St. Landry democrat. (Opelousas, La.) 1878-1894, 1882-11-04
the deem wants of mans nature, ana

the deep wants of mans nature, and
that cost more than satisfactory stock
mos and shirts bought at the haber-
dasher's would cost. The discovery not
only emancipated her from thankless
and severe labor, but it also enabled
man to throw off the burden of bed
SPREADS OF" comfortables. as they are
familiarlv called Man, who in some
respects is quite reasonable, found that
shirts made by an intelligent workman
instead of the hand OF affection brought
so much peace and comfort into his life
that it occurred to him that he could be
still more happy We're he to sleep under
blankets instead OF home made COM
fortables. Accordingly he himself pro-
posed that the custom OF making COM
fortahles at home should be abandoned:
and of course woman loyfully accepted
the proposal. Thus it has gradually
come to pass that preserves are the only
articles which housewives now 1eel
compelled to make.
/ In prehistoric ages the work or pre-
pairing food partook OF the soiemnl1y 0.
a religious ceremony. The woman OF
the stone age invoked separate deity.
for every vegetable and every sort or
meat that she placed on the fire; SO that
the preparation of hash or soup re-
CURED her to rise before daylight, and
recite a long and complicated Htany
Much of this solemnity attaches to pre-
serye-making. 1t is true that 1t Is no
longer spoken of as a religious cere-
monv. and that the modern preserve
maker does not believe in deitles pre-
siding over sugar and fruit and preserve
kettles, but she feels that preserve
making is work to be approached only
in the most serious manner.
No ordinary dish is thought to be lit
for preserved making. A special kettle
mist be consecrated to the sacred work.
This kettle is sumptuously lined with
porcelain, and costs at least as much as
all the preserves that are ever made IN
it, for it rarely lasts beyond one season:
Slight differences OF ritual prevail
among preserve makers. Some hold
!, that a pound of sugar should accom-
panv every pound of fruit; while others
believe that both fruit and sugar should
J be measured, and not weighed. In the
} matter of preparing fruit for the Kettle
there is also diversity of opinion, and
no two housewives are absolutely
, agreed as to the length OF time that the
t preserve kettle should remain on the fire.
There is really great deal OF labor
expended in making preserves. Unlike
most other articles Of food, they are not
} finished when they are cooked. They
L must be put up in jars, and the jars
! must be covered with paper put on with
n the utmost care in order to keep the
t preserves from the air. At least two
+ distinct women are needed in order to
; make even the smallest quantity OF pre-
e serves, and their uninterrupted atten-
n ton must be given to the work from the
moment of beginning until the last jar
J. is tied up and placed on the shelf
The first cost OF making preserves
is not so great as most men fancy lhaC
q it is. Indeed, the first cost of, say, SIX
l. lars of homemade strawberry pre-
" serves is usually not more than twice
k the amount that six jars Of the same
o size would cost if bought of the grocer.
st Preserved making is, however, a lone
q and continuous process. At the eXplra'
IL ton of month after the preserves
Is have been placed on the shelf the care
e full housewife finds that they are
h working" and that they must be i'm
T. mediatelv 'done over 10 "dc
over' preserves is to repeat the entire
P process of making them from the mo-
y ment that they are placed In the pre-
l. serve kettle. This adds to their cost
since it involves hours of labor and thu
: consumption OF fresh sugar and othe
1e materials. Two weeks later the pre-
Id serves are found to be 'candied, or
)u in other words, converted into petrlhe'
strawberries, fit for nothing except t.
k take the place of gravel on the iron
s. walk. Then, and not until then, vii
the conscientious woman consent t.
ed supply her table with preserves bough
IS from the grocer, lamenting, as she doe
al SO, that some mysterious fatality al
"a ways prevents her from making pre-
vs. serves that will neither ''work . no
no "candy."
lat 1t is estimated that only nine pc
on cent of the preserves made by IN
d. women of America are ever eaten e.
al cept by the most heroic and self-sacr
y'' ficine husbands. Is it not time thu
women should abandon this last SUI
wing habit of the cave-dweilln
women, and should permit men to bu
its their preserves as freely as they bu
,iy their shirts and stockings.-Harper