old beets,
carrots, turnips, and the whites of hard-boiled eggs, stamped out with
a fancy vegetable cutter, make a pretty garnish for cold meats. Toast
cut into triangles makes a suitable garnish for many dishes.

Whipped cream is the most delicate garnish for all cold, light
puddings; a little coloring may be added to part of it in order to
vary the decoration.

CANNING AND PRESERVING.

Canning fruit is simply sterilizing and sealing in air-tight jars. Any
fresh ripe fruit may be kept in this way. By observing a few general
rules any housekeeper may preserve fruit successfully. 1st. Have good
fruit, ripe and fresh. 2nd. Have air-tight jars--test by filling with
water and inverting. 3rd. See that the jars have been well scalded and
are free from odor of any kind. 4th. Have rims and covers at hand so
that the jars may be sealed immediately when the fruit is put into
them. 5th. Fill the jars till they overflow. 6th. Let the syrup simmer
for a few minutes before putting in the fruit. 7th. Cook the fruit
slowly so as to avoid breaking; place carefully in the jars, fill up
with syrup and seal at once. A good method for canning fruit is to
cook the fruit in the jars, by placing them in a boiler or kettle of
water with a wire frame or something underneath to avoid breaking.
Fill the jar with fruit; pour over a syrup of the desired consistency,
screw on the top loosely--so as to allow the gas to escape--and place
in the boiler; fill the boiler with cold water up to the rim of the
jar and bring slowly to boiling point. Allow small fruits to remain 10
minutes, and peaches, pears, etc., 15 minutes after the water boils.
Remove the tops, fill to overflowing with boiling syrup, and seal at
once. By this method fruit retains the flavor somewhat more than by
cooking in an open kettle. An average syrup for canning fruit is made
by adding a pound of sugar to a pint of water (see rule 6). In order
to prevent fruit jars from cracking, wring a cloth out of cold water
on which the jar should be placed before filling with the hot fruit,
or by placing a silver spoon or fork in the jar before putting in the
syrup, fruit or jelly. Always see that the tops are screwed on
tightly before putting the jar away in a cool place, which should not
be done until the fruit has become cold.

PRESERVING.

Preserving differs from canning in the amount of sugar used; otherwise
the method is similar. Preserves are usually made from equal weights
of