FRUITS 25 



of decay, which is generally in November. After 

 gathering they should be spread out singly, the 

 open side downwards, in a bed of sand. As medlars 

 are apt to get mouldy a good preventative is to 

 dip the stalk ends in a strong brine of common salt 

 and water. 



RECIPE 



Medlar Jelly 



Take a pound of ripe medlars, remove all stalks, and put 

 them with a pint of water in a stewpan and simmer till the 

 fruit begins to break, but not long enough to make the 

 liquor red ; pour into a jelly bag and let the juice drain very 

 slowly ; then weigh the juice and let it boil by itself for ten 

 minutes, and then add ten ounces of sugar to each pound of 

 juice. Boil and stir well, take off the scum as it rises, and 

 in twenty minutes it can be put into small glass moulds. • 



MELONS 



In growing melons there is a great difference 

 as to earliness of growth, as a melon with a thick 

 skin takes much longer than a thin-skinned one. 



For early fruiting a yellow-skinned variety is 

 best ; for mid-season the green flesh. 



A gardener recommends as the best plan to 

 plant in frames in January in eighteen-inch pots, 

 and plunge into the hot bed, and place one pot on 

 another one, inverted so as to prevent the large one 

 sinking down. Then make a rough trellis twelve 

 inches from the glass, and train the vine so as to 

 get all the sunlight possible. 



To sow the seeds, sow in three-inch pots in good 

 loam with a little charcoal refuse in a brisk heat, 



