TO CORRESPONDENTS.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXVIII, Issue 20819, 11 March 1931, Page 5

TO CORRESPONDENTS.

CURE FOR ANTS. Obtain from a chemist loz. of arsenate of soda. Alix this in an old tin with 4oz. of sugar and 6oz. of water. Dissolve by bringing this slowly to the boil. Place the liquid in shallow tin lids where the ants are troublesome. This is a deadly poison, so great care should be taken that no animals or children come in contact with it.

A correspondent writes:—" I have pleasures in giving you the benefit of my own experience in New South Wales, where ant invasions are frequent. I have always found a chalk line effective. Draw a heavy chalk line about half an inch wide across every possible line of approach on floors, window sills and walls. The ants will be found to go up to the chalk line, but never cross it. They will travel the entire length looking for the smallest gap. The line is an effective barrier." Green Tomato Pickle.

Ingredients.—4lb. small green tomatoes, lib, onions, JJb. apples, 2 pints vinegar, 4 tablespoons sugar, 3 tablespoons treacle, 2oz. mixed pickling spices, about 5 tablespoons salt. Cut tomatoes into small pieces and mix lightly with 4 tablespoons of the salt. Leave for 12 hours or longer, then strain *away all tlie moisture. Put tomatoes into an enamel pan; add the onions peeled and sliced, also the apples. Add vinegar, sugar, treacle. Tie spices into a muslin and add. Bring all to the boil; add salt. Simmer all very gently for about halfliour. Put into sterilised jars and cork securely. If required a hot pickle, add more chillies or half-teaspoon cayenne pepper. To Make Cider. ,

The gathering of the apples should not be commenced before they havo become sufficiently mature. The apples, after being gathered, are usually left for 14 or 15 days in a barn, loft, or outhouse to mellow, during which time the mucilage is decomposed and alcohol and carbonic acid developed. The apples are then ground to . a pulp in a mill consisting of two fluted cylinders of hard wood or cast iron worked against each other. The pulp is afterwards put into coarse, strong bags and pressed with a heavy weight, so as to squeeze out all the juice. This is then placed in large, heavy tubs and kept at a heat of about 60 degrees. After two or three days, for weak cider and eight or 10 days for strong—or as soon as the sediment has subsided, the liquor is drawn off into clean casks. These are then stored in a cellar or cool place where a low and regular temperature can be insured and are left to mature and ripen until the following spring. Persons who suffer from rheumatism or indigestion should not take cider nor should they when overheated. To bottle cider the liquid should first be examined to see if it is clear and sparkline If not it should be clarified and left a fortnight. The night previous to bottling it the bunp should be taken from the cask and the filled bottles should not be corked down until the following day, as if done at once the bottles are liable to burst. The best corks should be used. When cider, is wanted for immediate use or for consumption in cool weather a small lump of sugar may be put in each bottle before corking.