1864.] 
AMERICAN AGRICULTURIST. 
181 
then thoroughly dried and heated and allowed 
to cool. A common flower pot with the hole 
stopped up, or other convenient vessel is partly 
filled with the sand and the flowers are stuck 
into this; more sand is then added so as to cover 
the flower. Great care is needed in this part of 
the operation, and the sand should be filled into 
and around the flower so that it will be support¬ 
ed on all sides, and all warping or crushing 
avoided. The pot is filled up with sand and 
the whole set in a warm place until the flowers 
are dry. It will require from one to two or 
three days according to the nature of the flow¬ 
er; the proper time for each can only be deter¬ 
mined by experiment. The flowers should be 
free from dew or other moisture and the sand 
perfectly dry when used. It is best at each op¬ 
eration, to heat the sand quite hot and allow it 
to become cool before using. Flowers dried in 
this way are exceedingly brittle and must be 
handled with the greatest care. They are usu¬ 
ally made into bouquets or wreaths and placed 
in a glazed frame or put under glass shades. 
tm mroratom 
The Best way of Preserving Fruits. 
The old-fashioned method of preserving fruit by 
boiling in sugar, ‘ pound for pound,’ is rapidly giv¬ 
ing way to the improved plan of sealing in air-tight 
vessels. By the former process a rich but almost 
flavorless compound is made, admirably adapted to 
test the digestive powers, and the cost of the sugar 
required is no small item. By the latter method, 
the natural taste of the various fruits is mostly re¬ 
tained, the healthfuluess unimpaired, the cost far 
less, and the trouble no greater, if so great. After 
our experience of half a dozen years, we find bott¬ 
ling fruit much less work than “ preserving’.’ it, 
while it is cheaper and far better every way. 
Fruit bottles and jars of several patterns are in 
the market, some of which possess considerable ad¬ 
vantages. We have used the Youman’s, the Potter 
& Bodine, and other bottles, and found them good. 
Tin cans are objectionable, being liable to rust, and 
at best lasting but one or two seasons. Porcelain 
or earthenware will keep fruit well, but glass is 
better as it admits of readily examining the con¬ 
tents. Although the bottles made especially for 
the purpose are much more convenient, they arc 
not absolutely necessary to the preservation of 
fruit. Any vessel that will allow of the easy in¬ 
troduction of the fruit, and of the entire exclu¬ 
sion of air, will answer. We have kept strawberries 
and other small fruits perfectly, the year round, in 
common junk bottles, corked aud sealed tightly. 
Fruits of every kind to be kept in this way should 
be ripe or very nearly so, sound and fresh. In a- 
very short time after picking, fermentation com¬ 
mences, aud there is loss of flavor, and the difficul¬ 
ty of preservation is increased. A porcelain lined 
kettle, or tinned vessel is preferable to brass for 
cooking, although the latter will answer if it be first 
thoroughly cleansed. Only enough sugar to sweet¬ 
en the fruit for table use need betaken. Even this 
is not necessary to the preservation of the fruit, 
as it may be well kept by simply- scalding in water 
and then, bottling. But we think it preferable to 
add the sugar at the time of cooking, as it then be¬ 
comes better incorporated with the fruit. Make a 
syrup by boiling one to two pounds of sugar to a 
quart of water. More water is needed with fruits 
containing little juice, as pears and quinces, and 
less with such as peaches, berries, etc. For berries 
we have simply taken a quarter of a pound of 
sugar to one pound of frqit, with just enough 
water added to keep it from burning. When the 
syrup is boiling \iour in the fruit, which will of 
course cool it somewhat; let it come to a boil 
again, and cook about five minutes, or just enough 
to scald it through, and then immediately dip it out 
into the bottles which should be filled. Cork the 
bottles as fast as filled, or screw down the cov¬ 
ers, if patent arrangements are used. This should 
be done while the contents are as hot as possible, 
as then the small space which remain unfilled, will 
be occupied by steam, aud as this condenses on 
cooling, a vacuum will remain. Only a little air 
left would be sufficient to cause fermentation aud 
spoil the preserves. For ordinary bottles, stoppers 
of compact soft cork are best. They should be 
soaked iu hot-water before using, so that they may 
be crowded in closely. Force the cork in a little 
below the top of the neck, aud then fill the remain¬ 
ing space with cement made of ounces of tal¬ 
low to 1 lb. of rosin. Additional security is given 
by inverting the bottles and dipping them into a 
tin “ patty-pan ” partly filled with cement. These 
will prevent the stoppers being forced in by the 
pressure of the air when the contents of the bottles 
cool. In place of the “ patty-pans ” small blocks 
of wood partly bored through to receive the ce¬ 
ment, will answer every purpose. Care must be 
taken to have the bottles well heated before intro¬ 
ducing the boiling contents, otherwise many will 
be broken. To do this, partly fill them with water 
set them iu a vessel of cold water upon the stove 
and let it heat to boiling, while cooking the fruit. 
