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Show FERNS AS A PRESERVATIVE. Leaves Are Excellent for Keeping Food Fresh and Sweet. The housekeeper who Is ever on the alert for new wrinkles in keeping food fresh and sweet, should test for herself her-self tho power of fern leaves as a preservative. pre-servative. The consul genoral at Frankfort Is responsible for the statoment that ferns keep moat, fruit, butter and fish In a good condition longer than grape leaves, straw, or any other packing medium. They are much used to bring produce prod-uce to the English markots and tho Manxmen uso them entirely to pack fresh herring for shipment. The high percentage of salt in the ferns appears to bo responsible for tholr preservative qualities; and' tho strong odor of the leaves wards off maggots and prevent early decay.- ThU is a good tlmo for the housekeeper, house-keeper, who lives ii tho country, whore ferns nro plonty and where food must bo stored In quantities, to try this remedy for herself. Potatoes nml apples packed In forns aro said to koep many months lonscr than if stored In any other way, The garden vegetables, .which nro usually covered with straw until needed can havo fern leaves put ovor Ilium In-stoad. In-stoad. Even fresh meat can bo wrapped in them nnd kopt longor without spoiling. If ono fears to try all of her prodtico to on article known only by hearsay, experiment can ho mnila with both mediums. Pack most ot your things In tho usual way, but reserve a llttlo of each kind for tho fern treatment, For a fair test tho frult.or vegetable .should bo from tho snmo stock, gathered gath-ered at the same time, and packed under un-der equal conditions of temperature |