284 



THE CANADIAN HORTICULTURIST 



November, 1907 



The Canning of Fruits 



Mrs. Colin Campbell, "Windsor, Ontario 



CANNING is an improvement upon the old- 

 fashioned way of preserving, pound for 

 pound, in sugar. It retains more of the 

 fresli and natural flavor, is far less trouble- 

 some to prepare, and more economical. 



Choose only perfectly sound and fresh fruits. 

 Jf you have your fruit to buy, it is false economy 

 to purchase fruits on the verge of decay, even at 

 reduced rales, as they quickly ferment after can- 

 ning, and you not only lose fruit, sugar and labor, 

 but very often the jars as well. 



Befofc commencing work, have all the requis- 

 ite utensils and vessels perfectly clean and at 

 hand. If the family is small, select pint jars, 

 which allows a can of fruit to be used up before 

 one tires of it. If there be six or eight to be 

 catered to, a quart jar is none too large. \\'hen 

 purchasing new jars, look them over carefully to 

 see that there are no defects and that the covers 

 fit fjerfectly 



Never use old rubters with the old jars. At 

 five cents a dozen, rings are a cheap insurance 

 of fruit keeping. No matter how good an old 

 rubber looks, it is sure to have become porous 

 and will allow the air to enter. Pour water into 

 each jar, seal and invert, and if it leaks ever so 

 slightly, do not use it. 



When you have picked out ]ierfect jars, wash 

 individually inside with a dish mop and hot 

 soda water. Then sterilize by setting in cold 

 water letting it come to the boiling point, and 

 boiling for a quarter of an hour. Fit each jar to 

 a ring, cover and leave in the hot water. 



When the fruit is ready to be canned, remove 

 a jar from the boiling water in which it has 

 stood and set it in a soup plate, wrapped in a 

 towel wrung from hot water. Into the jar drop 

 a silver spoon, silver being a good conductor of 

 heat, absorbs the heat from the fruit and lessens 

 any danger of the jars breaking. 



Dip the rubber in boiling water and put it on 

 firmly. Set a fruit funnel in u jar and gently fill 

 in the fruit with a ladle, moving the handle of 

 the spoon gently about to allow air bubbles to 

 escape. Fill the jars until the syrup overflows, 

 lift out the spoon, put on tlie cover and screw it 

 as tightly as possible. Screw the lid on so 

 tightly that when the jar is inverted, not any 

 juice will ooze out. 



Leave the jars of fruit lying on their side, 

 turning over frequently until cold. This method 

 will prevent the fruit rising to .the top of jar 

 when cold, as is often the case, especially with 

 canned strawberries. 



After leaving the jars in this position for 24 

 hours, wrap in thick paper or place in jjaper bags 

 to prevent the light bleaching the fruit, and set 

 away in a dark place. Choose the early, cool 

 morning for putting up the fruit ripened under 

 a hot sun. If your berries are to be picked, in- 

 stead of from the market, gather them the night 

 before. 



Fruit w-hich has Ijeen picked on a rainy day or 

 when the dew is on will not keep well. Select 

 fruit which is under ripe rather than when 

 ready to droj) with luscious ripeness. It will be 

 much nicer when canned and keep more readily. 

 If fruit is very juicy, avoid adding water to it 

 when canning. The less water that has to be 

 used, the finer the flavor of the canned fruit and 

 the more beautiful its color. Never touch cook- 

 ing fruit with a spoon or fork which is of any 

 material except silver, wood, or granite. A tin 

 spoon may ruin the color and flavor of a whole 

 kettle of fruit . 



Try a little of your sugar to make a syrup 

 before commencing the canning process. If a 

 bluish -grey scimi gathers on top after the boiling, 

 send the sugar back to the grocery man with an 

 order for a better quality. The laest sugar ob- 

 tainable is a necessity for fruit preserving. 



The syrups used for canning or preserving 

 vary according to the kind of fruit you wish to 

 preserve and the richness desired. The following 

 list may be used as a guide: For preserving, use 

 three-quarters of a lb. of sugar to one povmd of 

 fruit; for making jam, use one pound sugar to 

 one pound fruit; for canning, use one-third 

 pound sugar to one pound fruit ; for jelly, use 

 one pound sugar to one pint fruit. 



Lady Grey Garden A.-wards 



The Lady Grey garden competition, in con- 

 junction with the Ottawa Horticultural So- 

 ciety, has done much to improve the appear- 

 ance of the city of Ottawa, and particiilarly 

 of the homes of the citizens. The past year 

 proved the most successful in the history of 

 these competitions. The gardens were very 

 creditable in spite of the backward spring and 

 the dry weather during summer. 



The committee appointed to examine and 

 judge the gardens was composed of Messrs. 

 W. T. Macoun, chairman; S. Short and H. N. 

 Bate. In a recent report submitted to Her 

 Excellency, the committee made some sug- 

 gestions for governing the tests in future. As 



an encouragement to greater effort in the fu- 

 ture, the committee suggested that a certificate 

 of entry for the garden awards be given those 

 four i)ersons who failed to qualify for first and 

 second classes. Other suggestions in respect 

 to methods of offering and placing awards 

 were mentioned. 



Potato Scab 



"Potato Scab," by W. J. Morse (Bull. 141, 

 Maine Agric. Exp. St.) — Aroostook County, Me., 

 bordering on the great potato-growing section 

 of New Brunswick, has long been noted for its 

 fine crops of potatoes, but potato scab has been 

 making rapid headway during the last two years. 

 As a result, there has lx;en a great loss. As scab 

 is caused by a minute parasitic fungus, soil con- 

 ditions, the application of lime, ashes, etc., may 

 favor its development, but are incapable of 

 causing it. "Alkahne soils, the use of stable 

 manure, lime, ashes, and certain chemicals of an 

 alkaline nature, favor the fungus. Acid soils 

 and certain other chemicals are unfavorable to 

 it." On clean soils only healthy seed tul>ers 

 should be used. Manure containing uncooked, 

 scabby potatoes or refuse, should l>e avoided. 

 Small amounts of seed potatoes are Ijest disin- 

 fected by soaking for two hours in a solution of 

 formalin (X pint to 15 gals, of water) or for 

 \}/2 hrs. in a solution of corrosive sublimate (2 

 ozs. in L5 gals, of water). 



'RURAL WATER SYSTEMS,' devoted to 

 the subject of the Deming Hydraulic Ram, is 

 the title of a neat little booklet issued by the 

 Deming Company makers of pumping ma- 

 chinery, Salem, Ohio. Its twelve pages illus- 

 trate the usefulness of the hydraulic ram in 

 the country home, and, although the main 

 points are covered, it may easily be read 

 through in 10 minutes. It is explained that 

 conditions of installations differ, and that it 

 is therefore desirable to consider each by itself, 

 and to offer suggestions bearing on that par- 

 ticular case. This method is bound to result 

 more satisfactorily to the prospective pur- 

 chaser than would a general set of rules applied 

 to every case, regardless of conditions. We 

 would advise any of our readers who are in- 

 terested in this, to write The Deming Company 

 for inforrnation, which they will doubtless be 

 glad to furnish on request. 



The 15th Annual International Convention of 

 the North-West Fruit Growers' Association will 

 be held in Vancouver, B.C., on Dec. 4-6. For 

 particulars, write to the secretary, Maxwell 

 Smith, Vancouver. 



Every Person in Canada who is Interested in Horticulture 



should attend the , 



Ontario Horticultural Exhibition 



and take part in the 



Conventions for Fruit, Vegetable and 

 Flower Growers 



Toronto, November 



12, 13, 14, 15, 16 



