PRESERVATION OF, BY COLD. 165 
quite rotted ;* but most other fruits are spoiled 
for human consumption by the change. 
If we can shut out the oxygen of the air, 
therefore, we shall generally be able to preserve 
our fruits for a considerable time; and our house- 
keepers are acquainted with many ways of so 
doing, all of which have this particular object 
in view, although probably the sczence of their 
operations may be unknown to them. ‘Thus a 
favourite plan is, to put half-ripe fruit into a dry 
bottle, cork it up, wax over the cork, and bury 
it in a garden. Many a time have we thus the 
pleasure of seeing the fruit of the last season 
come up to table in different forms of cookery, 
as fresh as if just plucked from the trees. An- 
other plan is, to put at the bottom of a bottle 
a paste formed of lime, sulphate of iron, and 
water, and afterwards put in the fruit, but with 
some little contrivance, such as a layer of cork 
over the paste, to keep it from touching the 
fruit. The bottles must then be well corked 
and waxed over. This paste acts in a che- 
mical manner on the air contained in the bot- 
tle, and takes from it all its oxygen gas, so 
* This change is also called ‘* Bletting.” 
