Summer Meeting. 151 



using. Fruit for canning should be carefully selected, using only the 

 perfect fruit, free from bruises and not too ripe, cooking only long enough 

 to thoroughly heat the fruit and sealing boiling hot in air-tight glass jars. 



Another way, is to preserve the fruit, but, unlike the canned fruit, 

 may be made of that which is too ripe for shipping. In this we use from 

 one-half to an equal quantity of sugar, cooking carefully until the syrup 

 jellies. Such preserves can be kept for several years. 



All small, imperfect berries, peaches, etc., can be made into deli- 

 cious marmalades and jams, and when put up in neat, attractive shape are 

 in good demand. A slight covering of paraffin prevents mold. 



Another way to use the imperfect fruit is to make it into jelly, using 

 equal parts of fruit juice and sugar, and putting into jelly tumblers with 

 close-fitting tin tops. 



Still another source of revenue for the fruit grower's wife is in 

 making good pickles. The principal pickles of this country are made o^ 

 cucumbers, but an agreeable variety may be made of different green 

 vegetables, like green beans, cauliflower, small onions, green tomatoes 

 and young melons. Cucumbers for pickles should be gathered every 

 day, taking great care to have them of unifonn size and appearance. Pre- 

 pare a jar of strong brine, and every morning wash the cucumbers as 

 they are gathered and put into the brine, keeping them well under with a 

 heavy weight. When you have the desired quantity soak them twenty- 

 four hours in fresh water and add spiced vinegar, hot. Keep in glass 

 jars or bottles corked tight. Apples, cherries, small pears can be utilized 

 by drying, and if carefully done make a pleasant change for the family 

 and find a ready sale. 



Not long ago, while taking an order from a hotel proprietor, he asked 

 if I could dry sweet corn, saying he much preferred it to canned corn. 

 Many housekeepers prefer to buy home-canned tomatoes in glass to 

 using the factory-canned in tin. A lady acquaintance of mine, suddenly 

 thrown on her own resources for a living, was appalled to find, on taking 

 an invoice of her talents, that she only knew one way to make money, 

 and that was making excellent jams and preserves, and from a sample 

 sent to a large hotel, now makes them in large quantities. Another lady 

 in a distant state furnishes a large grocery house in Chicago with choice 

 home-made pickles. 



