THE SOUTHERN PLANTER. 



275 



picked green in Germany last year, dried and 

 brougiit in that condition to this country. We 

 have been unable to learn the method pursued 

 there in drying them. Can any of our readers 

 inform us? 



A method of drying peaches, apples, &c., not 

 much in use, is to be commended. Let them be 

 pared and grated or mashed to a pulp, and then 

 spread out on plates and dried into thin sheets. 

 This is an excellent plan for " curing'"' tomatoes, 

 peaches, &c. The drying can be done in /in 

 oven kept at a low heat. It is better to add a 

 little sugar and cook them somewhat before dry- 

 ing. We prefer the addition of a small quantity 

 of salt to tomatoes dried thus— not enough to 

 affect the taste, but about as much as would 

 ordinarily be used in cooking them. 



Well ripened fruit will keep well in cans, or 

 dried, without much cooking, but all unmatured 

 articles should be cooked. The want of care 

 in commencing the preserving process just at 

 the time of maturity, is the source of much 

 loss. If too ripe, fermentation commences and 

 is likely to continue. 



FRUIT JARS. 



One of the best things for putting down pre- 

 served fruits cheaply, is a well-covered, well- 

 glazedy stoneware jar, holding from one to two 

 quarts. We have several of these, of two 

 quarts capacity, which we think the next best 

 thing to the self-sealing tin cans for any kind of 

 fruits, and better than the latter for acid fruits. 

 They are seven to eight inches high, and five to 

 six inches internal diameter. They have a close 

 fitting cover about four inches in diameter, 

 which sets down into them upon a flange or neck 

 nearly an inch from the top. 



Whatever article is to be preserved is cooked 

 in the usual manner of preparing it for the tin 

 cans. The jar is then heated quite up to the 

 temperature of boiling water, and the fruit boil- 

 ing hot poured in, filling it just up to the bot- 

 tom of the cover. The cover, which has previ- 

 ously been prepared with a piece of cotton cloth 

 dipped in melted wax and placed upon its under 

 side and extending over the edge all round, is 

 then placed upon the fruit and firmly pressed 

 down. A layer of beeswax is then poured 

 around the edge and over the top, and cooled 

 by applying a cloth wrung out of cold water. 

 As soon as the wax begins to harden, it is 

 pressed down around the rim of the cover with 

 the fingers, care being taken that the liquid 

 that may have oozed oat in pressing it down, 

 does not prevent the perfect adhesion of the 

 wax both to the cover and jar. Before the jar 

 is entirely cold a little more melted wax is put 

 upoh th. most exposed parts. 



We do not claim that this process is as perfect 

 as that adopted in the use ot the screw-covered 



air-tight" tin cans, but it has some advant- 

 ages. The stone jars of good quality can 

 usually be obtained where the tin cans are not 

 accessible. The well-glazed vessels are not 



acted upon by any acid in the fruit. The wide 

 opening of the jars renders it easy to preserve 

 the large fruits, such as peaches, in a whole 

 state. The stone jars are quite cheap ; a dozen 

 of superior quality cost us %\ 50. 



There is a manifest advantage in the use. of 

 small jars over the larger sizes, for all kinds of 

 preserves, as the first cost of the former is but 

 I a little greater, proportionally, while if those 

 j holding one or tv. o quarts are used, only that 

 • amount of fruit need be opened at any one 

 jtime. 



I We say then, those who can, may well pro- 

 j vide tliemselves with some of the tin cans for 

 I tomatoes and sweet fruits,' getting jars for the 

 j tart kinds; and all may easily procure small 

 i jars enough to supply themselves with the luxury 

 of fresh fruits the year round. — American Agri- 

 ' culturist. 



SELF-ACTING Egg HATCHING MACHINE. 

 J. Martin, Y^n^., Patentee. 

 In this egg-hatching apparatus water ig 

 poured into one of certain cylinders or wa- 

 ter vessels, and flows through hollow 

 shelves beneath the egg trays, and into a 

 cylinder on the opposite side. When the 

 cylinders are nearly full, lamps are lighted 

 underneath. 



As the temperature of the water rises, 

 the air within a glass expands and depress- 

 es mercury contained within a chamber ; 

 this causes a float to rise, and act upon a 

 lever attached to a chain or wire of a valve. 

 I Should the heat of the lamps cause the 

 j temperature to rise above 105° Fah., the 

 'float will be sufficiently elevated to act up- 

 jon the lever of the valve, and raise it from 

 its seat; this causes a quantity of cold wa- 

 ter to flow down the pipe into the cylin- 

 ders, which immediately reduces the tem- 

 perature to the proper degree. — Scientific 

 American. 



MANUFACTURE OF SOAP. 

 Pure white soap is composed of fatty 

 acid, an alkali, and water. In 100 parts of 

 soap there are 63 of fatty acid, 6^ of alka- 

 li, and 30-^- of water. The process of mak- 

 ing hard soap is not so simple as that of 

 soft soap. White or curd soap is made of 

 the finest tallow or suet only, and boiled to 

 a thicker consistency than other soaps up- 

 on a stronger alkaline lye, and before it is 

 put into the frame to cool it requires crutch- 

 ing. This consists in stirring it about in 

 an intermediate vessel between the boiler 

 and the cooling frame, to break ?ind mix 

 the curd. Nothing but the best materials 

 are used for this soap. 



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