l the sugar is dissolved. Heat slowly to the
boiling point and boil gently without stirring. The length of time that
the sirup should boil will depend upon how rich it is to be. All sirups
are better for boiling from ten to thirty minutes. If rich sirups are
boiled hard, jarred, or stirred they are apt to crystallize. The sirup
may be made a day or two in advance of canning time. The light sirups
will not keep long unless sealed, but the heavy sirups keep well if
covered well.

USE OF THE SIRUP GAUGE.

The sirup gauge is a graduated glass tube, with a weighted bulb, that
registers from 0 deg. to 50 deg., and that is employed to determine the
quantity of sugar contained in a sirup.

If this gauge is placed in pure water the bulb will rest on the bottom
of the cylinder or other container. If sugar be dissolved in the water
the gauge will begin to float. The more sugar there is dissolved in the
water the higher the gauge will rise. In making tests it is essential
that the sirup should be deep enough to reach the zero point of the
gauge. If a glass cylinder holding about half a gill is filled to about
two-thirds its height, and the gauge is then placed in the cylinder, the
quantity of sugar in the sirup will be registered on the gauge.

Experiments have demonstrated that when sugar is dissolved and heated in
fruit juice, if the sirup gauge registers 25 deg., the proportion of
sugar is exactly right for combining with the pectin bodies to make
jelly. The sirup gauge and the glass cylinder must both be heated
gradually that the hot sirup may not break them. If the gauge registers
more than 25 deg., add a little more fruit juice. If, on the other hand,
it registers less than 25 deg., add more sugar. In making sirups for
canning and preserving fruits, the exact amount of sugar in a sirup may
be ascertained at any stage of boiling, and the sirup be made heavier by
adding sugar, or lighter by adding water, as the case demands.

CANNING FRUIT.

This method of preserving fruit for home use is from all points the most
desirable. It is the easiest and commonly considered the most economical
and the best, because the fruit is kept in a soft and juicy condition in
which it is believed to be easily digested. The wise housekeeper will
can her principal fruit supply, making only enough rich preserves to
serve for variety and for special occasions.

The success of canning depends upon absolute sterilization. If the
proper