“To be the husband of a genius is the next best 
thing to being a genius one’s self,” says the New 
York Press, and we came across an instance which we 
record here for the benefit of any one who doubts the 
soundness of the above assertion. “ The Story of an 
African Farm ” made the reading world acquainted 
with the name of Olive Schreiner. After a woman 
has made a name it seems a pity to give it up in 
marrying, and suffer that inevitable parenthetical 
explanation as to who she used to be. So this is the 
way it was settled in this case : Miss Olive Schreiner 
that was, since her marriage calls herself Mrs. Olive 
Schreiner. Her husband, however, has changed his 
maiden name by making his wife’s family name his 
surname, so that his visiting cards now read, “ Mr. 
Cronwright Schreiner ” The gentleman has our con¬ 
gratulations and the condolences of old fogydom. 
§ ? § 
They say a woman always jumps to a conclusion. 
If it’s the right conclusion, isn’t that the best way to 
reach it ? A man must take his time, because he must 
be guided by logic ; he is a reasonable creature, and 
when he makes a statement, knows that it must be 
bolstered up by the evidence of “experiments,” the en¬ 
dorsement of “precedents,” etc. Poor men ! It has al¬ 
ways been expected of them, and many of them con¬ 
tinue to be logical, not a bit dismayed that hundreds 
of the most plausible theories have been duly exploded, 
and the time wasted in elaborating them might have 
been saved by jumping to the conclusion, woman- 
fashion. ^ ^ § 
Not long ago a young man was removed from the 
Edison works insensible from the effects of electricity. 
The physicians were puzzled and thought he was dy¬ 
ing. Fortunately there was a woman to meet the 
emergency and insist on dispatch, whatever was to be 
done. She promptly gave a sensible diagnosis, said he 
was overcharged with electricity and the surplus must 
be drawn off. An insulated wire was arranged and 
attached to a sponge, which was placed in the patient’s 
hand, so that the electricity would pass from his body. 
The first operation relieved him, he became conscious 
after the second, and has since entirely recovered; for 
which he may thank his aunt. The doctors would 
probably have been too cautious to advance any theory 
until they had the benefit of the post mortem. 
I § § 
Last week we considered the value of gas and elec¬ 
tricity in the kitchen, with especial reference to hot 
weather demands. But electricity promises to be a 
continual blessing all the year around when we learn 
how to manage it. The hot kitchen is the summer 
bugbear; in winter, building the kitchen fire in the 
morning has always been an unpleasant necessity 
which has probably been responsible in the farm 
household, for more family tifts than any other one 
cause. Some of the agricultural colleges are training 
the farmers’ daughters to be good housekeepers, and 
the girls are getting their eyes opened to the possible 
improvements in this line. Just as science is revolu¬ 
tionizing agriculture through educating the farmers, 
so it will make a change in housework. Give women 
a glimpse of the possibilities and they will respond 
with practical suggestions that will hasten the adop¬ 
tion of scientific appliances in the domestic realm. 
The following extract from the essay of an agricul¬ 
tural college graduate suggests an arrangement which 
would improve the electrical kitchen described last 
week: 
In equlpplnK a house with electricity, consideration is required to 
Obtain the greatest convenience. The switches hy which the lights 
are turned off and on should be placed where they y> 111 be accessible 
on entering ihe rconj. If one's house la supplied with tne necessary 
electrical appliances for heating and cooslng, a good plan would be 
to have a switch just Inside the door and another so conveniently 
arranged that the switch can be turned before rising In the morning, 
and In 20 minutes the house, from garret to basement, will be com¬ 
fortably warm, and If the food be put In the cooking utenslis at night 
and the necessary connections made, the breakfast will be done and 
ready for the table wnen the housewife makes her appearance. 
ONE OF THE SUMMER TASKS. 
pkkparing fruits for the winter bill of fare. 
What fruits or vegetables shall you preserve or can for next win¬ 
ter's use? In what way does the profit come from this home canning, 
over buying regular canned goods at the stores? Is It cheaper? What 
are the three most Important things In canning at home? 
