582 JOURNAL OF THE ROYAL HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. 



extracted from the second edition of " Koche auf Vorrat ! " (Cook with 

 Care !), which appeared this year (1905). 



" The rubber rings can never be used for excluding the air when the 

 contact surfaces of either the bottle or cap are at all rough, and should 

 such faults be detected the vessels should at once be withdrawn from use. 

 Otherwise the glasses, caps, and rings can be used over and over again, 

 and in some places it is proposed that the glasses should be regarded as 

 returnable, just as mineral water syphons are now. 



" Before using the rubber rings for the first time they should be washed 

 in a warm solution of soda and water, and before they are again used care 

 should be taken to see that they are undamaged. The rings are best kept 

 lying in a cool room, not exposed to draught, which dries the rubber and 

 is liable to destroy its elasticity. The springs are best kept from rusting 

 by being wiped with a dry cloth after using and then rubbed over with 

 vaseline or other greasy compound. The great essential to success of any 

 of the methods mentioned in this paper is strict attention to cleanliness. 

 By using a vacuum process it is unnecessary to add sugar, salt, alcohol, 

 vinegar, or any other preservative, though this may be done to suit 

 individual tastes." 



Fruits for bottling should be gathered in dry weather, and as clean as 

 possible, since any necessary washing of the fruit always damages both 

 its appearance and its flavour. Should the fruits, however, have become 

 soiled, despite the greatest care, they can be wiped with a damp cloth. 

 Soft fruits, such as Strawberries, can be placed in a sieve or in the steamer 

 mentioned above and easily freed from any adhering dirt by being dipped 

 several times in cold water. Fruits bought in the market should always 

 be washed, as one never knows through how many or what hands they 

 have passed. 



Only perfectly sound fruits, neither too ripe nor too unripe, should be 

 used. The first would immediately collapse in the glass, and the latter 

 have not formed the flavour of the variety to which they belong. Their 

 acidity is also too great and cannot be overcome by the addition of larger 

 quantities of sugar, and such fruit remains flavourless. The fruit should 

 be bottled as soon as possible after being gathered. 



The placing of the fruits in bottles is an art in itself. The two main 

 objects should be so to fill the bottle that the fruit cannot be shaken out 

 of position and to attract the eye of possible purchasers. The filling of 

 the bottle is best accomplished by having the fruit in a separate receptacle, 

 and by placing it piece by piece in the bottle with a long spoon. Such a 

 spoon can easily be made by binding the handle of an old teaspoon in a 

 cleft stick of wood, and then bending the bowl into such a shape as may 

 be found most convenient. Split fruit should always be laid with the 

 flat side at bottom, Pears should be placed with the stalk end uppermost, 

 and other fruit are generally laid as found most convenient. After the 

 bottles have been filled with the fruit, a sugar solution is poured over it so 

 as to fill up all the space to the neck of the bottle. The quantity of sugar 

 solution required is on the average about one-third of the capacity of the 

 bottle. The strength of the solution depends entirely on the varieties of 

 fruit, their condition as to ripeness, and individual taste. 



Tt is better to allow the boiling to continue for rather five minutes too 



