STORING CELERY— GLACE FRUIT 143 



points to be considered are, to provide the plants with moisture to 

 prevent wilting, to prevent hard freezing, and to give some ventilation. 

 The plants are set loosely in the soil. There are several methods of 

 keeping celery in an ordinary cellar for home use. The following 

 methods are good : — 



Secure a shoe or similar box. Bore one-inch holes in the sides, 

 four inches from bottom. Put a layer of sand or soil in the box, and 

 stand the plants, trimmed carefully, upon it, closely together, working 

 more sand or soil about the root part, and continuing until the box 

 is full. The soil should be watered as often as needed, but always 

 through the holes in the side of the box. Keep the foliage dry. 



Celery may also be stored and well blanched at the same time, in 

 a similar way, by standing it in a barrel upon a layer of soil. Some 

 roots and soil may be left adhering to the plants. Crowd closely, 

 water through holes near the bottom, as in case of box storage, and keep 

 the plants in the dark. 



Blanched celery can also be preserved for a long time by trimming 

 closely and packing upright in moss inside of a box. A large quantity 

 of the vegetable maj^ thus be stored in a small space. 



Crystallized or glace fruit. 



The principle is to extract the juice from the fruit and replace it 

 with sugar syrup, which hardens and preserves the fruit in its natural 

 shape. The fruit should be all of one size and of a uniform degree 

 of ripeness, such as is best for canning. Peaches, pears, and similar 

 fruits are pared and cut in halves; plums, cherries, etc., are pitted. 

 After being properly prepared, the fruit is put in a basket or bucket 

 with a perforated bottom and immersed in boiling water to dilute and 

 extract the juice. This is the most important part of the process, and 

 requires great skill. If the fruit be left too long, it is over-cooked 

 and becomes soft ; if not long enough, the juice is not sufficiently 

 extracted, and this prevents perfect absorption of the sugar. After 

 the fruit cools, it may again be assorted as to softness. The syrup 

 is made of white sugar and water. The softer the fruit, the heavier 

 the syrup required. The fruit is placed in earthen pans, covered with 

 syrup, and left about a week. This is a critical stage, as fermentation 

 will soon take place ; and when this has reached a certain stage, the fruit 

 and syrup are heated to the boiling-point, which checks the fermenta- 



