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UINTS AND HELPS. 495 



Canning Fruit. — Those housekeepers who have not been saccessfal in 

 theii' attempts at this work will find the following a most excellent recipe: 

 Place the fruit in either a granite, iron, or porcelain kettle; never use com- 

 mon iron, brass or tin for this purpose. Allow it to boil for about five min- 

 utes. Have the jars in readiness, and standing in a vessel of warm water, 

 so that they may be heated gradually. Just before filling the jar with iruit, 

 dip a towel in boiling water and wrap it around the jar, and tuck the comers 

 under the bottom for the jar to rest upon. Fill the jar quickly, and when 

 full thrust a knife to the bottom and stir it around several times, and the air 

 bubbles will rise to the top. Seal as tight as possible, and stand the jar on 

 the top in a moderately cool place. In a few hours turn the jar up, aud try 

 to seal tighter, standing it again on the top. Continue this several times, or 

 until the cover is tightly screwed on. Stand the jars in a cool, dark place in 

 the cellar, looking at them occasionally for a few days. For several years 

 the above has been my method of canning, and I know from experience that 

 all varieties of fruits and vegetables can be canned with perfect success in 

 this way. 



To Kxtertttinate BedbngK. — (1) Shut the windows tight, leave all 

 clothing in its place, and open trunks and drawers. Put a thick layer of 

 ashes into the iron kettle, on which place the live coals. Have no obstacles 

 between yourself and the open door. Put a handful of sulphur on the 

 coals, and immediately close the room, leaving it undisturbed for several 

 hours. When opened, the room and contents can be aired, and the odor 

 will soon be gone. It is rarely that a second fumigation is necessary. Bum 

 sulphur in rooms where there are moths. 



(2) Take two ounces of quicksilver aud the whites of two eggs, and so on 

 in this ratio for a larger or smaller quantity. Beat the quicksilver and the 

 whites together until they unite and become a froth. With a feather then 

 apply the compound thus formed to the crevices and holes in your bed- 

 steads. This done twice in a year will prove efiectual. 



(3) Blue ointment and kerosene, mixed in equal proportions and applied 

 to bedsteads, is an unfailing bug remedy, and a coat of whitewash is ditto 

 for a log house. 



To Determine ttie Quaiity of Silk. — ^The following directions for 

 detecting the spurious from the genuine article in black 3ilk will be found 

 useful: Take ten fibres of the filling in any silk, and if on breaking they 

 show a feathery, dry, and lack luster condition, discoloring the fingers in 

 handhng, you may at once be sure of the presence of dye and artificial 

 weighting. Or take a small jwrtion of the fibres between the thiuub and 

 forefinger and very gently roll them over and over, and you will soon detect 

 the gum, mineral, soap, and other ingredients of the one, aud the absence 

 of them in the other. A simple but efi'ective test of purity is to bum a small 

 quantity ot the fibres; pure silk will instantly crisp, leaving only a pure 

 charcoal; heavily dyed silk will smolder, leaving a yellow, greasy ash. If, 

 on tlie contrary, you cannot break the ten strands, and they are of a natural 

 luster and brilliancy, and fail to discolor the fingers at the point of contact, 

 you may bo well assured that you have a pure 8ilk> that is honest in its 

 make and durable in its wear. 



To I*revent Silverware from Tamiahing.— Solid silverware, as well 

 as plated goods, grows dark and tarnished in a very short time when 

 exposed to the air, and even when put away in a dark place. This w 