Prefer to Buy Canned Vegetables 
I can nothing but fruits—strawberries, raspberries, 
blackberries, plums, peaches and currants. All other 
canned goods are bought. Living on a farm where we 
raise the fruits mentioned as a by-product, it seems to 
me to be the most economical way to can them at 
home. Home canned fruits taste better to us than 
store goods. Under the circumstances mentioned 
above, I think it is cheaper, although I cannot give 
the figures. The three important things are perfectly 
fresh fruit, perfect cooking and perfect sealing. 
MRS. H. A. s. 
Not Much Competition from Stores. 
We do not raise any fruits in this county. I 
shall can tomatoes and rhubarb and pickle corn 
and cucumbers. The profit to me is that I live 18 
miles from town, and it is more convenient to have the 
goods in the house. I think it is cheaper, as the cheap¬ 
est we can get tomatoes from the store is nine quarts 
for 81. They seldom cost that much a bushel. The 
most important things are fresh fruits or vegetables. 
The jars should be tightly sealed while hot and kept in a 
dark, cool place where they will not freeze. Of course, 
the “ hot” does not apply to rhubarb, as I put that up 
in cold water. e. b. 
Home Products Have Better Flavor. 
The fruits and vegetables which I shall preserve, 
in one way or another, for winter use are as follows : 
Pieplant, strawberries, cheriies, currants, red rasp¬ 
berries (with and without currants), blackcaps, black¬ 
berries, plums, prunes, pears, peaches, tomatoes, ap¬ 
ples and lemons, quinces. To be dried : raspberries, 
blackberries, corn, plums, prunes, peaches. 
The profit derived from home canning and preserv¬ 
ing is not of a nature to be computed in dollars and 
cents. If the fruit used is of home production, it is 
worth what it would bring if put on the market, and 
this with the cost of cans, sugar, spices and fuel, makes 
a bill of expense which considerably exceeds the cost 
of the same fruit put up by the commercial canner. 
This does not take into account any pay for one’s own 
time, or for utensils necessary for successful results. 
This is, however, only one side of the question. House¬ 
keepers are inclined to regard canned goods as less 
cleanly than the product of their own kitchens ; but if 
we take tea, coffee and sugar without question, why 
not canned fruits also ? 
The tin cans in which everything was put up at first 
were another objectionable feature, but there are 
brands of fruit now, which are put up in glass bottles, 
which meet that difficulty. But there is another 
point which has not been remedied as yet. Flavor is 
sacrificed to appearance in canned goods, and while 
one finds plenty of home canning which is not quite 
up to the mark, I have never seen but one specimen of 
commercial fruit canning which was really delicious. 
That was a can of California apricots, and they were 
perfect. Commercial canned fruit is not sweet enough 
for the average palate. True, this may be remedied 
by pouring the syrup from the fruit, adding more 
sugar, bringing it to the boiling point and pouring it 
over the fruit; but even then it does not possess the 
delightful natural fiavor which the expert home pre¬ 
server imprisons in her cans. 
In the preservation of vegetables, the home canner 
has much to learn, and it is usually wiser to buy these 
supplies if summer vegetables are desired in winter. 
A few of the many persons who can corn, make a suc¬ 
cess of it, but beans and peas seem beyond the average 
woman. Dried corn is very easily cared for, and if 
taken when young and tender, it is nearly, if not quite 
as good as that which is preserved in cans. There is 
no difficulty about keeping tomatoes, but it is wise to 
store them in a dark closet. 
The three things about canning which I have found 
needed greatest care, are the condition of the cans, 
the condition of the fruit and the length of time of 
cooking the fruit. The cans must be perfect in all 
their parts, and if new rubbers are supplied every 
year, so much the better. The fruit should be fresh 
and prepared so carefully as not to impair its beauty, 
and the cooking should be as slight as possible. I 
find so many people who are still unfamiliar with the 
process of cooking small fruits in the cans that I will 
describe the process again, as it is the only way in 
which the small, delicate fruits may be canned so that 
they will not lose much or all of their symmetry. 
Put the fruit into the cans as soon as prepared, jar¬ 
ring it down so that the can will be full. Have a 
syrup prepared before¬ 
hand by bringing it to a 
boil, skimming it carefully 
and letting it cool No 
exact rule can be given fcr 
the sugar and water, as 
tastes differ so materially, 
but cherries require but 
little sugar to make them 
palatable, and too much 
causes them to shiink. 
