Pectins. — Every autumn the ''answers to correspond- 

 ents" editors of the agricuhural weekhes are bombarded with 

 letters from anxious housewives all plaintively inquiring- "why 

 don't my jelly jell?" For the benefit of others who' may be as 

 ignorant of the reason, but not, like the housewife, obliged to 

 confess it, it may be said that whether the fruit juices do or do 

 not become jelly depends upon a curious substance called a 

 pectin, allied to the ordinary carbohydrates such as starch and 

 sugar. Some fruit juices lack pectin and others show the sub- 

 stance only after being boiled, but if the pectin is not present, 

 at all, no jelly need be expected. If one is interested in discover- 

 ing whether a certain juice contains pectins or not, he may 

 place equal parts of alcohol and the juice to be tested in a 

 receptacle and mix thoroughly. Upon cooling if pectin is 

 present there will be formed a gummy mass which may be 

 collected with' a spoon. Even when a fruit juice contains pec- 

 tin, a good jelly may fail to result through the use of too much 

 sugar. A time honored rule reads "3. pint to a pound" but 

 modern jelly makers have discovered that a given amount of 

 pectin can handle only a certain amount of sugar. When too 

 much sugar is added a soft and semi-fluid mass results. Still 

 another ingredient is necessary for the manufacture of good 

 jelly. Everybody knows that half-ripe or under-ripe fruit 

 makes better jelly than that which is dead ripe. This is on 

 account of the acid then present. The pectins are slow to act 

 except in the presence of acids. Hence b}^ the addition of tar- 

 taric or citric acid to the juices of fruits lacking in this quality, 



