it into shallow pans or soup-plates, and dry in the sun or a cool oven.

MAGNUM BONUM PLUMS.

727.-Prick them with a needle to prevent bursting, simmer them very gently in thin syrup, put them in a china bowl, and when cold pour it over. Let them lie 3 days; then make a syrup of 3 lbs. of sugar to 5 of fruit, with no more water than hangs to large lumps of the sugar dipped quickly and instantly brought out. Boil the plums in this fresh syrup after draining the first from them. Do them very gently till they are clear and the syrup adheres to them. Put them one by one into small pots, and pour the liquor over. If any are to be dried, keep a little of the syrup in the pan, and boil it quickly : then give the fruit one warm more, drain, and put them to dry on plates in a cool oven. These plums are apt to ferment if not boiled in two syrups; the first syrup will sweeten pies, but will have too much acid to keep. You may reserve part of it, and add a little sugar, to do those that are to dry; for they will not require to be so sweet as if kept wet. Do not break them. One parcel may be done after another, and save much sugar.

DAMSON CHEESE.-E. R.

728.-Stone the damsons, take out the kernels and blanch them; put the whole into a stone jar and bake it. Pour off a part of the juice, put the fruit into a preserving-pan, boil it quickly until it looks rather dry. To every 2 lbs. of the original quantity of fruit take lb. of loaf-sugar; now stir the sugar well in, and let it simmer slowly for 2 hours. Then boil it again quickly until it begins to candy at the sides of the pan. Pour the jam into shallow pots not more than an inch deep; cover with brandy-paper, and tie down close.

Or:-Gather the damsons on a dry day; bake or boil them till the pulp will pass through a coarse hair sieve, then add their weight of moist sugar; boil it 1 hour, stirring it continually to keep it from burning.

AN EXCELLENT WAY OF DRESSING CHESTNUTS.

729. Let them be well roasted and the husks taken off: dissolve lb. of loaf-sugar in a wineglassful of water and the juice of a lemon; put this with the chestnuts in a saucepan over

a slow fire for 10 minutes; when cold add a tablespoonful of orange-flower water; serve in a deep dish, and grate sugar over the top. To be handed round at dessert.

JAMS.

730.— Raspberry. Take equal weights of fruit and moist sugar; put them on the fire together; keep stirring and breaking the fruit till the sugar melts, then boil till it will jelly on a plate.

Though simple, this will be found a very good receipt.

Or :-Take equal weight of fruit and roughly-pounded loafsugar; bruise the fruit with the back of a spoon, and boil them together for an hour; if a little more juice is wanted, add the juice of currants drawn as for jelly.

Grape. The grapes ought not to be very ripe. They should be carefully picked, and all that are at all injured should be rejected. To 1 lb. of grapes add lb. of sugar; no water but what hangs about them after they have been washed. Put the grapes into a cooking-pan, then a layer of sugar, then a layer of grapes. Boil on a moderate fire, stirring it all the time, to prevent its burning.

Cherry. Stone 4 lbs. of cherries, and put them in a preserving-pan with 2 lbs. of fine white sugar and a pint of red-currant juice. Boil the whole together rather fast, until it stiffens, and then put it into pots for use.

Gooseberry. Stalk and crop 6 lbs. of the small, red, rough gooseberry, put them into a preserving-pan, and, as they warm, stir and bruise them to bring out the juice. Let them boil for 10 minutes, then add 4 lbs. of sugar, and place it on the fire again; let it boil, and continue boiling for 2 hours longer, stirring it all the time to prevent its burning. When it thickens, and will jelly upon a plate, it is done enough. Put it into pots, and allow it to remain a day before it is covered.

Blackberry. In families where there are many children there is no preparation of fruit so wholesome, so cheap, and so much admired, as this homely conserve. The fruit should be clean picked in dry weather, and to every lb. of berries put 1⁄2 lb. of coarse brown sugar; boil the whole together for of an hour or 1 hour, stirring it well the whole time. Put it in pots like any other preserve, and it will be found most useful in families, as it may be given to children instead of medicine; makes

excellent puddings; and even if the fruit be purchased in London, the cost will not exceed 8d. per lb.

Barberry. Take the barberries without stones, pick them from the stalks, take their weight in loaf-sugar, put them into a jar, and place it in a kettle of water until the sugar is dissolved and the barberries quite soft. The next day put them into a preserving-pan, and boil them for of an hour. Put them into jars, and keep them in a dry place.

TO PRESERVE BARBERRIES IN BUNCHES.

731. Take the stoneless barberries, reserve the largest bunches; then pick the rest from the stalks, put them into as much water as will make a syrup for the bunches, boil them until quite soft; then strain them through a sieve, and to every pint of juice put 1 lb. of loaf-sugar: boil and skim it well. To every pint of this syrup put lb. of barberries in bunches, boil them until they look quite clear, and put them into pots or glasses. Tie brandy-paper over them. They are only used as a garnish for other sweet dishes.

