leneietiaieiaaes Sianheniaes einai pista Sidra ana a a 
MISSOURI BOTANICAL GARDEN BULLETIN 75 
with ordinary kitchen utensils. For sterilizing a number 
of jars at a time a wash boiler or certain types of ham boilers 
are admirably adapted. The wash boiler should be provided 
with a simple wire basket which will stand up from the bot- 
tom of the boiler about an inch. The basket should be 
strong enough to hold the weight of a dozen filled jars or 
cans, and it is usually necessary to strengthen the bottom 
with wooden strips or heavy wire or metal bands. Handles 
which will permit the full basket being lowered and lifted 
from the boiler are also a great convenience. If a wash 
boiler is not available, any sort of a vessel with a tight-fitting 
lid, large enough to contain one or more jars, may be used. 
In fact, it is well to have a small bucket fitted with a wire 
rack which will contain but a single jar, since with a small 
garden enough surplus vegetables for one jar may fre- 
quently be obtained, and it would be a waste of gas and 
labor to use a large sterilizer like a wash boiler for such 
a@ comparatively small operation. 
Recipes for the preparation of the various vegetables are 
easily obtained from any good cook book, and there is no ~ 
need of going into much detail here. Salt is usually added, 
and for some things, like asparagus, soaking in water con- 
taining lemon juice or vinegar is recommended. In gen- 
eral, all that is necessary is to clean and cut the raw vege- 
table into requisite size and pack into the jar, covering with 
cold water. Of course, the cleaner the jars and lids the 
better. If glass jars are used, the rubber ring should in- 
variably be placed at this time and the lid put on loosely. 
About two or three inches of water is sufficient to put in the 
bottom of the boiler. More water takes more time and gas, 
and it is not the water which sterilizes, but the steam. After 
lowering the basket containing the jars into the boiler, and 
fitting on the lid of the boiler tightly, the water is brought 
to the boiling point and the contents subjected to the action 
of steam for one hour. If more jars are to be sterilized, re- 
move the basket at the end of the hour, tighten the lids of 
the jars and set aside for 24 hours; or the boiler with its 
contents may be removed from the stove, and if the lid is 
tight the individual lids of the jars need not be tightened 
at this time. On the second day, repeat the process, being 
sure to loosen the lids previous to sterilization and tighten- 
ing them afterwards, and set aside as before. After a second 
24-hour period, sterilize again for the third and last time. 
The reason for this so-called discontinuous sterilization or 
repetition of the steaming three times, after a considerable 
interval of cooling, is based upon a knowledge acquired from 
