talk about the most. There is less talk about 
the furniture and beds than anything else. 
People are generally tired enough to sleep on 
almost anything. The supply of vegetables 
and fruit causes some dissatisfaction. As the 
city markets are now conducted, good fruits 
and vegetables are within reach of all several 
weeks before the Northern farmer can raise 
them. A small mess of vegetables or a little 
dish of fruit, put on as a luxury will not be 
appreciated. Boarders will expect a bounti¬ 
ful supply of such things os a regular part of 
country fare. It will pay the farmer who 
wants to take boarders to pay particular at¬ 
tention to his garden. A musical instrument 
of some kind will always please. If a room 
could be put aside for a bath-room and a tub, 
however rudely fitted up, with a good water 
supply, one of the surest methods of pleasing 
guests would be provided. Farmers and at¬ 
tendants often grumble because they have to 
do little jobs which they thiuk the boarders 
ought to do themselves. This is nonsense. 
They should charge enough for board to cover 
all these little jobs and leave their guests free 
to do just exactly as they like, without watch¬ 
ing or grumbling. boarder. 
New York. 
This is a great cheese country and whey is 
plentiful. Not much is known as to its feeding 
value when fed to calves. The question seems 
of so much importance that the htate Dairy¬ 
men’s Associatiou of Wisconsin proposes to 
investigate the matter. We know the feed¬ 
ing value of sweet skimmed milk as detailed 
in the reports of our Experiment Station at 
Madison No cheese is made there, so we are 
going to test sweet whey at a cheese factory 
on acertuin number of calves—two equal lots, 
to be fed precisely alike, except that one lot are 
to have 100 pounds of sweet whey per day in 
their feed, while the other will have water in¬ 
stead. j. a. s. 
Cedurburg, Wis. 
I consider the Thomas Smoothing Harrow 
the best “general-purpose’’ implement on the 
farm. There are other tools that are better 
for special purposes, but for the general farm 
work, take it as it comes, the Thomas is 
ahead. It will cover potatoes and peas, aud 
hoe corn and potatoes, when small, better 
than the work can be done by baud, provided 
the stones, etc., have been removed nnd the 
soil properly pulverized. It is also valuable 
to cover grain and grass seed, and leaves the 
ground very smooth. o. w. G. 
Greenville, N. H. 
Mrs Fisher, in a recent letter, spoke about 
husbands that treat their wives like slaves all 
through life, and after death suddenly wako 
up and spend a fortune on a monument. 
That is a true statement. Plenty of people 
seem to be afraid to tell the living what they 
think of them—unless it. is something evil. 
Lack of appreciation and the foolish fear of 
giving too much praise have driven many a 
woman wearily into the grave. H. s. k. 
Hillsdale Co,, Mich. 
I diked the urticles bj 7 Professor Henry, of 
Iowa, on corn for ensilage, cut without busk¬ 
ing, as then, in case of a frost before the corn 
is hard, it could all bo utilized in that way. 
Bay City, Mich. j. r. h. 
Eitml Solves. 
ASPARAGUS CANNING. 
Speedy spoiling of asparagus; washing and 
bunching (he “grass”; blanching; salting 
and canning; capping; unwholcsonieness 
from bad “cooking”; cooking; venting; 
sealing; cost; profit enough to make a man 
happy, but. not a millionaire. 
Ouu beginning in this industry was in a 
very humble way. Ten yours ago we hail a 
season of extraordinarily low prices. My 
partner, Mr. Townsend, thou conceived the 
idea of cutting his asparagus in the morning 
and canning it in the afternoon, thus preserv¬ 
ing its flavor aud freshness. At that time the 
only canned asparagus obtainable was the 
vile stuff bought up iu the open city market 
48 hours after it had been taken from the 
beds, already spoiled, and with the points of 
the heads so far gone iu putrefaction as to be 
ready to drop at the slightest touch. I men¬ 
tion these points for the edification of the 
mauy who suppose that because asparagus re¬ 
turns its outward appearance of perfect condi¬ 
tion and freshness longer than any other 
spring vegetable, it is as good aud as nice to 
eat4,8 hours after gathering us when cooked 
hours from the beds. A more serious error 
was never made: asparagus begins to deteri¬ 
orate 10 hours after cutting, and 48 hours 
after cutting, unless it has been kept iti au ice¬ 
box, it is hardly eatable by the connoisseur. 
