t in half-pound
packages. What is next on the list?"

"Raisins," said Margaret.

"Well, order those in a paper box, the kind which come already seeded,
and when you get them home, take them out of the box and shut them up in
a glass jar with a tight top, to keep them fresh. The vegetables come
now, but before we buy those you must put down in this little book what
we have bought already, with the price of each article opposite. I
could wait till we got home, but I am afraid you may forget the cost of
things, because you are not used to them."

She handed Margaret a cunning little book and a tiny pencil, and showed
her how to find the right month and day printed at the top of the page,
and to put down under a column headed "Groceries," just what they had
bought so far and what each thing cost. After this they crossed the shop
to the place where the vegetables and fruit were piled, and looked these
over.

The apples were of all kinds, sweet and sour, big and little, red and
green. Margaret said she would take the biggest red ones for the
apple-tart.

"No, those are not cooking apples, they are meant for the table," her
aunt told her. "And do not take the yellow ones, because they are sweet
and only good for baking. Take a nice green apple, not too large,
because the smaller ones do just as well and cost less. Let us get half
a peck of those greenings. We want oranges for breakfast, too, though
Bridget forgot to say so. Can you pick those out, do you think?"

There were a good many boxes of these, some with rough skins, some with
smooth, some with little bunches at the end. These last, her aunt
explained to the little girl, were seedless and rather too dry for
breakfast, though very nice for dinner. "The rough-skinned ones are
light, as you will see if you lift one, so they would have little juice.
Choose a heavy one of medium size and a rather smooth skin; but do not
get those which are a very light yellow, for they may be sour."

The vegetables had to be looked over carefully. Spinach proved withered,
so they passed it by; the cauliflower had tiny black spots on it; the
green string beans would not snap as they should when they were bent;
but they found a large egg plant, with a fresh, smooth skin, which they
took. The lettuce was all dark green, with thick strong leaves, and the
aunt said it would never do; lettuce must be in heads, like cabbage,
and pale green. Instead they chose some chicory with a white centr