Other methods in use are smoking, salting, drying, sterilizing, various antiseptics, and the exclusion of the air, as in coating eggs or meat for transportation to other countries. Eggs are preserved for a long period by excluding the air, which otherwise penetrates the shell. A solution of water glass (silicate of sodium), dry oats or salt are used for this purpose. All food intended for preservation should be kept in a clean, cool, dry, dark place. Drying, cooking, and sealing from the air will preserve some meats and fruits, while others require such preservatives as sugar, vinegar, and salt. The preservative in cider vinegar is acetic acid, in wine vinegar tartaric acid. All preservatives which are actual foods, such as sugar, salt, and vinegar, are to be recommended, but the use of antiseptic preservatives, such as salicylic acid, formaldehyd, boracic acid, alum, sulphur, and benzoate of soda, all of which have been used by many canning merchants, is fraught with danger. By the efforts of the United States Department of Agriculture the use of such preservatives has been largely done away with by the most reliable packers and canners. However, unscrupulous dealers may use this means of disguising fruits and vegetables not in good condition. There can be no doubt, that, whenever possible, the best method is for the housewife to preserve her own food by drying, canning, preserving, and pickling, with fruits and vegetables which she knows are fresh. This, however, is not always practicable. Since economy in food lies in obtaining the greatest amount of nutriment for the least money, the preparation of simple foods in the home, with care that no more is furnished for consumption than the system requires, is the truest economy. More brands of prepared food are not so much needed as purity of elements in their natural state. _In the effort to emphasize the importance of pure food in amount and quality, pure air and pure water must not be overlooked. Much infection is carried by these two elements._ _POISONING FROM FOOD_ Owing to the careful inspection given to various preparations of foods and the education of the people on the dangers attending the eating of underripe, overripe, or fermenting fruits and vegetables, or decomposing canned meats or other foods, cases of poisoning from food are not so numerous as formerly. One still reads, however, of illnesses and even fatalities in those who have, at some gathering, partaken of potted or canned meats, or ice-cream made from impure milk. Imperfect sterilization allows the micro-organisms, everywhere present in the atmosphere, to multiply and produce their toxins.