tonal Soiiinei anil Pictorial Home Companion. 
149 
ANSWERS TO QUESTIONS, AND GOSSIP 
ABOUT HOME AFFAIRS. 
A month or two since we commenced a department 
which all our subscribers welcomed warmly, especially 
a poor young housekeeper who needed a great deal of 
good advice, and again comes to ask some questions 
about things of which she is anxious to learn. 
We shall now continue this department of- answers 
to household questions permanently. 
1. What is the very best way to can tomatoes, 
fruit, and berries ? 
2. Will some one give me a receipt for a nice fruit¬ 
cake, plainer than “ black cake ? ” 
3. Please inform me how many pieces of china 
constitute a set, and the price of the fine American 
chinaware. 
DIRECTIONS FOR CANNING. 
Fruit for canning should be fresh and 
perfect, and berries require careful examina¬ 
tion to discover any that are decayed, dried 
or green. 
To each pound of fruit allow a half pound 
of sugar, unless barberries, gooseberries, or 
other unusually acid fruit is used, when three ■ 
quarters, or even pound for pound, will not 
be too much, as it is much better to allow 
the fruit to become completely impregnated 
with sweetness, than to be obliged to add it 
at time of using the preserves, as a far richer 
syrup is thus made. 
Having pared or culled over the fruit, put 
a teacupful of water in the bottom of the ket¬ 
tle (unless you can drain off juice enough 
to substitute for it), then put in a layer of 
fruit, on it sugar, and so alternately using 
fruit and sugar, use all the materials; place 
the kettle on the stove and bring slowly to 
a boil; allow to boil one minute, to insure 
every piece or berry being heated through. 
Have all the glass, jars or cans perfectly 
clean, and, (if self-sealing) the rubber rings 
adjusted so that they rest firmly down on the 
glass; have the lids arranged beside each 
can, and sure that each one will screw down 
snugly, and that no crack or nick will allow 
the air to enter, or if cement of any kind is 
used, have it prepared in a vessel of sufficient 
size, with an old spoon or little tin cup, with 
spout and handle, with which to dip up and 
pour the hot liquid into the groove, or if 
plaster is preferred, mix sufficient at once for all the 
cans, and pour it quickly round. 
If tin cans are used, place them conveniently near ; 
if glass jars, wet a long towel or thick strip of old 
table-cloth, and, placing it on the table, set each jar 
on it, so that they do not touch each other; turn the 
edges, (well saturated) up around the bottoms of the 
jars, as they stand in line; then, having a wide¬ 
mouthed “ canning funnel; ” and a dipper or pitcher 
for dipping up the fruit, fill each jar or can as rapidly 
as possible, and up to the very edge ; clap on the cover 
and screw down the lid as closely as you can, and as 
the cooling goes on continue to screw down to fit the 
contraction of jar and lid. 
If tin cans or glass jars, for cement, are used, put 
the lid in place, and hold it down with some instru¬ 
ment, such as a spoon, and quickly pour round the 
cement; place a lath or other long strip of wood on 
the top of the row of cans, or jars, and lay flat-irons 
or any heavy weight upon it, which will keep all the 
lids iu place. Watch closely, and if any air-holes or 
bubbles appear, at once add more cement and work it 
into the hole by pressing with a match or pointed stick. 
For these cans, however, I greatly prefer calcined- 
plaster (plaster of Paris), which should be of the con¬ 
sistency of syrup, and of the best quality. This is 
clean, safe, and not only obviates the necessity of heat¬ 
ing the sticky, disagreeable cement, but precludes the 
possibility of scalding the fingers. (I prefer tin cans 
for tomatoes.) 
As I never break a single glass jar, and always find 
the fruit and vegetables I put up quite sweet, I feel 
safe in recommending this course to all who do their 
own canning. The wet cloth beneath the glass cools 
the boiling liquor so rapidly that there is not the 
slightest fear of breaking, and jelly tumblers, pots of 
Design for Rustic Stand and Aquarium. 
marmalade, etc., treated iu the same manner, will be 
equally safe. Thus all trouble of heating gradually, 
by placing in boilers of cold water, is obviated, and 
the process is carried entirely through without undue 
labor or inconvenience. 