Pill the cans with syrup 
and screw on the tops, but 
do not put the rubbers on. 
Put bits of board in the bottom of the wash boiler, set 
the cans on these so that they do not touch, and pour 
cold water into the boiler till it is within about an inch 
of the tops of the cans. Set the boiler on the stove. 
Let the water boil from five to ten minutes, then lift 
out each can separately, take off the cover, fill it to 
the brim with hot syrup, of which a reserve supply 
must be ready. Wipe off the tops and seal the cans. 
It is a good plan to let the cans stand bottom side up 
until cool, tightening the metal band at intervals as 
the fruit cools. 
While on the subject of canning I would like to say 
to the correspondent who asked for a method for 
canning strawberries so they will not lose their color, 
that if, when hulling the berries she would put all the 
small and imperfect fruit by itself and express the 
juice from it, using this juice to make the syrup to fill 
the cans, she will probably achieve the end in view. 
Canned strawberries must be kept in a dark place as 
the light fades them. 
Either red or black raspberries are pleasantly 
changed by using currant j nice for the syrup ; and 
delicate, pretty currant jelly may be made from the 
juice of white currants to which red raspberry juice is 
added. Two quarts of red berries will tint 10 quarts 
of currants. s. a. little. 
No Fear of Fruit Famine in This Family. 
I expect to put up this year for winter use, at least 
75 quarts of blackberries, 50 quarts of red raspberries, 
10 or 15 quarts of blackcaps, perhaps 10 quarts of 
plums, the same of crab apples, and at least 25 
quarts of tomato preserves, besides jelly, pickles and 
chowchow. Strawberries this year have been very 
cheap and, in most cases, plentiful, selling in Seattle 
at 10 and 15 cents per gallon. Our own strawberries 
were a failure, and not feeling able to buy, we shall 
have to leave them out of our list of winter fruit. 
I have no especial rule for canning fruit. In canning 
strawberries, I make a syrup with sugar and a little 
water, put tbe berries into the boiling syrup, let them 
boil six minutes, and seal up immediately. I use the 
Mason jars and no other. I place them in lukewarm 
water with a cloth in the bottom of the vessel and fill 
them. In the top of each can I put a piece of writing 
paper. This prevents the mold, if any forms, from 
touching the fruit. I use about one-third sugar, or 
three-quarters of a pound of sugar to a pound of fruit. 
My fruit is neither canned nor preserved, but between 
the two ; that is, I do not can without sugar, neither 
do I use a great quantity, as most people do. If I am 
canning blackberries or raspberries, I cook enough to 
fill three quart jars, adding water and sugar by guess, 
but at least one quart of sugar to four quarts of 
fruiti before canning. Fruit canning can scarcely 
be done by rule, but rather by experience, and by 
sweetening to suit the taste. Some prefer no sugar 
at all, others the richest of preserves. I prefer my 
fruit to be a medium between the two extremes. For 
pears, peaches, quinces, plums and tomato preserves, 
I make a syrup first, then place the fruit in the boil¬ 
ing syrup and cook till transparent. I do not cook 
more than two or three quarts at a time for fear it 
may burn. 
I shall put up no vegetables except tomatoes, by 
canning, and they will be in the form of pickles, chow- 
chow and preserves. Unless one has great quantities 
of tomatoes they cannot sell, and empty cans that 
need filling, it does not pay to can them as a vegetable. 
Sweet corn I dry and prefer it to canned corn. Beans 
are good pickled, put down in brine, and dried. 
Home canned fruits far excel the products of the 
canning factory, no matter how expensive the latter 
may be. Here we can buy a three-quart can of pears 
for 35 cents; blackberries, cherries, peaches and all 
other fruits the same. This fruit is quite good, but 
requires a good deal of sugar to prepare it for the 
table. We get the best table fruit at 20 cents a can, 
yet a quart of home canned goes much farther, and 
one IS certain it is clean. I can put up most fruits 
cheaper than 20 cents a can. 
Highest of all in Leavening Power.—Latest U. S. Gov’t Report 
PUBE 
