for a few moments, drain, and pile in a glass dish for the table.

GRAPES.--Grapes need always to be washed before serving. Drop the
bunches into ice water, let them remain ten of fifteen minutes, then
drain and serve. An attractive dish may be made by arranging bunches of
different colored grapes together on a plate edged with grape leaves.

MELONS.--Watermelons should be served very cold. After being well
washed on the outside, put on ice until needed. Cut off a slice at the
ends, that each half may stand upright on a plate, and then cut around
in even slices. Instead of cutting through the center into even halves,
the melon may be cut in points back and forth around the entire
circumference, so that when separated, each half will appear like a
crown. Another way is to take out the central portion with a spoon, in
cone-shaped pieces, and arrange on a plate with a few bits of ice. Other
melons may be served in halves, with the seeds removed. The rough skin
of the cantaloupe should be thoroughly scrubbed with a vegetable brush,
then rinsed and wiped, after which bury the melon in broken ice till
serving time; divide into eighths or sixteenths, remove the seeds,
reconstruct the melon, and serve surrounded with ice, on a folded
napkin, or arranged on a bed of grape leaves. Do not cool the melon by
placing ice upon the flesh, as the moisture injures the delicate flavor.

ORANGES.--Serve whole or cut the skin into eighths, halfway down,
separating it from the fruit, and curling it inward, thus showing half
the orange white and the other half yellow; or cut the skin into
eighths, two-thirds down, and after loosening from the fruit, leave them
spread open like the petals of a lily. Oranges sliced and mixed with
well ripened strawberries, in the proportion of three oranges to a quart
of berries, make--a palatable dessert.

PEACHES AND PEARS.--Pick out the finest, and wipe the wool from the
peaches. Edge a plate with uniform sized leaves of foliage plant of the
same tints as the fruit, and pile the fruit artistically upon it,
tucking sprays or tips of the plant between. Bits of ice may also be
intermingled. Yellow Bartlett pears and rosy-cheeked peaches arranged in
this way are most ornamental.

PEACHES AND CREAM.--Pare the peaches just as late as practicable,
since they become discolored by standing. Always use a silver knife, as
steel soon blackens and discolors the fruit. If sugar is to be used, do
not add it until the