TO CORRESPONDENTS.

Star (Christchurch), Volume XLIV, Issue 732, 8 April 1933, Page 20 (Supplement)

TO CORRESPONDENTS.

In answer to a request for a recipe aa to how to dry figs, a reader writes:— Some kinds of green figs do not dry satisfactorily, particularly brown and black figs *nd those witn very soft ekina. The white Adriatic fig grows fairly well in the Auckland Province, and ie about 1 he Jiest variety for drying and growing in Xew Zealand. Place figs, stalks uppermost, on a wooden tray or board in a. box, supported above the bottom of the box. In the bottom of the box place about a teaspoonful of sulphur (or a little lees) on a tin. Have the bor already airtight and before closing the lid set. the sulphur burning. Close lid securely and leave for about half an hour. Take out the tray of figs and place it in the sun if it is hot enough. If not, place the tray in a cool oven. The oven should not be too warm or tha figs will cook. When sufficiently dried, take each fig by the stalk, dip quickly into hot, weak brine, and place open end downwards, stalks flattened horizontally, in layers in jars or boxes. Grape Wine. “Constant Reader” inquire* how to make grape wine. Ingredients: Sound, not over ripe grapes. To each pound allow 1 quart of cold water. Add to gallon of liquid obtained from the grapes 31b sugar, i pint of brandy, Joz of isinglass. Method: Strip the grapes from the stalks, put them into au earthenware vessel, and bruise well. Pour over them the water, let them stand three days, stirring frequently, then strain through a jelly bag or sieve.. Dissolve the sugar in the liquid and then pour the whole into a cask. Bung lightly for a few days until fermentation subside*, then add the isinglass dissolved in a little warm water and the braqdy, and tighten tho bung. Let the cask remain undisturbed for six months, then bottle, cork, and seal. Waterproofing. To waterproof a coat, as asked foi by a correspondent, try the following:— Dissolve 1 ilb of alum in 5 gallons oi boiling water. In a separate bath dissolve ljlb of sugar of lead in 5 gallons of water. Mix the two solutions and work the cloth in this liquid till every part of the material is saturated. Squeeze out and dry in the air. Afterwards wash in cold water and dry again It is then ready for wear. If it i* a man’s calico raincoat this is the method: Take 3 pints of pale linseed oil, loz o 1 sugar of lead, and 4oz of white resin Grind the sugar of lead with a small quantity of rosin, and then mix it well with the remainder. Gently warm th« resin in oil to make them mix well together, and then apply the compoaitioi to the calico coat with a brush. Thi black surface is obtained, it is said, bi an application of tar and tallow applied in a. liquid state and allowed to drj thoroughly. In the matter of the first recipe it is advisable to try a piece o( the material first and after drying teal for waterproofing.