e unfounded in fact, as all things will naturally keep
the best that are taken at their highest perfection, and hence do with
as little sugar then as at any time.

PRESERVED CUCUMBERS. Choose such as are most free from seed; some should
be small to preserve whole, and others large to cut in pieces. Put them
into a jar, with strong salt and water, and a cabbage leaf to keep them
down, and set them in a warm place till they turn yellow. Then wash and
set them over the fire in fresh water, with a little salt, and a fresh
cabbage leaf over them; cover the pan close, but they must not be
boiled. If not of a fine green, change the water, cover them as before,
and make them hot; when of a good green, take them off the fire, and let
them stand till cold. Cut the large cucumbers in quarters, and take out
the seeds and pulp; put them into cold water for two days, and change
the water twice each day. Place on the fire a pound of refined sugar,
with half a pint of water; skim it clean, put in the rind of a lemon,
and an ounce of ginger with the outside scraped off. When the syrup is
pretty thick take it off, and when cold wipe the cucumbers dry, and put
them in. Boil the syrup every two or three days, continuing to do so
for three weeks, and make it stronger if necessary. Be sure to put the
syrup to the cucumbers quite cold, cover them close, and keep them in a
dry place.

PRESERVED OYSTERS. Open the oysters carefully, so as not to cut them,
except in dividing the gristle which attaches the shells. Put them into
a mortar, and add about two drams of salt to a dozen oysters. Pound and
then rub them through the back of a hair sieve, and put them into the
mortar again, with as much well-dried flour as will make them into a
paste. Roll it out several times, and at last flour and roll it out the
thickness of a half crown, and divide it into pieces about an inch
square. Lay them in a Dutch oven, that they may dry gently without being
burnt; turn them every half hour, and when they begin to dry, crumble
them. They will take about four hours to dry, then pound them fine, sift
and put them into bottles, and seal them down. To make half a pint of
oyster sauce, put one ounce of butter into a stewpan, with three drams
of oyster powder, and six spoonfuls of milk. Set it on a slow fire, stir
it till it boils, and season it with salt. This powder, if made of plump
juicy natives, will abound with the flavour of the fish; and if closely
corked,