large containers and sealed with paraffin.

LARGE QUANTITIES

Fill a barrel with cucumbers. Add 6 to 8 pounds of green or brined dill, or half that quantity of dry dill, and 1 quart of mixed spices. If brined dill is used, it is well to add about 2 quarts of the dill brine. The dill and spices should be evenly distributed at the bottom, middle, and top of the barrel. Also add 1 gallon of good vinegar.[2]

Head up tight and, through a hole bored in the head, fill the barrel with a brine made in the proportion of one-half pound of salt to a gallon of water. Add brine until it flows over the head and is level with the top of the chime. Maintain this level by adding brine from time to time. Remove the scum which soon forms on the surface.

During the period of active fermentation, keep the barrel in a warm place and leave the hole in the head open to allow gas to escape. When active fermentation is over, as indicated by the cessation of bubbling and frothing on the surface, the barrel may be plugged tight and placed in storage, preferably in a cool place. Leakage and other conditions may cause the brine in a barrel of pickles to recede at any time. The barrels should be inspected occasionally, and more brine added if necessary. Pickles put up in this way should be ready for use within about six weeks.

When pickles are to be held in storage a long time, a 28° brine, made by adding 10 ounces of salt to a gallon of water, should be used. Pickles packed in a brine of this strength will keep a year, if the barrels are kept filled and in a cool place. The important factor in preserving pickles put up in a weak brine, such as is ordinarily used for dill pickles, is the exclusion of air. When put up in tight barrels this is accomplished by keeping the barrels entirely filled with brine.

MIXED PICKLES

Onions, cauliflower, green peppers, tomatoes, and beans, as well as cucumbers, are used for making mixed pickles. All vegetables should first be cured in brine.

For making mixed pickles, very small vegetables are much to be preferred. If larger ones must be used, first cut them into pieces of a desirable and uniform shape and size. Place in the bottom of each wide-mouth bottle or jar a little mixed spice. In filling the bottle arrange the various kinds of pickles in as neat and orderly a manner as possible. The appearance of the finished product depends largely upon the manner in which they are packed in the bottle. Do not completely fill the bottles.

If sour pickles are desired, fill the bottles completely with a 45-grain vinegar. If sweet ones are wanted, fill with a liquor made by dissolving 4 to 6 pounds of sugar in a gallon of vinegar.

Seal tight, and label properly.

SAUERKRAUT

For making sauerkraut in the home, 4 or 6 gallon stone jars are considered the best containers, unless large quantities are desired, in which case kegs or barrels may be used.

Select only mature, sound heads of cabbage. After removing all decayed or dirty leaves, quarter the heads and slice off the core portion. For shredding, one of the hand-shredding machines which can be obtained on the market is much the best, although an ordinary slaw cutter or a large knife will do.

In making sauerkraut the fermentation is carried out in a brine made from the juice of the cabbage which is drawn out by the salt. One pound of salt for every 40 pounds of cabbage makes the proper strength of brine to produce the best results. The salt may be distributed as the cabbage is packed in the jar or it may be mixed with the shredded cabbage before being packed. The distribution of 2 ounces of salt with every 5 pounds of cabbage probably is the best way to get an even distribution.

Pack the cabbage firmly, but not too tightly, in the jar or keg. When full, cover with a clean cloth and a board or plate. On the cover place a weight heavy enough to cause the brine to come up to the cover.

If the jar is kept at a temperature of about 86° F., fermentation will start promptly. A scum soon forms on the surface of the brine. As this scum tends to destroy the acidity and may affect the cabbage, it should be skimmed off from time to time.

If kept at 86° F., the fermentation should be completed in six to eight days.

A well-fermented sauerkraut should show a normal acidity of approximately +20, or a lactic acid percentage of 1.8 (p. 16).

After fermentation is complete, set the sauerkraut in a cool place. If the cabbage is fermented late in the fall, or if it can be stored in a very cool place, it may not be necessary to do more than keep the surface skimmed and protected from insects, etc.; otherwise it will be necessary to resort to one of the following measures to prevent spoilage:

(1) Pour a layer of hot paraffin over the surface, or as much of it as is exposed around the cover. Properly applied to a clean surface, this effectually seals the jar and protects the contents from contamination.

(2) After the fermentation is complete, pack the sauerkraut in glass jars, adding enough of the "kraut" brine, or a weak brine made by adding an ounce of salt to a quart of water, to completely fill the jars. Seal the jars tight, and set them away in a cool place.

The second method is much to be p referred to the first. Sauerkraut properly fermented and stored in this way has kept throughout a season in good condition. Placing the jars before sealing in a water bath and heating until the center of the jar shows a temperature of about 160° F. gives an additional assurance of good-keeping quality of the "kraut."

In the commercial canning of sauerkraut, where conditions and length of storage can not be controlled, heat must always be used.

FERMENTATION AND SALTING OF VEGETABLES OTHER THAN CUCUMBERS AND CABBAGE

There are three methods of preserving vegetables by the use of salt:

FERMENTATION IN AN ADDED BRINE

Experiments have shown that string beans, green tomatoes, beets, chayotes, mango melons, burr gherkins, cauliflower, and corn (on cob) may be well preserved in a 10 per cent brine (40° on the salinometer scale) for several months. Peppers and onions are better preserved in an 80° brine. The brine must be maintained at its original strength by the addition of salt, and the surface of the brine must be kept free from scum. Some of the vegetables listed, notably string beans and green tomatoes, are well adapted to fermentation in a weak brine (5 per cent salt), in which case dill and other spices may be added. The general directions given for dill pickles (p. 8) should be followed.

FERMENTATION IN BRINE PRODUCED BY DRY SALTING

This