CULTIVATOR. 
311 
f 
Preserving Fresh Fruits* 
Having seen in print some notice of Wm. R. Smith’s 
successful process of preserving fruits, and not having 
seen any reliable exposition of his process, I wish to in¬ 
quire through your paper, whether the same has been 
made public ? If his process is valuable let it be made 
public, or let us have it in some way or other; if not 
gratuitously, by paying the discoverer a fair compensa¬ 
tion. B. J. Harvey. Lenawee Co., Mich. 
We have frequent inquiries of a similar character. 
The process which W. R. Smith has adopted, consists 
substantially in expelling the air from the jars of fruit 
by heat, and then hermetically sealing them, and so 
far, is nothing new. But the minute details of the pro¬ 
cess, varying with circumstances, and often so-modified 
when applied to different fruits, that what would suc¬ 
ceed with one, would entirely spoil another,—have only 
been leaarned by long and careful practice. These de¬ 
tails cannot be described by words merely, and months 
of experience would be necessary to enable any one, 
however ingenious, to reach the perfection which has 
been attained. From what we have personally observed 
of the process, we do not think an unpracticed person 
could succeed from a description, or from actually seeing 
the whole, any more than an unlettered man could, with¬ 
out a day’s previous trial, set down at a desk and dash 
off a dozen letters in a free and elegant hand, merely 
from hearing a lecture on penmanship, or seeing anoth¬ 
er write. We do not know whether W. R. Smith would 
be willing to receive and initiate pupils in the art—he 
would doubtless ask a large sum for doing so, as some 
compensation for the years of labor he has already be¬ 
stowed in perfecting the art. 
The Preservation of Eggs for Winter Use. 
I notice on page 121 of your last, a new mode of 
preserving eggs. I think I can describe one that is 
much better, because cheaper, less roomy, and much 
more philosophical. It should be borne in mind, that 
eggs are mainly composed of albumen, mixed with a 
minute quantity of the salts of sulphur, phosphorus, 
lime and magnesia. The shell consists mostly of lime. 
Of the whole weight, the shell constitutes about one- 
tenth, the white six-tenths, and the yolk three-tenths. 
Few animal substances are so putrescent as eggs, unless 
preserved with care. The shell, composed as it is 
mostly of lime, glued together with a trifle of animal 
matter, is its most natural and safe depository. Yet 
even the shell yields gradually to the action of the 
atmosphere, so that a part of the watery fluid of the 
egg escapes, and air occupies its place, thus injuring 
the quality of it. 
The great secret then of preserving eggs, is to keep 
the interior in an unaltered state. This is best done 
by lime-water, in which a little common salt is in¬ 
fused. This constitutes a fluid perfectly indestructible 
by air, and one that is so allied to the nature of the 
shell as not to be absorbed by it, or through it into the 
interior of the egg. On the other hand, salt or lime, 
in a dry state, will act on the moisture of the egg, as 
will strong ashes. This plan, also, will save more eggs 
in a given* space than any other. It will also admit of 
keeping them in cellars ever so damp, and, I had al¬ 
most said, ever so foul, since nothing will be likely to 
act on the lime-water. As eggs are very nearly of the 
specific gravity of water, and so near with it, I have 
little doubt that eggs barreled up tightly, in lime-wa¬ 
ter, could be transported as safely as pork. 
Lime-water may be made in the most careless man¬ 
ner. Seven hundred pounds of water will dissolve 
about one pound of lime. A pint of lime, therefore, 
- thrown into a barrel of water, is enough, while ten 
times as much can do no hurt, and will not alter the 
strength of it. The salt, which I do not deem very im¬ 
portant, should be put in in a small quantity, say a 
quart to a barrel. All are aware, that a very large 
quantity of salt may be dissolved in water. Brine, 
strong enough for pork, would undoubtedly hurt eggs. 
Having made your lime-water, in barrels if you are 
a merchant, and in stone-pots if you are a small house¬ 
holder, drop your eggs on the top of the water, when 
they will settle down safely. It is probably important 
that no bad eggs go in, as it is supposed by some that 
they would injure others. To test your eggs put them 
in clean water, rejecting all that rise. A better reme¬ 
dy is to look at them through a tube—say a roll of 
paper, by daylight, or hold them between your eye and 
a good candle by night. If the eggs arc fresh, they 
will, in either case, look transparent. If they are a 
little injured, they will look darkish. If much injured, 
they will look entirely dark. 
Eggs, well put up and kept in this manner, will keep, 
I cannot tell how long, but until they are much more 
plenty and cheap than at present, quite long enough. 
Leached ashes well dried, and even grain, have, kept 
eggs very well, in my experience, but no method is so 
cheap and obvious as the lime-water. As lime absorbs 
carbonic acid slowly, and thus becomes insoluble, so 
almost any lime, even though it has been slacked for 
months, will answer the purpose. Lime water, per¬ 
mitted to stand still, will immediately be covered with 
a transparent film. This is the lime of the water uni¬ 
ting with the carbonic acid of the atmosphere, and re¬ 
turning to the state of limestone, and does not hurt the 
eggs. 
•I send you this long account of a small thing, not 
because it is new, but because many people forget old 
and very familiar things. C. E. Goodrich. Utica , 
August 2 6th, 1853. -o - . 
To Bake Apples. —The person who has eaten baked 
sweet apples with milk, needs no commendation of the 
article. For this purpose Tallman Sweetings are best 
But those who have tart apples only, may secure a de¬ 
licious dish by the following process:—Pare them, if 
thick skinned, cut out the largest portion of the core 
from one end and place the fruit on well glazed earthen 
dishes or pans, with the cored end upwards, and the 
cavity filled with refined powdered sugar. Then bake 
them. All we ask is trial. 
