1888 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



703 



that may be held mechanically through the 

 fruit, by boiling. Heat the can and contents 

 boiling hot— so hot that every part ot the in- 

 terior of the can is tilled with steam. This 

 steam expels the air. You must now put on 

 your cap, or lid, and seal it up while it is 

 boiling hot and full of steam ; and if you 

 wish to move the cans to a table while you 

 put the caps on, this table must be near the 

 stove, and the caps must be put on one at a 

 time, just as often as the cans are taken 

 from the boiling water. If glass cans are 

 used, you must be sure that the rubbers are 

 in place, and then screw the caps down with 

 a wrench. When the cans get cold, fit on 

 your wrench and tighten them still more. 

 With tin cans it is customary to fill the can 

 with fruit, and solder on the tin cap, then 

 prick an awl-hole in the center. Now put 

 them all into boiling water, and boil them 

 about 15 minutes ; then while they are still 

 boiling hot and steaming, let a drop of solder 

 close the prick-hole. For further security 

 they are generally put back in and boiled an 

 hour more. Now, just remember that your 

 cans must be full, so there will be no possible 

 chance for a bit of air. Secondly, the caps 

 must be put on and made tight when every 

 thing is made boiling hot. 1 once heard of a 

 woman who complained that her fruit did 

 not keep. When questioned closely she said 

 the cans did not seem quite full, and so she 

 unscrewed the caps after they got cold, and 

 put in some more fruit, and filled them up. 

 The poor woman had not even the faintest 

 glimpse of the philosophy of canning fruit 

 by expelling air by steam, and then keeping 

 it out. 



MOKE ABOUT CANNING CORN. 



Friend Root:— My wife cans corn every year, and 

 has no more trouble from its spoiling- than she has 

 with tomatoes or any thing- else. This is her meth- 

 od: 



Cut the corn from the cob and pack it in the cans, 

 filling- them full; screw the cap on just enough to 

 hold; put the cans in a kettle of water, with a thin 

 board under them, and boil for 1^4 hours. Have 

 the water come nearly up to the ring of the cans. 

 Then take them out and wipe the covers and cans 

 clean; put the covers back on, and screw them 

 down tight. Boil again for one and a half hours. 

 When taking out, try to give the covers another 

 turn, to make sure they are on as tight as can be. 

 Peas can be canned in the same way, without using 

 acid or pickle of any kind. My wife and her friends 

 have been using the above method for years. 



John S. Snearly. 



Williamsville, N. Y., Aug. 27, 1888. 



In the above process the cap is screwed 

 down only tight enough to kee\) the air out, 

 but still permit the steam to force itself out 

 when the pressure becomes sufficient. I do 

 not quite see the philosophy of taking the 

 cans out and moving the covers. I think 1 

 should prefer to risk them by simply turn- 

 ing the covers down tight, after boiling for 

 an hour and a half; then boil again, and, 

 when finished, put ^m the wrench and turn 

 down the caps until no air can possibly get 

 back into the corn. Did any one ever know 

 of cans bursting imder this treatment? The 

 pressure of the steam must be considerable 



during the last boiling ; but as the cans are 

 in an ;open vessel, the temperature can not 

 get very much above 212", and any fruit-can 

 would stand this pressure unless it has a 

 flaw or crack. It seems from the above 

 methods that the corn needs boiling a good 

 deal longer than tomatoes and other fruits. 



GOD'S GIFTS, ETC. 



Friend Boot;— Since reading Terry's article on 

 strawberries, I have been more interested than 

 ever. Well, I've grown them for 2.5 years, as well 

 as other fruits, and I can Indorse all he says. But 

 he hasn't got it all yet. You know there are a 

 great many new sorts coming out; but, like other 

 things, there is a great difference. The old Wilson 

 is one of the best in all but one respect— it fails in 

 growth of plant more than some, yet you use one 

 of these to eight or ten Crescent Seedlings, and I 

 am sure you and friend T. will have to lie awake 

 more than ever with excitement. Now for an ex- 

 periment. 



I set a little bed on graveled cranberry land, 

 where ice and water stand five months, and, to my 

 joy, I had some of the finest fruit ever seen. The 

 coarse sand keeps it from hardening, as it is quite 

 damp all the season, and you see it is so moist that 

 the fruit must keep plump. The dressing was only 

 phosphate, a good coat just before a rain; the 

 plants were set the 1.5th of August, 1887. I wish you 

 could see the old bed now. As soon as the fruit is 

 off I cut off about one-half the old leaves, and dress 

 and work over the old bed. Now, we can save or 

 lose a great deal with plants if we take no thought, 

 as they grow out faster than we often wish, and yet 

 we desire to save them, and yet keep them within 

 bounds, instead of cutting them off. When they have 

 set a small plant, just twine them around to the old 

 plant and jam them down, and press a little soil on, 

 or a stone, if there are any. In this way you have 

 a wonderful hill, and you see there is no waste or 

 loss of growth ; but if we cut these off after (even 

 if a small plant has started), it is a big draft on the 

 old plant, and a dead loss; and, too, these very 

 plants give us loads of fruit next season. One who 

 never tried it doesn't know how soon a little layer- 

 ed plant will root and grow. I would say, if a run- 

 ner has started beyond the little plant, nip it otf, 

 and so on. What we hard-working people want is 

 to save these seemingly little things, and, too, all 

 the work not needed. I save time of my own, and 

 land too, in this way. 



I set a piece to blackberries, seven feet each way. 

 This came in full fruit the third year. I set a full 

 row of strawberries between one way, and two or 

 three plants between the next hill, and so on. In 

 this way I lose no time, and can cultivate it all at 

 once. The second year we get a full crop of straw- 

 berries, and, for the fun of it, you can let a few 

 grow in under the blackberry bushes, and see how 

 much later you can have them. One year I had 

 some two weeks out of season. There they were in 

 the shade, and, for that purpose, the Sharpless is a 

 daisy. 



I think if we can be happy in anj' work it is in 

 gardening; and, when we get so interested, we 

 roll up our sleeves and sharpen up the hoe and 

 keep at the weeds frequently. I sold 1600 quarts off 

 from less than half an acre one year, and had ap- 

 ple-trees and blackberries on the same land. " She " 

 and 1 picked them all. Let me say, it pays to sort 



