The San Francisco call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1895-1913, 1909-09-25

f1t ordinary iHtlilOu anu liz 49,
est, although the best. is to take
jar of rain water and drop into IL
broken up cabbage leaf; on the basis OF
the cabbage leaf drop one by one some
such leaves as those of the ivy, the
poplar or the apple; when you have a
layer of leaves three inches thick drop
in few more pieces of cabbage ieai'
put a board or cover of some sort on
the jar to keep out the insects and
leave the mass in dry place TO Ter
ment.
One great cause of failure is removed
by treating the leaves of each tree
separately. Some leaves, like those Oh
the oak, the chestnut. the walnut anu
the birch, have a certain amount or
tannin in their composition, ana thlS
acts as a preventative.
To succeed with these We should try
them by themselves. Some leaves. too'
even off the same tree, differ In age
and toughness, and this difference mas
its consequences, though it is necessary
for many of the softer specimens 10 De
always sacrificed to insure the proper
maceration of the majority.
The cabbage, being a soft, fieshy lear,
-Yill decay first and start the fermenta-
don 1t is, as it were. the yeast 10
leaven the lump. 1t Is not esSehtiai'
but YOU are more likely to succeed with
L
set up as quick a fermentation as you
can, and the quickness with winch d
cabbage leaf will decay every one
knows.
A pot of leaves in process of macera-
ton will emit an unpleasant odor; 1t Is.
therefore, as we'll to experiment. IN
some shed and leave the pot on shelf
out of the rain and where. If possible,
it can get the sun, but on no account
let it be caught by a frost.
An ordinary flower pot with cork
in the bottom will do very well, but the
water should not drain away or evapo-
rate and no fresh water should be add
ed until you have sampled the brew
Leave it alone for month or SIX
weeks and then proceed to investigate.
With a fiat stick of wood or a wooden
spoon take out some of the fermented
mass at the top. Then pick up a lear
singIy, and if it is nice and pulpy i'm
merse it in warm water and gently ruo
1t between your fingers and thumb so
as to clear away the loose green stun
from the surface and expose the fibrouS
venation.
1t does not matter how dirty the net
work may be, as the whitening is an
other process altogether. Your OBJECT
is to get the network unbroken. even in
its finest veins, and If you can do that
the battle is more than half won-
You may find that the pulp does not
come away easily; if so. do not force
1t. but try what a toothbrush will do
Lay the leaf in the palm of your hand
under the warm water and softly brush
it, or if the leaf is a large one lay 1T on
the back of plate or on smooth
piece of board.
For very small patches use a needle.
and pick them out as you would specks
of dust Take out all your leaves one
by one A few you may be able to
clean properly.
old liquor, but throw the stuff away.
clean the pot; fill 1t up half way with
rain water, drop in another broken cab
bage leaf. very carefully lay in one on
the other the unfinished leaves, put
another cabbage leaf on the top, set
up another fermentation and in fort
night try again.
The leaves you have quite stripped
she I'D be put into a jar of clear, cold
water and left for a day or two. This
picking out, as also the cleaning and
shifting the leaves, requires the very
gentlest touch. Tt is impossible to
avoid spelling few specimens, and the
stems are almost sure to come off, but
that does not matter very much
The next step is to dry your leaves,
which have now lost their disagreeable
odor. Take two soft towels. or any soft
material. make them into smooth pads
and lightly press each leaf between
them.
Take the leaf direct from the water
to the pad; on no account put it on the
table when wet. If you do it will stick
there and leave half its veinwork be-
hind tin fact, your labor will be
truly in vain.
Press each leaf slowly and gently,
and dry it thoroughly. and then you
are Safe-So far-and are ready to be-
gin the bleaching. This bleaching is
the same for all leaves. no matter how
they may have been skeletonized, and
we may as we'll bring all the processes
UP to this level.
1t will be seen that all this prepare
ton takes time. 1t is a process, how
ever, that has been practically tried
with success, and hence we have put
1t in the first place. There are other
processes which are quicker in their
action, but they require even more care.
Some people claim to have succeeded
by submitting their leaves to the action
of weak solution of hydrochloric acid.
We have not seen this done, and we
should not advise one to try it, as all
experimenting with acids has it's dan
gers in unskilled hands.
Another plan, which we know to do
we'll, is to- soak the leaves for four
or five hours in a solution of chloride
of lime. Get small quantity of
chloride of lime and cover it two inches
deep with water. In "a hours pour
off the clear solution and mix it with
three times its bulk in water and soak
your leaves in it.