262 
AMERICAN AGRICULTURIST. 
[July, 
coDvenieut fur mauy cooking purposes. Tlicy are 
iron vessels coated on the inside witli porcelain, or 
white earthern-ware, glazed. One holding tive or 
b\x quarts will nnswer. Wide flat ones are prefer- 
able. Coijper or even brass vessels, if well cleaned, 
will do ; or a tin pail or pan can be used. 
T/te Sugar. — For very nice preserved fruit, as 
white peaches and pears, the best Refined A sugar 
is desirable, and for all kinds, we think sugar as 
good as the Refined ^ sugar is best, and even clieap- 
est on the wliole. For apple-sauce, put into caus 
for general family use, C, or the best light brown, 
will answer.- Our rule is, to use just sugar enough 
to fit' the ditferent kinds of fruit for the table. 
Some families like more, and some less ; hence no 
definite rule can be given. For the sweeter fruits, 
strawben-ies, peaches, sweet pears, huckleberries, 
and the like, we use 4 to 6 lbs. of sugar to the gal- 
lon of water, or }4 to % lb. to the pint. For more 
acid fruits, as cherries, plums, sourer pears, cur- 
rants, crab apples, etc., about 1 lb. to the pint, 
more or less, according to the acidity, and ripeness. 
Selecting and Preparing ilie Fruit. — As a rule, 
choose fully ripe fruit, but not that over-ripe. A 
Boft or decaying spot may injure the flavor, and 
tend to decay the whole. If too green, the flavor 
will be inferior. The berry fruits are to be sorted, 
defective ones rejected, stems and hulls removed, 
and carefully but quickly washed if soiled, though 
this is always to be avoided if ijossible, as it injures 
the flavor, especially of raspberries and strawber- 
ries. Peaches, pears, etc., need paring. Some scald 
peaches, to aid in removing the thin skin, but they 
are better pared. They may be preserved whole, 
but are better cut in halves and the pits removed. 
Cooking the Fruit. — Three methods are used : 
Some place the fruit in bottles with sugar added, 
put on the covers nearly tight, set the bottles in 
warm water, and heat to boiling, and after time is 
given to heat the fruit througli, the covers are fast- 
ened down closely. We prefer, as being much less 
troublesome, to first cook the fruit in the porce- 
lain or tin vessel, and then dip it hot into the jars, 
which must have been previously warmed to pre- 
vent their breaking, as noted below. For the nicest 
prese^es, the fruit may be cooked in a syrup first, 
then dipped out iuto the hot jars, and a new syrup 
be filled in hot. The cooking syrup may be used 
for several successive batches of fruit, and finally 
for poorer kinds of fi'uit, or making common 
sauee. For ordinary preserving, the fruit and the 
Bvrup used in cooking it, may be dipped together 
into the bottle. The amount of cooking U important. 
Too little hazards the keeping, and too much, not 
only mars the appearance, but it greatly injures the 
flavor. In all cases have the syrup boiling hot and 
over the fire when the fruit is first put into it, and 
.it will then heat through without becoming soft or 
losing its flavor. Only fruit enough to fill three 
or four bottles should be cooked at a time, or some 
■will be overdone. 
Strawberries should cook but 3 or 4 minutes be- 
fore dipping them into the bottles, which should 
be previously all ready and hot. With this precau- 
tion they retain their natural form and flavor. 
Peaches, being larger, require a little more time 
to heat through, but when fully ripe, .5 to 7 minutes 
is long enough, and the same is true of well ripened 
pears, especially the Bartletts, and Virgalieus, 
which, by the way, make a most delicious preserve. 
Quinces, and hard pears, may cook 10 to 15 
minutes, or more, for they should become tender. 
The general rule for cooking, is, to have the soft 
fruits just heated througli to the center, as quickl}' 
as may beafter they go iuto the syrup, and then get 
them into the bottles immediately, giving no time 
for the escape of the aroma. 
Tom.atocs, well ripened, are scalded to skin them 
easily, then put into just water enough to prevent 
burning, and carefully cooked "X to a full hour, 
thus reducing their bulk materially. A very little 
salt is added, but no sugar. They can be seasoned 
and sugared when wanted for use. 