COMPOSITION SWEETMEAT.-E. R.

732.-Take 2 pottles of ripe red gooseberries, 2 of red raspberries, 2 of strawberries (the pines are best), and 3 pints of ripe red currants; bruise and mix them together in a deep dish, and to every pint of the fruit put ‡ lb. of sugar, pounded pretty fine; then boil it for an hour, stirring it all the time it is on the fire. Cherries may also be added, first taking out the stones; measure them with the other fruit for the weight of sugar.

CURRANT JELLY.

733.-Take of red and white currants equal quantities, tie them down close in a jar, put them into a kettle of water over a slow fire to boil for 2 hours; strain the liquor through a fine sieve, but do not squeeze the currants hard; then to every pint of juice put lb. of loaf-sugar pounded; set it over a very slow fire until the sugar is dissolved. Do not stir it until the scum rises thick enough to be taken off at once; then let it boil up quickly for 20 minutes, or until it jellies.

Currant Jelly without boiling.-Press the juice from the currants, and make it quite hot, but it must not be allowed to boil. To each pint of juice add a full lb. of loaf-sugar,

pounded very fine, and made quite hot in the oven, and then stirred gradually into the hot juice until it is melted.

APPLE JELLY.

734.-Quarter a peck of codlings, put them into a preserving-pan with the peel of a lemon, a small piece of cinnamon, and 6 cloves; add as much spring water as will just cover them. Boil the whole to a pulp, then run them through a flannel bag, and to every pint of juice put lb. of good loaf-sugar; boil it fast until it jellies; then pour it into pots or moulds. August is the best time to make this jelly, when the codlings are full-grown, but not ripe. Crabs greatly improve this jelly, and in their absence a little lemon-juice.

Imitations of citron, ginger, and guava jelly, are sometimes made in this country, but are always inferior to the original, and yet cost quite as much as if purchased at the shops; we therefore look upon such receipts as worthless.

Jelly may be made of any kind of fruit by putting the fruit into a preserving-pan with its own weight of sugar, boiling and skimming it until it will jelly; then pour the whole through a new sieve, but do not press it; take what remains in the sieve, and boil it of an hour for jam, and put the juice into another stewpan and boil the same time. This method saves the trouble of pressing, and prevents waste.

ORANGE SYRUP.-E. R.

735. Take the largest, deepest coloured, and roughest oranges that can be obtained, grate off the rind very nicely, and throw the oranges into water: let them remain 12 hours, changing the water once during that time, to take out the bitter. This, however, although a common practice, is injudicious, as the "bitter" of the peel, particularly of Seville orange, adds the finest flavour to the syrup. Put them into a cloth, and boil them; when tender cut them in quarters, and, after taking out the pulp, throw them into cold water; make a thin syrup, clear them in it, after which enrich the syrup, adding the pulp; make it very thick, and pour it over the oranges in jars. The white Wedgewood ware are much better than the common earthen jars.

CANDIED ORANGE OR LEMON PEEL.-E. R.

736.-Take the fruit, cut it lengthwise, remove all the pulp

and interior skin, then put the peel into strong salt and water for 6 days; then boil them in spring water until they are soft, and place them in a sieve to drain; make a thin syrup with a lb. of sugar-candy to a quart of water, boil them in it for an hour, or till they look clear; make a thick syrup with sugar and as much water as will melt it, put in the peel, and boil them over a slow fire until the syrup candies in the pan; then take them out, powder pounded sugar over them, and dry them before the fire in a cool oven.

GINGER SYRUP.

737.-Take a lb. of the best white ginger, break it into small pieces, and let it boil in a good quantity of water until the water tastes very strongly of the ginger. Then boil any sort of solid fruit in the ginger and water until they are nearly as tender as would be required for the table; take them up, and lay them in a jar with the ginger and water for 4 or 5 days, stirring them constantly. Next make a syrup; to every lb. of loaf-sugar put pint of brandy, the peel of a lemon, and the juice of a lemon, with a little of the gingered water. When the syrup has been well boiled and the scum removed, put the fruit into it, and let it boil for 10 minutes; then take it off the fire, and allow it to remain for a week; after which drain off the syrup, and boil it with additional sugar to make it sufficiently rich; place the fruit in it, and boil 10 or 15 minutes longer.

Place them in pots covered with brandy-paper, and they will be fit for use in a month.

COLOURING, to stain Jellies, Ices, &c.

738. For a beautiful red, boil 15 grains of cochineal in the finest powder, with 14 dram of cream of tartar, in ✈ pint of water, very slowly for an hour. Add in boiling a bit of alum the size of a pea. Or use beet-root sliced, and some liquor poured over.

For white, use almonds finely pounded, with a little drop of water; or use cream.

For yellow, yolks of eggs or a bit of saffron steeped in the liquor, and squeezed. Likewise the flower of the crocus,

which has no taste.

For green, pound spinach-leaves or beet-leaves, express the juice, and boil in a teacup in a saucepan of water to take off the rawness.