QUINCES
To four quarts of pared, cored and quartered quinces take one and one-half quarts of sugar and two quarts of water.
Rub the fruit hard with a coarse, crash towel, blanch for six minutes. Pare, quarter, and core; drop the pieces into cold water. Put the fruit in the preserving kettle with cold water to cover it generously. Heat slowly and simmer gently until tender. The pieces will not all require the same time to cook. Take each piece up as soon as it is so tender that a silver fork will pierce it readily. Drain on a platter. Strain the water in which the fruit was cooked through cheese-cloth. Put two quarts of the strained liquid and the sugar into the preserving kettle; stir over the fire until the sugar is dissolved. When it boils skim well and put in the cooked fruit. Boil gently for about forty minutes.
PEARS
If the fruit is ripe it may be treated exactly the same as peaches. If, on the other hand, it is rather hard it must be cooked until so tender that a silver fork will pierce it readily.
CHERRIES
Prepare in the same manner as you would for preserving, allowing half a pound of sugar to a pound of fruit. After putting the cherries into the syrup do not let them boil more than five minutes; then fill your cans to overflowing, seal immediately and then screw tighter as they grow cold. Remove the little bag of stones which you have boiled with the syrup. The object in boiling the stones with the syrup is to impart the fine flavor to the fruit which cherries are robbed of in pitting.
CHERRIES FOR PIES
Stem the cherries—do not pit them,—pack tight in glass fruit jars, cover with syrup, made of two tablespoons of sugar to a quart of fruit, allowing one-half cup of water to each quart of cherries. Let them boil fifteen minutes from the time they begin to boil.