The national course in home economics

Take equal quantities of white apples, yellow pears and white plums; pare and cut in small bits, stew in a little water till tender, then strain through a hair sieve. Now weigh the pulp and add to it, its own weight in sugar. Put on the stove and cook carefully three hours in a thick-lined granite kettle. Stir often the first two hours and continually the last hour. It is hard to make because it is easily burned but it always pays for the trouble. When thick turn into shallow pans and tie down. When desired for use slice off in slices and put on plate like cheese. Hilda. SPICED PLUMS. Four pounds of plums, two pounds of sugar, one tablespoonful each of cloves, cinnamon, mace and allspice; stone the plums, then put all ingredients into a preserving kettle; cover with vinegar; boil until tender. Mrs. Leone Hall. SPICED PEACHES. To nine pounds of peaches add five pounds of sugar and a pint of vinegar. Stick one clove into each peach, prick with a fork and stew until tender. Lay in a jar and pour over them the boiling syrup. Let them stand twenty-four hours, pour off the syrup, scald and pour again over the fruit. Seal in cans. Amy Curtis. SPICED TOMATOES. Take sound, ripe tomatoes; peel them; cut them through the center across the cells; remove the seeds with a sharp-pointed knife into one dish and put the fleshy halves into a colander cells down, to drain. For twelve pounds of prepared fruit, put into a porcelain kettle one quart of best cider vinegar, three pounds of brown sugar, one ounce each of whole cloves, whole allspice and broken cinnamon. Put in also the juice drained from the tomatoes and as much of the pulp as may be separated from the seeds through a fine sieve. Let them come to a boil; then add all, or all by parts, of the tomatoes — according to the size of the kettle — and let them boil just five minutes. Skim them out into a common stone crock, then boil the syrup down to a richness and turn it on the fruit in the crock. Let it cool, and set it away for use. It will be very good, but not so nice, without removing the seeds, which is the most troublesome part of the work. Mrs. M. Grant. SPICED CURRANTS. Wash and pick five pounds of red currants, add two tablespoonfuls of allspice, three pounds of granulated sugar, one pint of cider vinegar and one tablespoonful of powdered cloves and one tablespoonful of cinnamon. Stew gently for three hours. R. Eaton. SPICED GOOSEBERRIES. Four quarts of gooseberries, three pounds of brown sugar, one pint of cider vinegar, one teaspoonful each of ground cinnamon, cloves and nutmeg. Boil rather slowly until fruit is thoroughly cooked. Seal. C. M. M. [illustration: canning fruits and vegetables] THERE are many methods to pursue in canning fruit. The main point is to see that the fruit is sound and of a good flavor; that the cans are sweet and the rubbers neither dry nor brittle and finally that the tops are screwed down air-tight. A good way to test the latter is to turn the can after it is filled bottom-side up to cool. If no juice escapes, you can feel sure that it is air-tight. A-i METHOD OF CANNING FRUIT.