Mr. Towusend had put up, a year or two 
provious.a 10 horse power boiler aud engine to 
ruu his cider, grist and saw mills. The steam 
from the boiler furnished the heat for cook¬ 
ing, while a little head-work fitted up the 
cooking apparatus. We utilized the cider 
mill for canuing, and used the barn floor for 
bunching the “grass” as brought in from the 
fields. Our barn was arranged as shown at <• 
Fig. 220. The “grass” was cut and carried to 
the south barn doors in baskets holding about 
50 pounds—five-peck baskets with less depth 
and greater circumference than is usual in 
baskets of this size. The “grass" was then 
washed iu large tubs (hogsheads sawed iu two 
make excellent ones) by gently pushing it up 
and down iu the water, which was changed as 
soon as it became foul—see Fig. 221. When 
£M-Y 
Fig. 221. 
thoroughly washed it was placed on a long, 
uarrow table about I5x3j^ feet, with a rim 
three inches high all round to prevent the water 
carried up on the table with the “grass” from 
running off on the dresses of the bunehers and 
sorters—see Fig. 222. The “grass” was taken iu 
baud by two or four well-trained women as 
soou as it was placed on the table, and sorted 
iuto as many different sizes as we intended to 
can. After sorting it was placed in fiat, open 
trays and carried to the bunehers, who then 
bunched up the different grades iu the regular 
iron asparagus bunehers. The heads are all 
to bo placed up agaiust the wooden head- 
board of the buncher and one string is tied 
around the middle of the bunch—ace Fig. 228. 
The “grass” is thou taken out of the buncher 
and laid ou its side until wanted iu the can¬ 
ning factory. 
The process of cooking was as follows: the 
“grass” was brought to the factory end of the 
barn just as it came from the bunehers; it 
was then cut off the proper length for the 
cans—0% inches if the regulation No. 3 
square asparagus cans are used. The “grass” 
was then placed in a basket or a large copper 
colander and immersed in the blanching ket¬ 
tle, which may he a double jacket steam kettle 
costing $125 to the 00 gallons [the jacket ket¬ 
tle is very useful for boiling maple sirup, 
making cider, jelly and catsup, cooking feed 
for stock, aud a thousand and one other 
things about a farm]; or a 60-gallon barrel 
may be used with one bead knocked out, cost¬ 
ing $2, according to the means of the farmer 
aud the extent of the business he proposes to 
carry on. Pipe fittings for either cost about 
the same. Both must have valves to allow 
the water to run in and out. also for control¬ 
ling the steam supply. The barrel must have 
a steam coil iu the bottom, while the kettle’s 
double bottom acts as a coil. The kettle is 
preferable, but we worked for years with a 
barrel. The water in either kettle or barrel 
must be boiling-hot when the “grass” is im¬ 
mersed, and enough live steam must be turned 
on from the boiler to prevent the cold “grass” 
from lowering the temperatiire of the water 
too much, as too long an immersion in water 
much below the boiling point, wbile softening 
the “grass,” makes it slimy and sticky and 
gives it an unappetizing appearance when the 
cans are opened. The “grass" should be kept 
in the boiling blanching water until it loses 
the ruddy appearance about the head and 
becomes a pale green—say from three to five 
minutes according to the tenderness and 
freshness of the stock. The older the “grass," 
the longer the time. Experience is the best 
teacher in this operation; no real limit of time 
can be set by anyone. 
After being pulled out of the blanching 
water, the “grass” is allowed to drain for a 
minute aud is then carefully placed on the 
filling table. Great care must be exercised in 
transferring it from the basket to the table, 
as the heads are very crumbly and the points 
will break at the least touch, thus destroying 
the beauty and symmetry of the spear. Each 
bunch should theu be spread out on the table 
to prevent farther cooking, for if the grass is 
left in the blauching basket, in bunches, or in 
a heap on the table, it will cook to a perfect 
mush from the heat gathered iu the blanching 
kettle, and be entirely spoiled. As soon as 
spread out, each filler picks out four or five 
large spears and puts them, point first, into 
the cap hole of the can; the best way' to fill 
the can, if the filler be right handed (if left 
reverse everything) is to place it parallel to 
the edge of the table, with the cap hole near¬ 
est the right hand, place the left hand on the 
face of the cun, with the thumb on the side 
nearest the worker aud the three outside fin¬ 
gers grasping the can. leaving the first, or in¬ 
dex linger, free to arrange the spears of “grass” 
iu regular order‘as they are passed iu by the 
right hand—see Fig. 224. We fiud that three 
or four large spears at the bottom, three iu the 
middle aud two or three on top give the best 
satisfaction. When the cans are filled they 
are placed in iron trays each holdiug six cans 
and costing $1. The filled caus are then car¬ 
ried to the sirup barrel and filled about two- 
thirds full of salt and water kept boiling- 
hot by a jet of live steam from the boiler. 
