402 



NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 



Sept. 



PKESERVING FRUITS. 



Great improvements have of late been made in 

 the art of preserving fruits for family use, by the 

 introduction of jars which can be hermetically 

 sealed. The process of preserving is so simple 

 that every housekeeper can accomplish it, the 

 only secret of success being that the fruit should 

 be put up and sealed when hot, the jars being 

 filled to the brim. The best jars for this purpose 

 are those which are made entirely of glass. These 

 will pay for themselves in a year or two, as fruit 

 which is sealed so as to exclude the air may be 

 preserved with one-quarter the amount of sugar 

 required in the old process, and retains its orig- 

 inal flavor better. 



The following directions for preserving in her- 

 metically sealed jars will be interesting to house- 

 keepers at the present time : 



Select only good fresh fruit or vegetables. 

 Stale and fermented articles can never be pre- 

 served nor the decay already commenced arrested. 

 Be particular and know to a certainty that your 

 articles are fresh. No vegetables except toma- 

 toes can be procured in the markets of large 

 cities fresh enough for preserving. 



Blackberries, Baspherries and Strawberries. — 

 Use from a quarter to a half pound of sugar to a 

 pound of fruit. Sugar the strawberries, and let 

 them stand for half an hour, then put the syrup 

 which will be formed by the juice and sugar into 

 a preserving kettle, and boil it as long as any 

 scum arises, and then put in the strawberries and 

 boil until they are thoroughly heated through. 



Fill the jars after first warming them in some 

 way, and close immediately while the contents 

 are hot. 



Cherries and Blackberries. — Stew with or with- 

 out sugar ten minutes, and seal up while boiling 

 hot. 



Oooseherries. — These can be kept by putting 

 them into jars as they come from the bushes and 

 sealing them up. Wash and pick them when 

 wanted. 



Currants. — Heat to boiling point with sugar, 

 and seal up boiling hot. 



Plums. — Make a syrup, using about half a 

 pound of sugar to a pound of fruit. Boil the 

 plums in this syrup until the fruit is tender ; then 

 fill the jars, and close up while hot. 



Peaches. — Pare and cut out the peaches. Make 

 a syrup using from a quarter to an half p6und of 

 sugar to a pound of fruit. Boil the syrup five or 

 ten minutes ; then put in the peaches and boil 

 until they are thoroughly heated through ; be 

 sure that the fruit is all well heated, and then fill 

 the jars and close immediately. 



Quinces. — Peel and quarter them, and boil in 

 water until tender, then do them in the same way 

 as peaches. 



Pears. — Same as quinces, except that they re- 

 quire less sugar. 



Apples. — Pare, quarter and boil until tender, 

 but not long enough to break in pieces ; then add 

 as much sugar as will sweeten to the taste, and 

 let the whole boil two or three minutes. While 

 hot pour into jars and close up. 



Tomatoes. — Take off" the skin and boil them 

 one hour, or cook them sufficiently for the table. 

 Season to the taste, fill the jars and close up boil- 

 ing hot. These being a very juicy article, re- 



quire much longer boiling than most other things 

 to boil the water away. 



If the above proportion of sugar makes the 

 fruit sweeter than is desirable, it can be kept 

 with rather less, but green fruit requires more 

 than ripe. 



For the New England Farmer. 

 LEGHORN" HENS. 



Among the great variety of domestic fowls 

 kept for their good laying propensities in the egg 

 line, I think that the Leghorn fowls deserve the 

 highest commendation. For the benefit of the 

 public, I will now give you a little experience of 

 my own. A year ago the fore part of last .June, I 

 procured one dozen of eggs of Mr. Levi R. Hew- 

 ins, of Foxboro', who lived a little more than 

 one and a half miles from the centre of the town 

 towards Walpole. The chickens hatched the last 

 of June, and the pullets commenced laying when 

 4i months old, which was in November. They 

 have continued to lay constantly every day since, 

 with the exception of some cold days last winter, 

 they being kept in a place not very warm. They 

 have shown no disposition whatever to set. This 

 makes nearly eight months during which they 

 have continued to lay their eggs. 



My Leghorn hens are entirely white. Some 

 of the breed, I find, are of other colors. They 

 are not large fowls, but considerably larger than 

 the Black Spanish, and their flesh is far superior 

 to the latter fowl for their eating qualities. I 

 have been troubled with the propensity in most 

 other fowls of wanting to set, perhaps as often as 

 once a month, summer and winter, which would 

 take a week or ten days to break up so as to 

 have them commence laying again. So strong is 

 their propensity to set that they will set on noth- 

 ing, expecting, I suppose, to hatch out some- 

 thing. 



A writer in the Farmer recommends to shut up 

 setting hens in a coop for three days without any- 

 thing to eat. I hfive tried it, and think it the 

 best way to deal with them, as when let out at 

 large, their anxiety to obtain something to eat 

 overcome their desire to set any longer. I write 

 this, not for any pecuniary benefit, as I have none 

 of these fowls to sell, but for the purpose of at- 

 tracting public attention more to the subject. 



Mansfield, July 15, 1861. Isaac Stearns. 



FATTENING SWINE. 



Many persons feed their swine sparingly all 

 through their lives until within two or three 

 months of the time of slaughtering, thinking this 

 prooess an economical one. Is it so ? Is it a 

 natural process ? 



If the farmer's swine are fed at a loss, he had 

 better sell his grain and purchase his pork. But 

 this is never necessary, if he will feed regularly 

 and liberally, and not postpone the fattening pro- 

 cess until the animal is old enough to be slaugh- 

 tered. The rule should be to keep the animal al- 

 ways in a thrifty and growing condition, and as 

 the season of cold weather approaches, let the 

 food be of a more concentrated nature, and as 



