sauces and for seasoning many meat dishes. Some women say: "I can
preserve everything but tomatoes. They always spoil. What do I do
wrong?" If the following directions are followed tomatoes will not
spoil.

Tomatoes really are the easiest vegetable to can, because the period
of sterilization is short, and many jars may be canned in a day, or if
one is very busy a few jars may be canned daily without the
expenditure of a great deal of time.

The best tomatoes for canning are those of moderate size, smooth and
uniformly ripe. When a tomato ripens unevenly or when it is misshapen,
it is difficult to peel, and the percentage of waste is high. Tomatoes
should not be picked when they are green or partly ripe, for the
flavor will not be so good as when they are allowed to remain upon
the vines until fully ripe. Care should be taken, however, not to
allow them to become overripe before canning.

In no instance should a tomato with a rotten spot be canned, even
though the spot is cut out, for the occasional spoiled jar resulting
from this attempted saving will cost more than the partly spoiled
tomatoes are worth. If the housewife will can only uniformly ripe,
sound tomatoes, saving the small, uneven but sound fruit for tomato
_purée_, she will have a much better-looking pack and greater food
value at the close of the season. Yellow tomatoes may be canned in the
same manner as are the more common red varieties, except that it is
not necessary to remove the cores.

First of all, grade for ripeness, size and quality; this is to insure
a high-grade product. We could, of course, can different sizes and