The daily morning journal and courier., 1894-08-21

we know that 1t was not without req
 hosts of flies; and at the present day
 son that the ancient Philistines named
 their spirit of evil. "Beelzebub, god of
 the flies" for there are no more indus
 trious disseminators of disease than
 they. The fly which has come from
 putrid offal to alight upon some
 slight scratch or pimple may be in-
 stantly brushed away, but perhaps not
 before he has had time to deposit the
 blood-poison which may produce the
 dreaded carbuncle, or even the almost
 surely-fatal malignant pustule; or by
 alighting upon articles of food, it may
 bring infections which produce many
 sorts of stomach trouble or even typh-
 old fever and cholera.
 Tin dishes of fiat Sheets of tin are
 most convenient for this use, but are
 apt to impart a disagreeable flavor.
 Thin boards of some odorless wood
 answer a good purpose but it is not
 easy to so place them that the oven
 will hold many at a time. There is
 no danger of their burning, for the
 oven that is hot enough to burn the
 wood is quite too hot for the fruit,
 which would be cooked instead of dried. The best way is to have a set of agate
 ware or porcelain-lined dripping-pans
 kept for this purpose only. In each
 spread single layer of the fruit
 Place the pans in the oven in a pile,
 one above the other-not in such a
 way as to make closed dishes of them,
 but "crisscroSs," so that the hot air may have free access to the fruit-till
 the oven will hold no more Tn this
 way a good deal of fruit may be done
 at one time The heat of the oven may
 be first tested by putting in a small 1 portion of the fruit to- be dried, as not only do different fruits require diff ferent temperature but even various sorts of the same fruit; good deal depending upon whether the season has been wet or dry, that which has been gathered in a dry season demanding not only lower degree of heat, but a shorter time than that gathered in a wet season.
 All varieties of even the same fruit are not equally good for drying. As rule, the more acid the fruit the better will it preserve its qualities. The old fashioned sour red oherry-known in some parts of the country as the Eng lish'-is far better for drying or pre- serving than any of the sorts which are much more delicious when eaten fresh The same is true of the damson- plum, though almost all plums dry well.
 Comparatively few sorts of pears are good for drying The sweetest and juciest sorts, like the Bartlett, Vir- galieu, and Seckel, being almost worth less. But there is nameless sort, hard, green, sour thing, not worth gathering for any other purpose save picking, which is perfectly delicious when dried and stewed. Almost all old-fashioned orchards contain one or two trees of this kind, probably allow ed to remain because they are very prolific, and country housewives know their virtues. This pear is the only fruit we know of which is benefited by the use of sugar in drying. If about a tablespoonful of granulated sugar Is sprinkled over each quart of the fruit, and allowed to stand upon it for an hour or two before being put in the oven, a rich syrup is drawn out in which the pears may be dried When done they should be immediately packed tightly in stone jars and sealed. otherwise they attract both ants and flies.
 Fruits which are dried without su- gar are best kept in sealed paper bags, l and hung In a dry cool store-room until needed for use
 Unlike the sour pears, uuinces, though equally tart would be injured by sugar. Every one who has pre- served quinces knows that they must be cooked until quite tender before the sugar is added, for from that moment no amount of cooking will have any other effect than to harden the fruit. Quinces for drying should be cut into thin slices the round way of the fruit, pared and cored. When cooking the dried fruit, remem- Der to add no sugar until the quinces are as tender as desired. and then add as little as may be palatable. The last should be remembered in regard to all fruits. The less sugar used the better both for the flavor Of the fruit and the health of the person eating it.
 Dried fruits should be carefully and quickly washed before cooking; quickly. because none of the flavor should es- ape to be thrown away in the washing water. Then the fruit should be put nto cold water and allowed to soak 1ntil it begins to plump out into some- hing resembling its original propor- ions. Then put into preserving-ket. le,, set upon the fire and bring to a luick scald; after which it may be set pack from the fire to where it will just thinner until done. Perhaps one of the thief reasons why dried fruits are so lealthful is that they cannot be used ; without g good deal. of cooking. This destroys the tendency to fermentation which is the bane of fresh fruits, espec- ally those which have had to come far
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