127 



Preserving Fruit, 



IN answer to a qnesMon iu a recent issue 

 about preserving superfluous fruit, I 

 must mention that bottling is the easiest 

 and most excellent method. To do this 

 you must have air-tight bottles. These 

 have a rather wide mouth, a flit rubber 

 ring, which is placed under the stopper, 

 and a thin zinc rim, which is screwed 

 over all. These bottles I have bought for 

 4d. apiece retail, but I should think they 

 might be had for half that price if got in 

 any quantity. Boil the fruit until done, 

 with as little sugar as you like ; have 

 bottles, stopper and rim hot, and pour the 

 boiling fruit into the bottles to overflow- 

 ing. Fasten up at once, screwing tight ; 

 let cool where you have boiled the fruit. 

 When cold you can give the rim another 

 screw. 



Any fruit can be done in this way, 

 and will keep in a cool place for a year or 

 so. Another way of using up fruit is dry- 

 ing on trays with wire netting bottoms ; 

 place in sun, in coal oven, or over stoves; 

 when pretty dry they can be put into thin 

 cotton bags in a warm room to finish, 

 giving thtm a shake now and then. 



Apples may be peeled, quartered, and 

 cored, and threaded on cheap twine, hung 

 outside in the sun, then after a few 

 <lays brought into a warm kitchen to finish. 

 Quantities of apples are used up in this 

 way in Canada, and make a very good 

 article for winter use, stewed more slowly 

 than you would the fresh apple. 



Another way of preserving all kinds of 

 fruit is what is greatly practised in France 

 and Germany. Take out the kernel of 

 plums, core apples ; have a large boiler, 

 p^^t a little water at the bottom and put 

 in some of your fruit ; when it boils add 

 more fruit, stirring all the time, putting 

 the fruit in by degrees after each lot boils, 

 until your boiler is quite full, then keep, 

 on boiling and stirring for twenty-four 

 hours, never letting it stop or stick at the 

 bottom. It becomes quite sweet enough 

 without any sugar, and is a most whole- 

 some article of diet ; some let it boil even 

 thirty-six hours — it becomes a dark brown. 

 Put into any kind of crock. Fruit to be 

 preserved in any of these ways should be 

 pretty ripe.— L.A.in^.^;'r«c?*/^;*/'a/ Gazette, 

 London. 



IVIoHled Butter, 



A NUMBER of experiments have been 

 carried out at the Maryland Agri- 

 cultural Station, in order to ascertain the 

 cause of mottled butter, by Mr C. F. 

 Doane, dairy bacteriologist, who gives his 

 conclusions as follows : — 



1. The uneven distribution of salt is 

 the cause of unevenly-coloured ljutter, 

 spoken of as mottled butter. 



2. Washing the butter with water below 

 40 degrees does not cause mottles. It 

 does, however, make a little more working 

 necessary to thoroughly distribute the 

 salt. 



3. The light-coloured streaks or portions 

 of mottled butter are not caused by an 

 excess of casein ; but mottles are evi- 

 dently caused by some physical action of 

 salt on the butter-fat, which causes it to 

 admit more light. 



4. Mottles can be prevented by work- 

 ing the butter sufficiently to thoroughly 

 (jistribute the salt. 



5. Butter washed with water at 40 

 degrees and under, and worked imme- 

 diately, shows a better grain when 

 sufficiently worked to ensure its being 

 evenly coloured than with any other 

 treatmeni-. 



G. Washing butter with water at 40 

 degrees and under does not injure its 

 firmness whun subjected to higher tem- 

 perature. 



In California the fumigation of fruit trees is 

 undertaken by some of the county boards of 

 horticulture. During 1900 the Los Angeles 

 board had nearly l,50l),0OO trees treated, being 

 m , re than double lait year's number. Nearly 

 1,0U0 tents were in operation, and for the coming 

 season at least 1,500 will be used. Many growers 

 are so satisfied with the results that they are 

 purchasing fumigating outfits. The co,t of 

 fumigating has averaged about 40 cents, say 

 Is 8d.) per tree; but the grower is more thin 

 repaid for th's outlay, which is less than the 

 cost of spraying the trees affected by scales. 



