Water-Melon mid the Cucumber in Russia. 129 



and salting of cucumbers. Tliis was procured for me by the 

 kindness of Mrs Dr Crichton, from one of the most experienced 

 cucumber salters in St Petersburg ; and I am not without 

 hopes, that it may form a useful and salutary addition to our 

 British cookery. " Take 1000 cucumbers, weigh out 7 lb. Eng- 

 lish of salt, which has been previously well purified, and dried. 

 Mix the salt well with a quantity of cold soft water, sufficient to co- 

 ver the cucumbers, 500 of which may be put into one small h'ght 

 made cask. Have ready plenty of the following leaves, which 

 have been gathered when the weather was dry ; oak leaves, 

 black-currant leaves, cherry leaves, dill leaves and heads : mix 

 them well together, and place a layer of them at the bottom of 

 the cask ; then a layer of cucumbers, and thus alternately until 

 the cask be completely filled : then pour on the salt and water 

 till it rise to the brim, and close the cask tightly. Some people 

 add a small bottle of vinegar, and a very small bit of garlick to 

 each cask."' In two or three months the cucumbers are fit for 

 use. They are brought to table entire, floating among the juice 

 and leaves which cover them while in the cask. In Russia, they 

 seldom appear at table until the month of November or De- 

 cember, when the winter has completely set in, as they must re- 

 main in the cask for two or three months, in order that the salt 

 and water may have sufficient time to act upon the vegetable 

 matter of the cucumber, and of the various species of leaves em- 

 ployed in their preparation. However some prefer them, from 

 the time they are first subjected to the salt, until it has complete- 

 ly penetrated them ; when they are said to be half salted, and 

 known by a correspondent appellation in the Russian language. 

 A Russian will often eat several cucumbers salted in the above 

 mentioned manner during a meal, and no bad effect is ever 

 known to arise from their use. 



, Whether the cucumber of this country would answer for 

 salting in the above mentioned manner, I have not yet put to 

 experiment. The objection, as appears to me, would be, its 

 containing much fibrous matter, and too little pulp and juice. 

 Although they possess our common variety of cucumber in 

 great abundance in Russia, I never met with it salted. 



While visiting the hot-houses of the Taurida Palace garden, 

 St Petersburg, under the direction of Mr Cole, a native of this 



APRIL JULY 1826. I 



