TO  PUT  UP  TOMATOES  FOR  WINTER

    Skin the tomatoes; cut them up and pour off some of the watery part and some of the seeds; add nothing to it but a little salt; let it boil two hours or longer.  When done put it into glass jars or bottles, and seal them up while it is hot.  Prevent the jars from breaking, put a large towel that has been dipped in hot water on the bottom of the jar, and around it, while filling, and then wrap a dry cloth around it, to keep the cold air from striking it until it cools a little.  Set the jars in a cool dry place, and it will keep good for months.

CANNING,  PRESERVING,  ETC.

   A porcelain or marbled iron kettle is best to use in putting up fruit, and for this as for every purpose granulated sugar should be used, as it is less liable to adulteration that the cheaper grades.

   Put preserves into small jars.  For canning fruit the glass cans with the porcelain-lined tin covers are the best and cheapest in the end, as they can be used year after year, and with a little care the breakage need not be great.  Have the cans in a warm place sometime before using, and rinse them in quite warm water.  Have ready a plate with several thicknesses of wet cloth on which to stand each can when filling it full with the boiling hot fruit.  Cover instantly and screw the top as tightly as possible.  As the fruit cools screw the top several times, being sure it is perfectly tight when put away in a cool, dark and dry place.  Jellies, jams, etc. can be preserved from mold or by covering with soft paper dipped in brandy or alcohol.  The paper should be pressed down close upon the jelly.

FRIDAY:  CLEANING

    Keeping the home clean and proper is a continuous task,
    First, there is the daily sweeping and dusting which must be done in the kitchen, halls, stairways and dining room. This routine work should be assigned to hired help or one of the daughters of the family.
    Secondly, there are weekly chores which must be done.  To do a proper job, one full day should be reserved for the weekly cleaning duties.  The kitchen should receive a thorough scrubbing.  The parlor will need to be dusted.  All beds should be stripped and fresh bedding put on.  All floors should be dusted.  Carpets should be swept using snow in winter or damp cornmeal at other times.  The effective housewife will oversee these duties but whenever possible enlist the help of a hired girl in addition to the daughters of the family.  Third, the annual cleaning should be done each spring.  This should be a family event with the men helping with the heavy jobs.
    All carpets should be taken up and beaten to remove the year’s accumulation of dust.  A sturdy cane beater should be used to flog the carpets.  After the floors are scrubbed and fresh newspaper and straw spread evenly over the floors the carpets should be put down again.  A carpet stretcher and two men should be enlisted to complete the job.  The carpet should be tacked to the floor along one side, stretched and tacked on the remaining sides.

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Explorations in Iowa History Project
Malcolm Price Laboratory School
University Of Northern Iowa
Cedar Falls, Iowa
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