Khubarb or Pie Plant. — Cut the stems in small 
pieces, as usual. Cook with only a few spooafuls 
of water to keep it from burning before its own 
juices are at liberty. Boil Ja hour, or so, or until 
ready for the table, and bottle without sugar 
added. This is excellent for winter and early 
spring use as sauce, and in making pies. It 
may be used in various ways. With crackers a 
pie very closely resembling ajiple pie, can be made. 
Bottling. — Have all needed bottles, corks, covers, 
wax if used, etc., ready before beginning to cook 
the fruit. Have a Icettle of hot water on the stove, 
and the last thing before cooking the fruit, dip a 
bottle rapidly in .and out of the hot water until 
heated through, then fill it with the hot water and 
let it stand, and so with all the bottles needed for 
one batch of fruit. When that is cooked, pour out 
the hot water, and dip full of fruit and syrup, or, 
if new syrup is used, as noted above, fill with the 
hot fruit skimmed out, and pour in the new syrup 
last. For soft or nice fruits, dip in carefully, with 
the jar inclined, to avoid bruising or breaking. Let 
the bottles stand about two minutes, jarring them to 
facilitate the escape of air bubbles ; wipe the tops 
carefully clean with a damp hot cloth, then pour in 
enough more syrup to fill them, if there is much 
settling. Now apply the caps, and clamps, or other 
covers, or corks, and close the bottles .as closely as 
may be — or air-tight. One point is, to have little if 
any air left in the fruit. As there is always a little, 
often enough to produce a tuft of moulducss on 
the top, which does not injure the mass in the 
bottles, if not mixed with it in handling, it is 
well in opening a bottle, to alw.ays remove a thin 
film from the top. Store the bottles on shelves in 
the cellar or other cool place, where they will not 
be exposed to great changes of temperature. 
»-. ■»»« — .-» 
Boiling Eggs— Sundry Ways. 
Messrs. Fdilors. — The writer is fond of boiled 
eggs — very. Soft boiled and hard boiled, but not 
par boiled. The readers of the Agriculturist may 
know exactly how to boil an egg to perfection, but 
if they do, they are an exception to the people I 
meet with away from home. Call " time" ; jdump 
the eggs into a sauce-pan of boiling water — in three 
minutes, "time," again, and the eggs are done. 
Half a minute more makes them too hard, and half 
a minute less leaves them glairy. So eggs are usu- 
ally boiled, except at restaurants, where, if you are 
so indiscrete as to ask for soft boiled eggs, they are 
not cooked at .all, but barely heated through. The 
eggs so cooked have their whites hard and tough as 
leatlier, their yolks barely cooked at all. I do not 
like them so, and hope your readers will try my 
pl.m, which is indeed not mine, but old enough. 
JToio to Boil Eggs vnthout Boiling them. — Scald 
out a dish that will hold the eggs and twice as much 
water. Wash the eggs clean ; put them in the dish 
and Jill it with boiling water ; set it in a warm place 
for 5 minutes ; then pour otf the water, add as much 
more (boiling) .and seud at once to the table. Within 
2 or 3 minutes the eggs will be cooked enough for 
those who like very soft boiled eggs ; a little while 
later they will be done through, the white as soft 
as curd, yet well done, and the yolks will be cooked. 
The quantity of water should be in proportion to 
the number .and size of the eggs, and if the w.ater 
be poured otf and a third time boiling water added, 
the white will not be tough and leathery. 
To Boil Eggs Hard, put them into warm water 
and and let it come to a boil, and boil 10 or 15 
minutes. The yolks will then be crumbly. 
To Foavli Eggs — first prepare toast, taking pieces 
as large as one's hand, buttered, salted and made 
soft with warm water, or use hot milk with the 
butter .and salt in it. Cover the bottom of a frying 
pan with Jl to Ji' an inch of water, and when boil- 
ing, break into it carefully the eggs, one after an 
other, not putting too m.any in at once, and remove 
them as fast as the whites are cooked. Take care 
not to break the yolks and lay each egg upon one 
of the pieces of toast. — A friend states that the 
eggs may be dropped in muffin rings laid in the 
frying pan, which is an improvement in the looks 
at least of the dish. Poached eggs are vastly better 
than fried, even with fried ham. X. 
Cooking: Cabbage. — Boil until tender, in 
clear water, or with other vegetables .as may be 
convenient, theu chop line. To one medium sized 
cabbage head add two tablespoonfuls of thick cream, 
a bit of butter half as large as a sm.all hen's egg, salt 
and pepper, or add viueg.ar to suit the taste. 
