quarter-inch
slices, spread on trays, and dry until brittle. Peeling may be
omitted, but the product will be very much inferior in flavor. Irish
potatoes cannot be satisfactorily dried unless they are first cooked;
otherwise they will discolor.

All root vegetables must be thoroughly cleaned, otherwise an earthy
flavor may cling to them. One decayed root may seriously affect
several pots of vegetable soup.

GENERAL SUGGESTIONS

1. All vegetables should be completely dried in from two to
twenty-four hours.

2. Materials should be turned or stirred several times to secure a
uniform product.

3. If heat is used guard against scorching. The door is left open if
an oven is used; the temperature should be about 110 degrees at the
beginning and usually should not exceed 130 degrees. Onions, string
beans and peas will yellow at more than 140 degrees.

4. A thermometer is essential to successful drying by artificial heat.

5. It is impossible to give definite lengths of times for the
completion of sun drying, as this varies not only with different
products but with the weather. A sultry, rainy day is the worst for
drying.

6. Vegetables should be stone dry.

7. Succulent vegetables and fruits contain from 80 to 95 per cent of
water, and when dried sufficiently still retain from 15 to 20 per
cent; so it is a good plan to weigh before and after drying as a
check. The product should lose from two-thirds to four-fifths of its
weight.

8. Work rapidly to preve