Where it is desired to keep fruit without sugar, 
put it in bottles, fill them with cold water, and 
loosely put in the corks, which should be long and 
soft, and previously soaked in hot-water. Set the 
bottles in cold water, and heat it up to boiling; let 
it boil five or ten minutes. Then with a mallet, or 
other convenient implement force the corks in deep 
and tight, wire or tie them down, and the work is 
done. We have seen strawberries and other fruits 
kept in. this way for more than a year. 
Hints on Painting 1 . 
S. D. Welsh, Esq., of Wyandot Co., Ohio, a prac¬ 
tical painter, sends to the Agriculturist the follow¬ 
ing hints, useful to those doing their own paint- 
iug: “ In opening a keg of white lead, break the 
head in with a hatchet, or if it is desired to save 
the head, with an old chisel extract the tacks from 
the upper hoops, drive them up, take out the 
head and replace the hoops. The paint-can may be 
a tin pail (or an old oyster can) with a strong wire 
bail aud a wire hook attached, by which to hang it 
to the ladder. With a strong paddle take from the 
keg and put into the can enough lead to one-third 
fill it; pour oil enough over the lead to about 
cover it, and mix them thoroughly; after this oil 
is well incorporated with the lead, fill the can with 
oil, putting in a little at a time, and stir constantly 
while adding. When ready to apply, the paint 
should be about the consistence of rich cream. It 
should be tried on some inferior part at first and 
made thicker or thinner, as needed. If too thick, 
it will not work right under the brush, but incline 
to be 6ticky or tough. If too thin, it is apt to run, 
has a yellowish hue and is too transparent. For 
outside work, use a large brush, with a smaller one 
to work about windows and other corners. When 
not in use, keep all brushes in oil, or well cleansed 
from paint, or they will dry up and spoil. In com¬ 
mencing, take a course of boards (as many as can 
well be reached) and brush their whole length. 
Do not leave off painting long enough for the work 
to dry, until the course is finished. If obliged to 
suspend the work, leave off about a window, door, 
or corner. Use boiled oil, and never finish outside 
work in very hot weather. For outside, the paint 
for first coats should be thinnish, the second made 
thick, and the third thicker than the first, but thin¬ 
ner than the second. For inside work there are 
different methods. It is safe, as a general rule, to 
use equal parts of naptha and Japan varnish as a 
vehicle with which to mix the pigments. Naptha 
is used as a substitute for turpentine, which is now 
very expensive. It is a poor drier. Japan varnish 
and turpentine are quick driers. Oil is a slow drier, 
but dries more rapidly when boiled. If the paint 
is drying too fast while applying it, add more nap¬ 
tha or a little oil. Positive colors, such as blues, 
reds, etc., are seldom, if ever, used on inside work, 
but a great variety of tints are obtained by mixing 
these with white. For straw-color, use yellow 
ochre with white; for flesh, chrome yellow and a 
little red with white. Gray is made by adding to 
the white a very little black. Red and black 
make brown. Be very careful in mixing colors 
with black, or the desired tint may be neut¬ 
ralized. If dry colors are used with white, they 
should always be rubbed up with a little naptha 
or turpentine before mixing. Make experimental 
trials for desired tints upon short boards, not¬ 
ing each time the proportion of color used. 