Peaches, apples, pears, etc., should be dropped into 
cold water as soon as pared, to prevent discoloration. 
Plums, tomatoes, and other thin-skinned fruit, must be 
first pricked with a needle, to prevent the skin from 
cracking open. 
Grapes must be pulped, the pulp scalded and 
poured through a sieve, (which will leave all the seed 
behind), then added to the skins, and sugar, and all 
cooked together until sufficiently thick. Bartlett, 
Seckel, and other delicate pears, should be dropped 
into a syrup made of one-quarter of a pound of sugar 
to each pound of fruit, and one gill of water to each 
pound of sugar, boiling until a syrup is formed. 
Coarser varieties should be parboiled in clear water 
until tender, then dropped into boiling syrup, boiled 
fifteen minutes and canned. Ginger; cinnamon, mace, 
and lemon are added at pleasure. 
There is no difficulty in canning corn: Cut the 
grains from the cob, scraping the same to extract the 
juice; pack each can until solid, using a little wooden 
mallet; pack above the rim, place on the lid, and, 
holding it firmly down, run solder over so as to seal 
hermetically; place the cans in a boiler of cold water 
with a little straw or piece of wood between each can 
to prevent their touching each other; heat slowly, 
and continue . o boil for one and a half hours, then 
puncture each lid to allow the gases to escape; then 
seal immediately ; continue to boil for two hours and 
a half, and the work is effectually done. This is Mr. 
Winslow’s receipt, taken from the decision in the 
Supreme Court. 
I have packed the cans tightly, as de¬ 
scribed, then put into cold water, boil for 
three hours and seal. Some sprinkle a pinch 
of soda on the top of each can; others fill 
the cans tightly and pour acid water, made 
by dissolving one ounce of tartaric acid in 
one pint of water, until all the interstices are 
filled, then boiling for three hours and seal¬ 
ing. When used the acid water is poured 
off, the corn well washed, and a little soda 
added while cooking. I like this plan least 
of any, but the corn is very white, plump, and 
quite sweet. 
FRUIT AND FEATHER CAKE. 
Six eggs, two scant cupfuls of sugar, butter 
twice the size of an egg, two cupfuls of flour, 
two teaspoonfuls of cream of tartar, one tea¬ 
spoonful of soda. Mix as usual, and take 
out one half, or rather less; into this stir 
half a pound currants, half a pound raisins, 
seeded and chopped, two tablespoonfuls of 
sliced citron, and half as much candied 
orange or lemon; one teaspoonful powdered 
nutmeg, one of cinnamon, half a glass of 
brandy, one teacupful of molasses, and two 
teacupfuls of flour; bake in jelly cake pans, 
first the plain, then the fruit cakes. Cover 
each with jelly, then pile one on another 
alternately and ice the outside. A beautiful 
and delicious cake. 
A china tea set consists of tea and water 
pots, sugar bowl, cream-pitcher, slop-bond, 
one dozen plates, two bread do., and one 
dozen cups and saucers. Cost in white 
American china about $10. 
PRETTY ROOMS. 
“The editor of The Ladies’ Floral Cabinet in 
a back number promised that “Aunt Carrie,” or some 
one else, would answer questions on household mat¬ 
ters, and as I am a young housekeeper, I should be 
very glad to learn some things, for instance : 
“How shall I go about making my six rooms look 
pretty at a small expense ? I have a small hall. 
What shall I put in it ? I like curtains, but they are 
so expensive. I have heard of various kinds made of 
common materials, even muslin; but I cannot con¬ 
ceive them looking pretty, and I do not know how to 
make them, if they are. Could I do well by going to 
auction sales ? We shall move into our little home in 
the fall, and I can spend five, or perhaps, six hundred 
dollars in furnishing, but when I think that here at 
home we spent that sum on the parlors alone, I am 
dismayed. 
