AMERICAN AGRICULTURIST, 
279 
The preceeding was put in type Aug. 2, in or¬ 
der to send proof slips to several inquirers 
desiring immediate information. We have since 
examined the results of our own experiments, and 
also conversed with others on the subject. Aug. 
1857, we expressed the juice from a quantity of 
New Rochelle Blackberries, and put it up in three 
methods. Each kind was kept in glass bottles 
and stone jugs, and left uncorked and undisturbed 
to this date. A piece of millinet was tied over 
the mouth of each vessel to keep out insects. 
The vessels were set on a shelf in the cellar. 
The juice was obtained by mashing the berries 
and straining through a linen cloth. 
No. 1.—One quart of blackberry juice, two 
quarts of water, and three lbs. of white sugar. 
This is now nearly a good vinegar with a beautiful 
reddish color, and strong wine flavor. 
No. 2.—One quart of juice, one quart of water, 
and two lbs M white sugar. This is now a 
beautiful wine Several gentlemen have tested it 
and all say it could hardly be improved. 
No. 3.—One quart of juice and 2 pounds of 
sugar. This is now a heavy wine, of excellent 
quality, though rather strongly flavored by the 
fruit. It will doubtless improve by age. 
We think all the above should have been drawn 
off from the lees after standing six or eight 
months, and kept closely corked in a cool place, 
though Mr. Seymour, who recently presented us 
with a fine blackberry wine, thinks the flavor im¬ 
proved, if anything, by letting the lees remain in 
the bottom of the cask. No. 2 we think the best 
recipe, and by referring to the article on “ New 
Rochelle Blackberry,” on page 277, it will be 
seen that this agrees nearly with Seymour’s 
mode of manufacture on a large scale. 
Blackberry Marmalade, of quite acceptable qual¬ 
ity was made by adding a pound of sugar to a 
pound of the material left in the cloth after pres¬ 
sing out the blackberry juice. 
------ 
Elderberry Wine. 
S. M. Luther, of Portage Co., O., gives us the 
following recipe, which he uses, and he states 
that the wine he now has, which was made three 
years ago, is pronounced by competent judges 
quite superior, in point of flavor, to the domestic 
wine in use. He directs : Mash and press the 
fully ripe berries, and to one quart of the juice 
add 3 qts. of water and 4 lbs. of sugar. After the 
sugar is dissolved, strain and add two table spoon¬ 
fuls of yeast to each gallon of the liquid, allowing 
it to stand in an open vessel from ten to fifteen 
days, according as the weather is cool or warm, 
when it should be carefully drawn off and bottled 
for use. Keep it in a cool place. 
Remarks. —We would use a much less quantity 
of water with equal juice, and add 31 lbs. of su¬ 
gar with — say 1 oz. of either allspice or cloves, 
and 1 oz. ginger root to a gallon of the liquid. 
Tomato Catsup. 
Mrs. Yorce, McHenry Co., Ill., contributes the 
following to the Agriculturist: Boil half a bushel 
of tomatoes 15 or 20 minutes in a kettle, with just 
sufficient water to cover the bottom. Mash and 
rub them through a sieve, add a tea cupfull each 
of ground pepper and allspice, $ of a tea cup of 
ground cloves, and the same amount of salt, 3 
red peppers and 3 garlics. Scald together and put 
in a stone pot, taking off the scum until it is done 
rising when scald again, and having added one 
gill of brandy, bottle for use. The same propor¬ 
tion may be adopted for a smaller quantity. Mrs. 
V. says this is excellent. 
Preserving Fruits for Winter. 
GLASS BETTER AND CHEAPER THAN TIN. 
To the Editor of the American Agriculturist: 
Your frequent chapters under this head lead me 
to give my experience, as I believe there can 
scarcely be too much said in favor of putting 
away an abundant supply of the Summer and 
Autumn fruits, in a fresh state to relieve the mo¬ 
notony of “ salt junk,” that too prevalent diet of 
the farmer during the winter season. I am glad 
to see you set your face — and pen — against the 
use of so much candied fruit, in which a pound 
of fruit is cooked up with its pound of fine sugar, 
thus destroying the flavor and producing an indi¬ 
gestible compound. 
I have used both tin and glass, for keeping 
fruit fresh, but greatly prefer the glass. I know 
the can men tell us that nolhing injurious comes 
from tin, even with acid fruit, so long as air is 
entirely excluded from the cans. I will not dis¬ 
cuss this question with them, but am certain that 
no deleterious substance can come from glass 
under any circumstances. Besides, there is a 
real satisfaction in looking at a transparent jar of 
peaches, plums or berries, requiring no label to 
designate its contents. Again, if perchance the 
sealing should be imperfect and the fruit give in¬ 
dications of not keeping, it can Teadily be seen 
and be used at once. But the most important 
consideration with me is expense. Most of the 
patent cans cost $2,50 per dozen, for quart sizes, 
while the glass jars I use, of about the same size, 
cost but 75c. per dozen. As we intend to put up 
near 100 quarts of various kinds of fruit, we shall 
save about $14 by using the glass, which will 
certainly allow for a trifling breakage, though we 
have found no trouble in that respect. 
