sugar before you put in the berries. Boil half an hour and seal when
cold.

PICKLED CRAB-APPLES

Select tart, firm, red or yellow crab-apples, three quarts; remove all
decayed spots but leave the stems. Put three cups of cider vinegar,
three cups of sugar, and one cup of water in preserving kettle; let boil
two minutes, add two tablespoons of cloves and two sticks of cinnamon
broken; these spices must be tied in a bag, and let cook ten minutes.
Lift out carefully with perforated skimmer, put in glass jars. When all
the apples have been cooked, pour over enough syrup to cover; set spice
bag away in a cup. Cover jars and let stand twenty-four hours. Pour off
syrup and boil again. Wait two days, then boil apples, sugar, with spice
bag until apples are tender but firm. Place apples in jars; cover to
keep hot. Boil down syrup a little and fill the jars to overflowing with
the hot syrup and seal.

WATERMELON PICKLE

Do not throw away the rind of melons. It can be preserved and will make
a delicious relish. Remove the green rind of watermelon and the inside
pink portion that is left on after eating it. Cut it into two-inch
pieces and pour over it a weak brine made in proportion of one cup of
salt to a gallon of hot water. Let this stand overnight, then drain and
add clear water and one level tablespoon of alum. Boil in this water
until the rind has a clear appearance. Drain and pour ice water over the
rind and allow it to stand a short time. In a bag put one teaspoon each
of cloves, allspice, cinnamon and ginger and place this in the preserve
kettle with the vinegar and sugar. Allow one cup of sugar and one cup of
vinegar (dilute this with water if too strong) to every pound of rind.
Thin slices of lemon will give it a pleasant flavor--allow one lemon to
about four pounds of rind. Bring this syrup to the boiling point and
skim. Add the melon and cook until tender. It is done when it becomes
perfectly transparent and can be easily pierced with a broom straw. A
peach kernel in the cooking syrup will improve the flavor. Housewives
who object to the use of alum can omit this and merely wash the rind
after removing from brine to free it from all salt and then cook it
slowly as per directions given above. The alum keeps the rind firm and
retains its color. In this case the rind will require long and steady
cooking; say 3/4 of an hour or longer. As soon as rinds are cooked they
should be put into the containers and covered wi