Alter the first coat is dried hard it is to be rubbed 
down with sand paper (laid under a little block) 
before applying the next coat. If the work is to be 
varnished, use Dammar varnish for all light colors. 
About Good Bread and Some Other Things. 
Jack Fkost’s Land, March, 1864. 
Mr. Editor —Dear Sir:—Your correspondent, 
“ Crusty Bachelor,” in the American Agriculturist 
for January, page 22, asks “Why so much poor 
bread ?”. I admit his statements are correct, but 
“what constitutes good bread?” will be settled 
when “what constitutes beauty?” is decided. 
Some persons like (they say) “ very tough bread,” 
while others will only eat that which is delicate 
and tender. Let tastes differ as they may, the best 
quality of fine bread, whether lightened by ‘hop- 
yeast,’ ‘ Prof. S’s. Compound,’ or ‘ milk-rising,’ 
is so nearly alike, that a majority of critics (like 
Mr. Crusty B.) cannot tell which yeast was used. 
The science of fermentation is not sufficiently 
studied by those who fail, for more failures arise 
from want of proper fermentation than from inju¬ 
dicious baking. Some‘poor bread’ is caused by 
pure carelessness; it is less trouble, to make it 
‘ moist, anyhow,’ than ‘ to fuss and sponge it, and 
all that ’ ; while a person of opposite proclivities 
is apt to have so many irons in the fire that some 
of them burn—bread, for instance. 
Many a loaf of ‘poor bread’ has been made be¬ 
cause an ambitious mother had her daughter 
taught to dance, draw, paint, play and sing, so 
‘ she can marry a rich man and never have to 
work.’ And you may tell C. Bachelor that gen¬ 
tlemen sometimes prefer that sort of girls. The 
quiet daughter who ‘ helps mother ’ is often over¬ 
looked and neglected', while her sister, with the 
aforesaid accomplishments, who spends more time 
upon flounces, jackets, ruches—and Demorest only 
knows what—is invited 'to party, concert, or lec¬ 
ture, and is the sole recipient of all the attention 
of Mr. McFlimsy and, perhaps, Mr. McSolid also. 
When young gentlemen ask young ladies, “ Can 
you make good bread?” as frequently as they have 
hitherto asked, “Can you play?” etc., the supply 
of good housekeepers will equal the demand, not 
only in quantity, but in the kind asked for. 
Some intellectual men have, given us to under¬ 
stand that a woman’s head is not nearly large 
enough to contain a knowledge of books and work 
too, and she must know whether Dr. Johnson or 
Bayard Taylor “wrote Shakespeare,” instead of 
doing only “what a servant can do just as well.” 
The result of this theory is, that many a girl is led 
to look on a barrel of flour (and perhaps the farm¬ 
er who produced it) with unfeigned contempt, to 
read novels, and write ‘ high pressure ’ storie for 
the magazines. Once upon a time a highly gifted 
editor of N. Y. wrote a story, and in disposing of 
his heroes two go to sea, one becomes somebody, 
the other was so “stupid they could only make him 
cook.” You have my permission to go into said 
editor’s sanctum and ask him “if in order to cook 
it is necessary to be stupid ?” 
As .to C. Bachelor’s idea of apprenticeship, it is 
always understood that a girl is apprenticed to her 
mother to study the whole art of housekeeping, 
cooking included, (some would like it ‘perfect 
in six lessons,’) and if the mother does her 
duty, the daughter will learn that all other things 
being equal, the comfort and happiness of a family 
when she is its associate partner, will depend upon 
