362 
AMERICAN AGRICULTURIST. 
[July, 
convenient for man}' cooking purposes. They are 
iron vessels coated on the inside with j)orcelain, or 
wiiite carthcrn-ware, glazed. One holding live or 
six quarts will answer. Wide Hat ones are prefer¬ 
able. Copper or even brass vessels, if well cleancil, 
will do ; or a tin pail or pan can be used. 
The Sugar. —For very nice preserved fruit, as 
wliite peaches and pears, the best Kefined A sugar 
is desirable, and for all kinds, we think sugar as 
good as the Refined I? sugar is best, and even cheap¬ 
est on the whole. For apple-sauce, put into cans 
for general family use, O, or the best light brown, 
will answer.- Our rule js, to use just sugar enough 
to lit the dilferent kinds of fruit for the table. 
Some families like more, and some less ; hence no 
definite rule can be given. For the sweeter fruits, 
strawberries, peaches, sweet iicavs, huckleberries, 
and the like, we use 4 to 6 lbs. of sugar to the gal¬ 
lon of water, or to % lb. to the pint. For more 
acid fruits, as cherries, plums, sourer pears, cur¬ 
rants, crab apples, etc., about 1 Ih. to the pint, 
more or less, according to tlie acidity, and ripeness. 
Selecting and Preparing the Fruit. —As a rule, 
choose fully ripe fruit, hut not that over-ripe. A 
soft 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 he sorted, 
defective ones rejected, stems and hulls removed, 
and carefully but quickly waslied if soiled, though 
this is always to be avoided if possible, as it injures 
the flavor, especially of raspberries and strawber¬ 
ries. Peaclies, pears, etc., need paring. Some scald 
peaelies, to aid in removing the thin skin, but they 
are better p.ared. They may bo preserved whole, 
but are better cut in halves and the pits removed. 
Cooking the Fruit. —Three methods are used j 
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 lieat tlie fruit througli, the covers are fast¬ 
ened down closely. Wo prefer, as being much less 
troublesome, to first cook tlie fruit in tlie 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 
preserves, the fruit may be cooked in a syrup first, 
then dipped out into the Iiot jars, and a new syrup 
be filled in hot. The cooking syrup may be used 
for several successive batclies of fruit, and finally 
for poorer kinds of fruit, or making common 
sauce. For ordinary preserving, the fruit and the 
syrup used in cooking it, m.ay be dipped togetlier 
into the bottle. The amount of cooking is important. 
Too little liazards the keeping, and too much, not 
only mars tlie .appearance, but it greatly inj ures the 
flavor. In all cases have the syrup boiling liot and 
over the fire when the fruit is first put into it, and 
it will then he.at through witliout becoming soft or 
losing its flavor. Only fruit enough to fill tlirce 
or four bottles should be cooked at a time, or some 
will be overdone. 
Str.awberrics should cook but 3 or 4 minutes be¬ 
fore dipping tliem into the bottles, which should 
be previously all ready and liot. With tliis precau¬ 
tion they retain their natural form and flavor. 
Pe.aches, being larger, require a little more time 
to heat tlirough, but when fully ripe, 5 to 7 minutes 
is long enough, and the same is true of well ripened 
pc.ars, 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 lieatcd tlirough to tiic center, as quickly 
as may lie after they go into the syrup, and then get 
them into the bottles iiniiicdiately, giving no time 
for the escape of the aroma. 
Tomatoes, well ripened, are scalded to skin them 
easily, then put into just water enough to prevent 
burning, and carefully cooked % to a full hour, 
thus reducing tlicir bulk materially. A very little 
salt is added, but no sugar. Tlicy can be seasoned 
and sugared when wanted for use. 
Rhubarb or Pic Plant.—Cut the stems in small 
pieces, as usual. Cook with oiily a few spoonfuls 
of water to keep it from burning before its own 
juices are at liberty. Boil liour, 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 apple pie, can be made. 
Bottling. —Have all needed bottles, corks, covers, 
wax if used, etc., ready before beginning to cook 
the fruit. Have a kettle 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 I'our 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 staud about two minutes, jarring them to 
facilitate the escaiie of air bubbles ; wipe the tops 
carefully clean with a damp hot cloth, then jiour 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 he—or air-tight. One point is, to have little if 
any aiiTeft in the fruit. As there is alw.ays a little, 
often enough to produce a tuft of mouldness 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 always 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 gre.at changes of temperature. 
Boiling Eggs—Sundry Ways. 
