366 JOUKNAL OF THE KOYAL HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. 
The fruit that is to be used must, of course, be fresh and good, and the 
bottles clean. The fruit is first packed into the bottles, which are then 
filled up to the neck with cold water, or, if preferred, with thin syrup, made 
by dissolving half-a-pound of loaf sugar in hot water and leaving it to 
cool. The bottles are then put into the cooking pot, where they must 
remain for certainly not less than two hours at a temperature of between 
a minimum of 145 degrees and a maximum of 160 degrees. This low 
sterilising temperature being maintained for two, three, or four hours will 
destroy all germs without cooking the fruit, and is the great secret of 
successful bottling. No actual harm is done by the heat rising above 
160 degrees, but if it does the fruit will probably burst and lose its shape 
and not look so nice ; but for cooking purposes it is much the same. 
Vegetables may be preserved in exactly the same way, except that they 
must be done twice over with an interval of 24 hours between to allow of 
their becoming quite cold. Jams and fruit jellies and marmalade and a 
host of other things can be preserved fresh and good for years in the same 
way, as it not only avoids the possibility of mildew and fermentation, but 
also prevents crystallisation. 
GARDEN SEATS. 
A Fellow wishes for advice as to what seats to adopt in his garden. 
" Which are the least objectionable ? Which are the best suited to the 
general surroundings ? " It is a difficult question to answer, as, to such a 
very great extent, it depends upon (1) the likes and dislikes of the indivi - 
dual, and (2) the style of garden in which the seats are wanted. Still, 
Fig. 174. 
most people would agree that, however convenient the hybrid wood and 
iron seats so generally adopted— wooden rails on S-shaped iron supports 
at either end — may be, they are in themselves terribly ugly, and harmonise 
not at all with a naturally treated garden. On the other hand, what are 
called " rustic- work " seats are either immovable or so heavy as to be 
practically so ; and we are not quite sure whether the " make-believe " of 
