good many," laughed her mother. "Perhaps--just
_perhaps_, you know, you might find you got tired even of peach jam
before you had eaten all those up. But the beauty of making jams in
fruit time is that you can make a few glasses of it any time you want
to. Peaches are just in season now, and we have them nearly every day,
so you can put up more at any time."

"Of course!" said Mildred, delightedly. "I never thought of that. I'll
make the rest of my eight dozen yet, Mother Blair; I'm sure it won't be
a bit too much."

"Why not make some other things that are just as good? Grapes are in
season too, and plums, and pears--"

"I'll make them all! I'll make every single kind of jam that there is!"

"You can make jelly too, and compotes, and spiced things; I'll be so
glad to have you learn, and they are all as easy as can be."

"But, Mother, what can _I_ make?" Brownie looked very sober. "Is Mildred
going to make everything all alone? I like to make things, too."

"Of course you do, and you shall certainly help; jams are so easy
anybody in the world can make them."

"Even Jack?" laughed Mildred.

"Yes, even Jack, if he wanted to. Why don't you and Brownie together
make some nice grape jam to-morrow?"

The girls said they would love to; then their mother had them write down
a special receipt, because grape jam is the one kind that is different
from every other.

GRAPE JAM

Wash the grapes; take them off the stems one by one as though you
meant to eat them, but press them between your fingers and put the
skins in one dish and the pulp in another. When you have finished,
heat the pulp and stir it till you can see that the seeds have
come out; then put the pulp through the colander. Add this to the
skins, measure, and follow your regular rule.

This seemed like a queer receipt; grape skins in jam! It sounded rather
horrid. But they made it, anyway, and when they had finished, though it
was a clear, reddish black, it was really delicious.

It happened that the grapes grew in their own garden, and so many of
them were ripe that, when they had used up quite a large basketful,
there were plenty left. Norah had been planning to use them in jelly,
but she said she could wait a day longer for that, and the girls might
have them if they wanted to, and she would show them how to make
something very good indeed and very easy. This was:

SPICED FRUIT

3 pints of fruit, all prepared.