ZS' I"oi' other Honschold Items, see "Basket." 
Ho^T to Play ISasc Ball. 
{Continued from page 229.) 
The players h:iving taken their proper place?, the 
pitcher delivers the ball for the tirsl striker. He must 
pitch, not throw nor jerk it. With practice, this can be 
(lone both straight and swiftly, and experienced pitchers 
acquire awiiyof ei^'ii'g the bull a peculiar twist as it 
leaves the liand, making it more difficult for tlie striker 
to liit it squarely ; this may prevent his giving it a full 
blow and driving it far into the field. The pitcher must 
deliver ilie balls fairly, so as to come witliin good range 
of the striker. If lie fails to tlo this repeatedly, the um- 
pire after warning him, calls "one ball,'* tlien "two 
balls," and if he calls "three balls" in this way, the 
striker has the piivilege of going unmolested to the first 
base, and any batsman who may be occupying bases, 
may also walk one base further. 
The striker watches fur a good ball, and when it comes, 
tries to striiie it wiili his bat as far into the field as pos- 
sible, and also to drive it in such a way that it may not 
be caught by the fielders. He may do this by forcing it 
beyond tliein. or by making it go low. or by sending it 
between the fielders, if he see a good opening. As soon 
as he has struck, he drops the bat and starts for the first 
base, which he must touch with his foot or otherwise. 
Meantime the fielders endeavor to touch him with the 
ball while passing from base to ba^e. The ball must not 
be thrown at the striker, but he must be touched with it 
while it is in the hands of a fielder; if the fielder, while 
standing on the first base, can get the ball before the 
striker reaf^hes U>''it point, the striker is "out," The 
striker w alches his chances to run from the first to the 
second base, then t<> tlie third, and finally "home," with- 
out being touched t-y the ball while passing from one base 
to another, or when standing w tlhuut touching the base. 
If he succeeds in doing this lie is credited with one 
"rim" by the scorer. When a player sends the ball so 
far that he runs around the whole course touching each 
base, without being put out, it is called a home run. 
This, however, C'-unts no more than an ordinary run, 
[We think it would be an improvement to have it count 
two.— Ed.] The strikers take their turns in regular or- 
der, each trying to make a run in the manner described 
above. At each innings after the first, the next player 
to the last one put out. takes his turn at the bat. In run- 
ning, the striker must keep within three feet of a direct 
line from base lo ba-^e ; otherwise he is counted "out." 
If the ball when stiuck, first touches the ground, or any 
other object behind the range of home and first base, it is 
" foul," and must be so declared by the umpire. In such 
case, the striker must return to the home base and try- 
again, and any player having started to run from base to 
base, must return to the base which he left. He may be 
put out w hile doing this ; the striker is exempt w hile re- 
turning lo the home base after having struck a foul ball. 
The striker is out if a foul bail is caught before touch- 
ing the ground, or upon the first bound ; or if three bulls 
are struck at and missei'. and the last is caught before 
touching the ground ; or if a fair ball is struck and caught 
in the same manner. If three bails are struck at and 
missed, and the last one is not caught either flying or 
u[ion the first bound, the striker must attempt to make 
his run. as though he liad struck a fair ball. When a 
fair ball has been caught before touching the ground, 
players running the bases must return to the places 
whence they started, and they maybe put out while so 
doing in the same manner as a sti iker running lo his first 
base ; but players when balls are so caught, may run 
llieir bases immediately after the ball has been settled in 
the hands of the player catching it. If a pl;iyer refuses 
to strike at fair balls, the umjure should call "one bail,'* 
and if he continues to refus-i in the same manner, then 
"two balls," "three balls," and at the third call, the play- 
er must run as though he had struck. 
Players must make their bases in the order of striking; 
and when a fair ball is struck and not caught flying, or 
on the first bound, ihe fii?t base mu^t be vacatt-d, as also 
the second and third bases, if they are occupied at the 
time. Players may be put out on any b.ise under these 
circumstances, in the same manner as the striker when 
running to the first base. Any player who shall inten- 
tionally prevent an adversary from catching or fielding 
the ball, shall be declared out. If the player is prevented 
fiom making a base by the intentional obstruction of an 
