Miscetlaneoi 



324 



[May 1907. 



if a man loves his home it is not difficult to arouse his patriotic spirit in time 

 of war. It is a higher type of patriotism which makes a boy love his liome enough to 

 have a desire to make it beautiful and wholesome within and without. Teach a boy 

 or girl how to make a back yard beautiful and fruitful, how to make and keep a 

 fresh and even lawn with its boundary of shrubbery, and you will have aroused a 

 new interest in the home and with it a corresponding love therefor. 



A community made up of such individuals and such homes will be wholesome 

 and beautiful, The character of any place depends so much upon its homes, that 

 any movement that tends towards their improvement will be worth the cost. My 

 word of warning, ttien, is to be certain that children's gardens are never introduced 

 until sufficient preparation is made to assure permanent success. Do not make the 

 idea tco pedagogical, thus diverting attention and interest from the real and living 

 aim which it seems to me is to interest the child in the possibilities and beauties of 

 nature through a knowledge of vegetable and plant life ; and, finally, utilizing this 

 interest in beautifying the home and its surroundings. These experiences will not 

 only react upon the character of the town, but also upon the life and character of the 

 individual boy and girl. 



PRESERVATION OP EGGS IN WATER-GLASS. 



One of the most popular and commonly used methods of preserving eggs is 

 by means of water-glass. Though this method was introduced only comparatively 

 recently, it has largely superseded older methods, and appears to have led to the 

 more frequent preservation of eggs on a small scale in households and by small 

 traders. Usually eggs are obtained when they are plentiful and cheap in spring and 

 preserved for use during the winter months, so that it is necessary to keep them for 

 about six months. Some experiments as to the length of time they would keep 

 without undergoing decay or any other serious change in composition was made by 

 Mr. James Hendrick, B. Sc., of the University of Aberdeen, in which it was found 

 that eggs which had been kept in water-glass for a few mouths could hardly be 

 distinguished in appearance, flavour, and smell, either raw or cooked, from what are 

 called " fresh eggs," that is, fresh eggs in the commercial sense, which may be several 

 days old. The eggs which had been preserved in water-glass for about six months 

 tasted and smelt like well-kept eggs a few days old. As the eggs in question were a 

 few days old when they went into the water-glass, it did not seem that they were 

 appreciably changed. 



As the eggs get older, however, a distinct change occurs which can be 

 appreciated both by the eye and palate. Eggs which have been three or four years 

 in water-glass are easily recognised, The white becomes pink in colour and very 

 liquid, and the eggs acquire a slightly peculiar taste suggestive of soda. At the same 

 time, even when four years old, the eggs had no unpleasant taste or smell, and the 

 white coagulated in the usual manner in cooking. The changes in the preserved 

 eggs take place very gradually. At one year old they are hardly noticeable, at two 

 years they are distinct, but not so distinct as at three or four years old. 



An endeavour was also made to determine whether any distinct changes 

 take place in the composition of eggs when kept in water-glass, and especially 

 whether the soda and silica of the water-glass penetrate into the egg to any great 

 extent. The general conclusion arrived at is that there is practically no change in 

 the composition even from lengthened immersion, and that practically no silica, and 

 very little, if any, soda, find their way into the eggs. A slow deposition of silica 

 takes place in the shells, which blocks up the pores of the shells to some extent, and 

 renders them less permeable. -Journal of the Board of Agriculture, Pebruary, 1907. 



