free from seeds; put them in strong salt and water, with a cabbage

and taking out the seeds. Put them in a stewpan with the white stock and seasoning; simmer gently till the cucumbers are tender, which will be in about hour. Then add the yolks of the eggs well beaten; stir them to the sauce, but do not allow it to boil, and serve very hot.

Time.-Altogether, hour.

CUCUMBER VINEGAR (a very nice Addition to Salads).

401. INGREDIENTS.-10 large cucumbers, or 12 smaller ones, 1 quart of vinegar, 2 onions, 2 shalots, 1 tablespoonful of salt, 2 tablespoonfuls of pepper, teaspoonful of cayenne.

Mode.-Pare and slice the cucumbers, put them in a stone jar or wide-mouthed bottle, with the vinegar; slice the onions and shalots, and add them, with all the other ingredients, to the cucumbers. Let it stand 4 or 5 days, boil it all up, and when cold, strain the liquor through a piece of muslin, and store it away in small bottles well sealed. This vinegar is a very nice addition to gravies, hashes, &c., as well as a great improvement to salads, or to eat with cold meat.

GERMAN METHOD OF KEEPING CUCUMBERS FOR WINTER USE.

402. INGREDIENTS.-Cucumbers, salt.

Mode.-Pare and slice the cucumbers (as for the table), sprinkle well with salt, and let them remain for 24 hours; strain off the liquor, pack in jars, a thick layer of cucumbers and salt alternately; tie down closely, and, when wanted for use, take out the quantity required. Now wash them well in fresh water, and dress as usual with pepper, vinegar, and oil.

THE CUCUMBER.-Though the melon is far superior in point of flavour to this fruit, yet it is allied to the cucumber, which is known to naturalists as Cucumis sativus. The modern Egyptians, as did their forefathers, still eat it, and others of its class. Cucumbers were observed, too, by Bishop Heber, beyond the Ganges, in India; and Burckhardt noticed them in Palestine. (See No. 127.)

THE CUCUMBER.

AN EXCELLENT WAY OF PRESERVING CUCUMBERS. 403. INGREDIENTS.-Salt and water; 1 lb. of lump sugar, the rind of 1 lemon, 1 oz. of ginger, cucumbers.

Mode.-Choose the greenest cucumbers, and those that are most free from seeds; put them in strong salt and water, with a cabbage

leaf to keep them down; tie a paper over them, and put them in a warm place till they are yellow; then wash them and set them over the fire in fresh water, with a very little salt, and another cabbageleaf over them; cover very closely, but take care they do not boil. If they are not a fine green, change the water again, cover them as before, and make them hot. When they are a good colour, take them off the fire and let them cool; cut them in quarters, take out the seeds and pulp, and put them into cold water. Let them remain for 2 days, changing the water twice each day, to draw out the salt. Put the sugar, with pint of water, in a saucepan over the fire; remove the scum as it rises, and add the lemon-peel and ginger with the outside scraped off; when the syrup is tolerably thick, take it off the fire, and when cold, wipe the cucumbers dry, and put them in. Boil the syrup once in 2 or 3 days for 3 weeks; strengthen it if required, and let it be quite cold before the cucumbers are put in. Great attention must be paid to the directions in the commencement of this recipe, as, if these are not properly carried out, the result will be far from satisfactory.

Seasonable.-This recipe should be used in June, July, or August.

COMMON SALT.-By this we mean salt used for cooking purposes, which is found in great abundance both on land and in the waters of the ocean. Sea or salt water, as it is often called, contains, it has been discovered, about three per cent. of salt on an average. Solid rocks of salt are also found in various parts of the world, and the county of Chester contains many of these mines, and it is from there that much of our salt comes. Some springs are so highly impregnated with salt, as to have received the name of "brine" springs, and are supposed to have become so by passing through the salt rocks below ground, and thus dissolving a portion of this mineral substance. We here give an engraving of a salt-mine at Northwich, Cheshire, where both salt-mines and brine-springs are exceedingly pro. ductive, and are believed to have been wrought so far back as during the occupation of Britain by the Romans.

CUSTARD SAUCE FOR SWEET PUDDINGS OR TARTS. 404. INGREDIENTS.-1 pint of milk, 2 eggs, 3 oz. of pounded sugar, 1 tablespoonful of brandy.

Mode.-Put the milk in a very clean saucepan, and let it boil. Beat the eggs, stir to them the milk and pounded sugar, and put the mixture into a jug. Place the jug in a saucepan of boiling water; keep stirring well until it thickens, but do not allow it to boil, or it