Packers vary iu their mixtures of salt and 
water; some say one pound of salt to four 
gallons of water; others half a pound to four 
gallons. As this is one of the most important 
points in the whole process of cauning aspar¬ 
agus we would advise anyone about goiug 
into the packing business, to experiment, and, 
starting with one-half pound of salt to four 
gallons of water, get his trade to taste the 
goods, and from the opinion thus obtained 
diminish or increase the quantity of salt. 
After they have been filled with “grass, 
and the salt and water (called sirup), the cans 
are taken to the capper, who wipes out with 
a sponge any water that may have run iuto 
the cap-crease during the filling process. He 
then places a cap iu the crease, and with a 
small horse-hair brush touches the edges of the 
cap and cap-crease with a weak solution of 
muriate of ziuc; theu applies a round iron of 
the shape shown at Fig. 225, touches a small 
bit of solder (to be bought for about 13 cents 
7 ^ 
Fig. 224. 
Cyuz 
per pound) to the round iron, twirls the iron 
around once or twice and the 
cap is fast. Next he closes 
up the little vent in the cen¬ 
ter of the cap and all is ready 
for cooking. 
Let me add a word of 
caution here: Some people 
thiuk that canned goods are 
rendered harmful by the acid 
used in the soldering; never 
w as a greater mistake made 
nor did a more ungrounded 
prejudice spring up, for, 
when properly sealed, not a 
particle of acid can enter the 
cans. The amount of acid 
required to seal 100 cans 
would not kill a man, would 
hardly make him ill: but in 
many of the factories the 
little center vent-hole is not 
closed until the first stage of 
aov-y the cooking is over. Here 
. lies the danger; hundreds, 
•—M M—i yes, in many factories, thous¬ 
ands of cans are boiled in 
the same vats with no change 
of water —result, a concen¬ 
trated solution of muriate 
of zinc together with salts of 
lead and tin, produced by 
the contact of the hot iron, 
The cans, only 7 two- 
CL 
Fig. 225. 
the acid and the solder, 
thirds full of water, are placed cold in these 
vats, what air there is in them becoming 
heated by the hot water, expands and passing 
out through the vent-hole finally prodaces a 
partial vacuum, the fonl vat-water rushes in 
to restore Nature’s order, and we then hear of 
people being made sick by eating cauned 
goods apparently all right, but in reality all 
w'rong. Dr Edsou, New York City’s Health 
Inspector of Foods, etc.,with the wisdom born 
of getting information from great canning 
establishments whoso only thought is how 
many thousand cans they can turn out in a 
day, advised city people to purchase and use 
no canned goods with two vent-holes iu the 
cap. Friends on the contrary, insist, demand 
of your grocer that every can he supplies you 
with shall have this badge of proper prepara¬ 
tion and eutire freedom from dauger of 
poison, viz., two vent-holes in the cap. 
Iu KIs e Is a small Iron rod, running through a 
wooden handle, b, a short Iron tube and a soldering 
Iron i* The lower figure shows a etoss-Kcctton of this 
soldering Irou. The lower points d d fit Into the cap 
crease of ihe can. When the cap is pnt on, o. which is 
heated over :i lire. U pushed down through b, a and e 
to r he cap. A hit of s tour is put at Its point and then 
It is twirled around, thus fastening the cap securely. 
To return:—Our cans are now ready to cook. 
They are sealed up air and water-tight. 
Nothing can get into them or out of them 
until we either burst the can by undue strain 
or puncture it withau awl. Iu the bottom of 
each vat is a coil of steam pipes, and they con¬ 
nect. directly with the boiler, a valve at the 
side of each vat regulating the supply of steam. 
We turu on the steam to vat No. 1, wait until 
the water dances aud jumps in its efforts to 
boil out of the vat—no quiet, rolling, monot¬ 
onous boil as in the kitchen tea-kettle, or pot, 
but a mad, frolieksome boil. Then with an 
iron cage, see Fig. 226, aboatSx3x3 feet i the vat 
is 8.11x8.6x3.6 feet] suspended from a double 
block and fall, or,what is better, from au equi¬ 
poise iron pulley, capable of raising 800 pounds 
with the pull of one finger aud holding the 
weight at any point desired, we lower the 
cans we have followed through the pro¬ 
cess, along with, say, 50 or 60 of their 
fellows, into the vat there to remain 
front 20 to 35 minutes, as the packer pre¬ 
fers, Some men of great experience say 20 
