762. To prevent Mouldiness.—The best preventive is any of the essential oils, as the oil of lavender, cloves, peppermint, &c. Russia leather, which is scented with the tar of the birch-tree, is not subject to mouldiness, and books bound in it will even prevent mouldiness in other books bound in calf, near which they happen to lie.
Aromatic seeds are not subject to mould, and gingerbread, or cakes containing caraway seeds are far less liable to mouldiness than plain bread. Children have been poisoned by eating mouldy bread.
763. To keep Fruits.—To preserve fruits, you must keep them in a room rather above the ground floor, sheltered alike from the sun and damp; it is even prudent, in order to avoid opening the windows, to let out the humid exhalations of the fruit, to have a stove in the room, and light a fire in it now and then. The decaying fruit should be carefully removed. Cherries, grapes, &c., are kept sound by hanging them to threads, and then inclosing them in new boxes or barrels; these are closed as tightly as possible, and deposited in a dry place. Some preserve them by laying them in sawdust or bran.
764. To preserve Apples.—Dry a glazed jar perfectly well, put a few pebbles in the bottom; fill the jar with apples, and cover it with a bit of wood made to fit exactly; and over that, put a little fresh mortar. The pebbles attract the damp of the apples. The mortar draws the air from the jar, and leaves the apples free from its pressure, which, together with the principle of putrefaction which the air contains, are the causes of decay. Apples, kept thus, have been found quite sound, fair, and juicy, in July.
765. To keep Potatoes from frost.—If you have not a convenient store-place for them, dig a trench three or four feet deep, into which they are to be laid as they are taken up, and then covered with the earth taken out of the trench, raised up in the middle like the roof of a house, and covered with straw, to carry off the rain. They will be thus preserved from the frost, and can be taken up as they are wanted.
766. To dry Corn for winter use.—Sweet corn is the best. Husk it. Have a pot of boiling water—put in your corn and let it boil three minutes—then cut it from the cobs and put it in pans in a warm oven. It must be stirred frequently; when perfectly dry put it away in bags. When wanted for use, soak it all night, next day boil it an hour with a little salt; before it is dished stir in flour, pepper, and butter.