96 STATE POMOLOGICAL SOCIETY. 



In uortheru Xew England we have not a great variety of nuts and 

 little has yet been done to show how those we have will repay cultiva- 

 tion Someone has said that as yet we have onlj'^ those which grow in 

 spite of the people. The hazel nut is sweet and well flavored and so is 

 the beech nut; though it may seem as if either of these were too small 

 to yield great rewards. 



The oil nut or butter nut yields plentifully under adverse conditions. 

 Combined with maple sugar it produces a confection unsurpassed bj- any 

 higher priced sweetmeats and might thus be made profitable. 



The walnut and pecan are abundant in some parts of our country and 

 may be purchased at reasonable rates all shelled if desired. 



The chestnut is not rich in fat like some of the other nuts and for that 

 reason takes the place of starchy foods in the lands of southern Europe 

 where it grows abundantly. It may be boiled and mashed like potatoes 

 and made into croquettes or soup, or combined with eggs, cream and 

 sugar for desserts. 



The increased use of nuts and fruits as food would doubtless make the 

 average family richer in health and the expense of such living is much 

 less than when more meat is used. 



We have not yet begun to learn the possibilities in the preservation of 

 fruits, nor are we ready to admit that they have any real food value. 

 We consider them as luxuries, rather than essentials on our tables. Nor 

 have we fully grasped the important points in ordinary jelly-making and 

 canning. Too often the housekeeper makes hard work of these processes 

 and is not sure that the results of her labor will be successful. 



Perhaps one reason that we have made so little progress in this direc- 

 tion is because fruits are such delicate articles and our implements have 

 not been well adapted to dealing with them. Another difficulty lies in 

 the variation in the substance of fruits at different stages of growth, and 

 that this variable quality has been so little studied. 



We have found in practical housekeeping that when any starchy com- 

 pound is cooked for a long time it grows thinner and develops a sweet 

 taste not present in the beginning. The pectin in fruits undergoes a 

 similar change through the action of the sun's rays, and fruits which have 

 not yet fully ripened may be similarly transformed by cooking. 



Hence we may see that fully ripe fruit will not be the most desirable 

 for jelly-making, but will have a syrup-like consistency after cooking. 

 Some fruits contain so small a quantity of this principle that it is impos- 

 sible to make jelly of them without the aid of gelatine. 



If we are so unfortunate as to attempt to make jellj' from over-ripe 

 fruit and it refuses to becon)e jellj^, the best thing to do is to can the 

 syrup and use it later to flavor pudding sauces, ice-creams, etc. 



Nothing must be suffiered to impair the delicious flavors of fruits. An 

 accumulation of dust, mould and decayed portions, even if each be slight, 

 cannot but affect the result. Therefore the fruit for any purpose must 

 be carefully picked over and washed and any imperfect portions removed. 

 Very juicy fruits, like cuirants, may have the juice expressed without 

 first cooking, while others, like the crab apple, require the effect of heat. 



