(_c_) Put them in a strong brine of salt and water in a wide-mouthed jar; cover them with cabbage leaves, cap the jar with paper, and set it in the chimney corner till the leaves become yellowish, when the melons must be put in fresh salt and water with fresh cabbage leaves, covered close, and put on a very slow fire to warm gently but not to boil; then take them out, clean the pan, and put them in fresh cold water to stand 2 days, changing the water thrice daily (to take the saltness off); prick them with a fork, and cut all the large ones into convenient pieces, removing all the seeds; lay them in more cold water, while you make a syrup thus: boil 1 lb. loaf sugar in 1 full gill water, taking off the scum, and add afterwards 1 oz. bruised brown ginger to each lb., and the very thin rind of a lemon. When the syrup is thick, set it by till cold; then put in the pieces of fruit. Take the fruit out again, and boil up the syrup 3 times a week for 3 weeks, and never put the fruit in again till cold. At the end of 3 weeks tie papers over the jars, and put them by. (C. E.)
Mushrooms.--(_a_) Pick and cut off the stalks, wipe them clean, from the large ones remove the brown part, peel off the skin, and lay them on paper in a cool oven. When dry put them into paper bags, and keep them in a dry place. When required for use, simmer them in gravy, and they will swell to their original size.
(_b_) Allow to each qt. of mushrooms 3 oz. butter, pepper and salt to taste, and the juice of 1 lemon. Peel the mushrooms, and put them into cold water, with a little lemon juice; take them out and dry them very carefully in a cloth. Put the butter into a stewpan capable of holding the mushrooms. When melted, add the mushrooms, lemon juice, pepper, and salt. Let them remain over a slow fire until their liquor is boiled away, and they have become quite dry. Be careful not to allow them to stick to the bottom of the pan. When done, put them into pots, and pour over the top clarified butter. If required for immediate use, they will keep good a few days without being covered over. To re-warm them, put the mushrooms into a stewpan, strain the butter from them, and they will be ready for use.
Peaches and Nectarines.--These, like the plums, vary in their keeping qualities; and certainly to be a good keeper is not the least merit a peach or nectarine can possess, for, owing to the crop frequently coming in suddenly during a spell of warm weather, the gardener is forced to gather large quantities of fruit, and keep it the best way he can. Every one does not possess an ice-house, otherwise most varieties keep on for ice 4-6 weeks; but they must be used as soon as taken out, and almost before they have cooled. In the fruit room, placed on a cool airy shelf, the Royal George peach, Belle-garde, Grosse Mignonne, Borrington, and Late Admiral will keep a fortnight or longer, according to the weather; and the Malta is said to keep even longer. But much depends, of course, how the fruit is gathered. Nectarines are better keepers than peaches, and the Victoria is one of the best. Most of the kinds will keep a fortnight at least without deteriorating in flavour if they are pulled at the right time, which is just before they are quite ripe to the base.