2[essrs. Editors.—The. writer is fond of boiled 
eggs—very. Soft boiled and hard boiled, but not 
par boiled. The readers of the Agricidturist m.ay 
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"; plump 
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 hav'e their whites hard and tough as 
leather, their yolks barely cooked at all. I do not 
like them so, and hope your readers will try my 
l>Um, which is indeed not mine, but old enough. 
JIow to Boil Eggs icithout 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 fill it with boiling water; set it in a warm place 
for 5 minutes ; then pour off the water, add as much 
more (boiling) and send at once to the table. Within 
3 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 theyolks will be cooked. 
The quantity of water should be in proportion to 
the number and size of the eggs, and if the water 
be poured off and a third time boiling water added, 
tiie wliite 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 Poach Eggs —first prcjiare 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 
jian with to % an inch of water, and when boil¬ 
ing, break into it carefully the eggs, one after an 
other, not putting too many 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 niuflin rings laid in the 
frying pan, which is an improvement in the looks 
at least of the dish. Poached eggs arc vastly better 
than fried, even with fried ham. X. 
# 
Coolciiig- Cal>l>a}*-e, —^Boil until tender, in 
clear water, or with other vegetables as may be 
convenient, then chop fine. To one medium sized 
cabbage head add two tablespoonfuls of thick cream, 
a bit of butter half as large as a small hen’s egg, salt 
and pepper, or add vinegar to suit the taste. 
For other Household Items, see “Basket.” 
mYB ^ 
Mow to may BBase Mall, • 
(Continued from page 229.) 
The players having taken their proper places, the 
pitcher tlelivers tlje ball for the first striker. He must 
pitch, not throw nor jerk it. With practice, this can be 
clone both straight and swiftly, and experienced pitchers 
.acquire a way of giving the ball a peculiar twist as it 
leaves the hand, making it more difficult for the striker 
to hit it squarely ; this may prevent his giving it a full 
blow and driving it far into the field. The pitcher must 
deliver tiie balls fairly, so as to come within good range 
of the striker. If he fails to do this repeatedly, the um- | 
pile after warning him, calls “one ball,'’ then “two I 
balls,” and if he calls “three balls” in this way, the ! 
striker has the privilege of going unmolested to the first 
base, and any batsman who may be occupying bases, } 
may also walk one base further. ; 
The striker watches for a good ball, and when it comes, \ 
tries to strike it with his bat as far into the field as pos- \ 
sible, and also to drive it in such a way that it may not I 
be caught by the fielders. He may do tliis by forcing it 
beyond them, or by making it go low, or by sending it 1 
between the fielders, if he see a good opening. As soon | 
as he has struck, he drops the bat and starts for the first I 
base, which he must touch with his foot or otherwise.- I 
Meantime the fielders endeavor to touch him with the ' 
ball w Idle passing from base to base. The ball must not 
be thrown at the striker, but he must be touched with it' Ij 
while it is in the hands of a fielder; if the fielder, while j 
standing on the first base, can get the ball before the I 
striker reaches that point, the striker is “out.” The i 
striker watches his chances to run from the first to the ' 
second base, then to the third, and finally “ home,” with¬ 
out being touched by the ball while passing from one base 
to another, or when standing without touching the base. 
If he succeeds in doing this he is credited with one 
“run ” 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, counts 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 inrdngs after the first, the next player I 
to the last one put out. lakes his turn at the bat. In run¬ 
ning, Hie striker must keep within three feet of a direct 
line from base to base ; otherwise he is counted “ out.” | 
If the ball when struck, 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 h.aving started to run from base to 
base, must return to the base which he left. He may be ' 
put out while doing this ; the striker is exempt while re¬ 
turning to the home base after having struck a foul ball. 
The striker is out if a foul ball is caught before touch¬ 
ing the ground, or upon the first bound ; or if three balls 
are struck at and missed, and the last is caught before 
touching the ground ; or if a fair ball is struck and caught ’ 
in the same manner. If three balls are struck at and | 
missed, and the last one is not cauglit either flying or ' 
upon the first boiiml, the striker must attempt to make . 
his run, as though he had struck a fair ball. When a 
fair ball has been caught before touching the ground, I 
players running the bases must return to the places 
whence they started, and they may be put out while so j 
doing in the same manner as a striker running to his first 
base ; but players when balls are so caught, may run , 
their bases immediately after the ball has been settled in 
the hands of the player catching it. If a player refuses 
to strike at fair balls, the umjiire shouhl call “ one ball,” 
and if he continues to refuse 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 birll is struck and not caught flying, or 
on the first bound, the first base must be vacated, as also i 
Hie second and third bases, if they are occupied at the ^ 
time. Players may be put out on any base under these S 
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 
from making a base by tlie intentional obstruction of an 
