138 A HOME VEGETABLE-GARDEN 



first few messes must be cooked and eaten from 

 the cob. There is no better way for the corn epi- 

 cure to taste and test its juiciness and fine flavor. 

 After a little, when the limas are ready, succotash 

 may be made instead. Souffle or country corn 

 pudding is excellent for supper. However pre- 

 pared, the sweet corn is always a table delight. 



We shall expect the crop to be bountiful, even 

 beyond our hope; far more than we shall be able 

 to use fresh. Dry some of the surplus, using the 

 over-mature ears, especially. Shave it from the 

 cobs; spread it on trays in the sunshine or above 

 the kitchen stove. Be sure to can the best of the 

 surplus. Canned corn may be exactly as delicious 

 as fresh if it is put up in the best way. Gather 

 the corn to be canned very early in the cool of 

 the morning. Strip the husks and remove the silk 

 immediately; and then put it into the jars and 

 begin sterilization. With a very sharp knife 

 barely shave the surface of the kernels, cutting 

 from the stem end towards the ear tip. Clip the 

 surface just enough to open the kernel. Using a 

 dull knife or the back of the other, scrape out the 

 heart of the kernel ; it is not the hard outside, but 

 the juicy milky heart of the corn that we wish to 

 preserve. Fill the jars partly full, up to the 

 curve near the top ; no fuller, otherwise, when tlifc 

 jars are heated and the corn expands, the very 

 juiciest part, the milk, runs over and is wasted. 

 It might be well to slip the ears into boiling water 



