Spices are practically always added in making sweet pickles. The effect of too much spice, especially the stronger kinds, like peppers and cloves, however, is injurious. One ounce of whole mixed spices to 4 gallons of pickles is enough. As spices may cause cloudiness of the vinegar, they should be removed after the desired flavor has been obtained. Heating is an aid to a better utilization of the spice. Add the required quantity of spice, in a cheesecloth bag, to the vinegar and hold at the boiling point for not longer than half an hour. Heating too long causes the vinegar to darken. If considered desirable, add sugar at this time, and pour at once over the pickles. If the pickles are to be packed in bottles or jars, after such preliminary treatment as may be required, transfer them to these containers and cover them with a liquor made as desired. DILL PICKLES The method for making dill pickles differs from that for making salt pickles in two important particulars. A much weaker brine is used, and spices, chiefly dill, are added. Because of the weaker salt concentration, a much more rapid curing takes place. As a result they can be made ready for use in about half the time required for ordinary brined pickles. This shortening of the period of preparation, however, is gained at the expense of the keeping quality of the product. For this reason it is necessary to resort to measures which will prevent spoilage. SMALL QUANTITIES Place in the bottom of the jar a layer of dill and one-half ounce of mixed spice. Then fill the jar, to within 2 or 3 inches of the top, with washed cucumbers of as nearly the same size as practicable. Add another half ounce of spice and layer of dill. It is a good plan to place over the top a layer of grape leaves. In fact, it would be well to place these at both the bottom and top. They make a very suitable covering and have a greening effect on the pickles. Pour over the pickles a brine made as follows: Salt, 1 pound; vinegar, 1 pint ; water, 2 gallons. Never use a hot brine at the beginning of a fermentation. The chances are that it would kill the organisms present, thus preventing fermentation. Cover with a board cover or plate with sufficient weight on top to hold the cucumbers well below the brine. If the cucumbers are packed at a temperature around 86° F., an active fermentation will at once set in. This should be completed in 10 days to 2 weeks, if a temperature of about 86° F. is maintained. The scum which soon forms on the surface and which consists usually of wild yeasts, but often contains molds and bacteria, should be skimmed off. After active fermentation has stopped, it is necessary to protect the pickles against spoilage. This may be done in one of two ways: