Pine cone dryer

This pine cone dryer in Haguenau is a second generation dryer. The first oven dryer in France, intended to artificially open the cones, was created in 1824 in Haguenau, with a forest rich in pines. In the last century, the Scots pine was one of the twelve species of conifers selected by the Forestry Administration to reforest state-owned massifs. Developed from German models, this second generation pine cone dryer offers a new layout which makes it the prototype of later French oven dryers. The installation is located on two levels: on the ground floor is the heater, here a brick oven, which communicates with the upper floor through vents distributing hot air; the cones are exposed to heat in a sort of cabinet with wooden drawers, fitted with wooden racks and metal canvases, and closed by horizontal shutters.