240 FIELD AND GARDEN PRODUCTS 



processes. The germ either divides itself into two parts, making 

 two bacteria where one existed before, or else reproduces itself by 

 means of spores. These spores may be compared with seeds of an 

 ordinary plant, and they present the chief difficulty in canning vege- 

 tables. While the parent bacteria may be readily killed at the tempera- 

 ture of boiling water, the seeds retain their vitality for a long time even 

 at that temperature, and upon cooling will germinate, and the newly 

 formed bacteria will begin their destructive work. Therefore it is 

 necessary, in order to completely sterilize a vegetable, to heat it 

 to the boiling point of water and keep it at that temperature for 

 about one hour, upon two or three successive days, or else keep it 

 at the temperature of boiling water for a long period of time about 

 five hours. The process of boiling upon successive days is the one 

 that is always employed in scientific work and is much to be pre- 

 ferred. The boiling on the first day kills all the molds and practi- 

 cally all of the bacteria, but does not kill the spores or seeds. 



As soon as the jar cools these seeds germinate and a fresh crop 

 of bacteria begin work upon the vegetables. The boiling upon the 

 eecond day kills this crop of bacteria before they have had time to 

 develop spores. The boiling upon the third day is not always nec- 

 essary, but is advisable in order to be sure that the sterilization is 

 complete. Among scientists this is called fractional sterilization, 

 and this principle constitutes the whole secret of canning. If the 

 housewife will only bear this in mind she will be able with a little 

 ingenuity to can any meat, fruit, or vegetable. 



Exclusion of the Air. Even after sterilization is complete the 

 work is not yet done. The spores of bacteria are so light that they 

 float about in the air and settle upon almost everything. The air 

 is alive with them. A bubble of air no larger than a pea may con- 

 tain hundreds of them. Therefore it is necessary after sterilizing 

 a jar of vegetables to exclude carefully all outside air. If one bac- 

 terium or one of its spores should get in and find a resting place, in 

 the course of a few days the contents of the jar would spoil. This 

 is why the exclusion of air is an important factor, not because the air 

 itself does any damage but because of the ever-present bacteria. 



All of this may seem new fashioned and unnecessary to some 

 housekeepers. Persons have quite often heard it said: "My grand- 

 mother never did this, and she was the most successful woman at 

 canning that I ever knew." Possibly so, but it must be remembered 

 that grandmother made her preserves delicious they were, too 

 and canned her tomatoes, but did not attempt to keep the most 

 nutritious and most delicately flavored vegetables, such as lima 

 beans, string beans, okra, asparagus, or even corn. 



So-Called "Preserving Powders." There are a great many 

 brands of so-called "preserving pow T ders" on the market. These are 

 sold not only under advertised trade names but by druggists and 

 peddlers everywhere. In the directions for use the housewife is told 

 to fill the jar with the fruit or vegetable to be canned, to cover with 

 water, and to add a teaspoonful of the powder. It is true that these 

 powders may prevent the decay of the fruit or vegetable, but they 



