Sketches from Formosa.

XXV
MY ONLY ATTEMPT AT JAM-MAKING
DURING the years when I had only one colleague at
Taiwan-fu, our duties led us to be often apart ; he at-
tending to his work in the Hospital, and I going about
evangelizing and caring for our scattered little Churches,
where native helpers were stationed who had received
only a most imperfect training for their work.
After returning from one of my long outings, the two
of us agreed that we must give more attention to our
comfort ;
and that it would be a good commencement to
get a couple of large basketfuls of wild berries from the
hills for making a liberal supply of jam. The process of
manufacture having been committed to me, I began by
sending a sturdy fellow for the berries, and telling our
coolie to clean out a large iron boiler we used for heating
bath-water, soaking clothes, and cooking heaps of rice
for the many native visitors who always loved to sojourn
in the out-rooms of our Chinese house. I also purchased
a liberal supply of good-sized clay jars, in which the
jam was to be stored up under paper covers firmly
fastened down with buffalo-hide glue.
At last the fateful day arrived, when a loud knocking
at the gate of the outer court announced the return of our
two burden-bearers with the berries. Having but little
knowledge of botany myself, I was guided by the native
brethren in rejecting some of the fruit brought out, had
a little cleaning done, and then told them to transfer
everything into the water of the slowly-heating boiler.
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