The jars we use are common glass with a 
trifling green shade, but still quite transparent. 
They are eight inches high, the main body being 
about 4 inches in diameter. The neck is wide, 
being full 2 inches inside diame¬ 
ter, which allows the smaller fruits 
to be put in whole if desired. 
We adopt two methods. So long 
as we have large corks we in¬ 
sert these over the fruit, covering 
them with waxed cloth. We some¬ 
times put over simply waxed 
cloth. We set the bottles around 
the stove door to heat gently at first, and have 
them hot when pouring in the hot fruit. The 
corks are kept in a dish of warm water to soak 
soft and pliable. A basin of wax, made by melt¬ 
ing and stirring together one pound of resin and 
one ounce of tallow, is kept melted on the stove 
ready for use. 
The Fruit is put into a porcelain kettle with 
just sugar enough to sweeten it for use. It is 
then heated to the boiling point, but not cooked 
above two or three minutes, except tomatoes, 
and some of the larger fruits, and vegetables, 
which may boil ten minutes. With a long han¬ 
dled dipper, and a fruit funnel having a large ori¬ 
fice just fitting the mouth of the jar, I fill them 
very rapidly, while an assistant follows, pressing 
in the corks £ to i of an inch below the surface 
and pouring on melted wax to fill it. She imme¬ 
diately ties over a piece of cotton cloth previously 
coated on both sides with the same wax. This 
seals them perfectly. 
Having secured a large quantity in this manner 
with entire success, I shall pursue the plan, 
mainly, as the corks make neater work, and give 
additional security, though we put up some with¬ 
out the corks, as your Ohio correspondent sug¬ 
gested in the August Agriculturist. 
In addition to the smaller fruits already pre¬ 
pared, I intend to put up largely of tomatoes, 
peaches, plums, pears, quinces, late rhubarb, and 
that Yankee luxury, pumpkin, that I may have 
pies in Winter and Spring of better flavor than 
made from dried pumpkins. 
Long Island Housekeeper. 
- -»-• -- <•-» - 
Parsnep Sweetmeats. 
The following contributed for the Agriculturist, 
by Miss Sarah M. Taylor, of Saratoga County, 
N. Y., may be useful for those who use preserved 
sweet-meats—we eschew them altogether since 
we have learned the art of keeping fruit fresh. 
The recipe is perhaps more appropriate to Spring. 
Miss T., gives the following directions : “ Take 
the largest part of the parsnep ; and if wilted soak 
in water until swelled out plump. Cut across 
into round pieces an inch thick ; scrape the skin 
off and weigh. Put them into a brass kettle, cov¬ 
er with hot water, laying a plate over to keep 
them down. Boil until a broom splint will go 
through the pieces, and lift them out separately 
with a fork, laying on plates to cool and toughen. 
For each pound of fruit use f lb. of white sugar 
dissolving it in the water in which the parsneps 
were cooked, and boil, removing the scum. Add 
the fruit, covered with a plate as before, and boil 
until the whole looks clear. Then take the pieces 
out upon plates, and boil down the syrup until it 
becomes ropy, and cool it in an earthen or tin 
vessel. For each pound of the parsneps take one 
lemon, grate the outer yellow peel, rejecting the 
inside rind which is bitter, and also pick out the 
seeds from the pulp which is to be used whole. 
Put the syrup, pieces of parsnep, grated lemon 
peel and pulp, all into earthen pets, adding a stick 
or two of cinnamon bark, and a tablespoonful of 
cloves, and of ground cinnamon for each pound.” 
--»-<——=»»»——- 
Cockroaches are not very troublesome in inland 
towns, we believe, but along the sea-board they 
are a decided nuisance. A hundred plans have 
been proposed for getting rid of them, but they 
abound as much as ever. We give herewith an 
engraving of a simple trap presented to us a 
month since. It was invented by I. S. Clough, of 
this city. Our own dwelling being comparatively 
new, is fortunately free from these pests, so far, 
and we handed the trap to an associate, who re¬ 
ports that it operates finely until the cockroaches 
“pile in so thickly as to raise a mound for the 
next comers to crawl out on.” The trap is simply 
a tin box of the form here shown. The inclined 
ends are roughed with a firm coating of sand to 
make the ascent easy. A little molasses is put 
into the shallow cup within, and the insects in 
attempting to get at it slide down the beveled 
opening, and are unable to crawl out, if the in¬ 
side upper surface be kept bright and clean. The 
dotted circle on the right is a movable punctured 
cover, which serves the double purpose of an 
opening to clean out the trap, and to attract the 
insects by giving them a sight of the molasses 
and what is going on within 
