08 AMERICAN KITCHEN GARDENER. 
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on which millinet is stretched and fastened, as directed under the ’tide Cu¬ 
cumber. 
Use .—The use of melons, as a palatable and wholesome article of diet, is 
too well known to need any remarks. Dr. Mease, of Philadelphia, observes, 
that “The juice of the sweeter kind of water-melon yields, on inspissation, 
a bright-colored syrup, which would answer every purpose required of any 
syrup. Mr. Henry Drinker, of Philadelphia, procured half a pound of this 
syrup, from fourteen pounds of melon juice, a part of which I tasted, and 
found very pleasant.” To make the most of unripe melons, Loudon ; s Mag¬ 
azine directs to boil them, and season them with spices and salf, or bake 
them like a pumpkin-pie.” The rind of the water-melon is alsc used for 
pickling, &c. 
MINT. 
Mentha Viridis. — Menthe , Fr.— Miinze , Ger. 
This is a genus of plants comprising twenty-four species. Those culti¬ 
vated in gardens are peppermint, (M. piperita j) spearmint, (M. viridis;) 
pennyroyal-mint, (M. pulegium .) 
Culture .—All “the species are raised by the same methods, viz.,by part¬ 
ing the roots, by offset young plants, and by cuttings of the stalks. Spear¬ 
mint and peppermint like a moist soil; penny-royal, a strong loam. The 
plants set in spring or summer will come into use the same year. They 
may be placed about eight inches apart, on beds about four feet wide, allow¬ 
ing a path two feet broad. New beds should be made every three years. 
Gathering the crop 1 and use .—“ Mint should be cut for drying,” says Phil¬ 
ips, “just when it is in flower, and on a fine day; for if cut in damp weather, 
the leaves will turn black. It should be tied in small bunches, and dried in 
a shady place, out of the wind ; but, to retain its natural virtues more effect¬ 
ually, it has been found better to place the mint in a screen, and to dry it 
quickly before a fire, so that it may be powdered and immediately put into 
glass bottles, and kept well stopped. Parsley, thyme, sage, and other herbs, 
retain their full fragrance when thus prepared, and are by this mode secured 
from dust, and always ready to the hand of the cook. 
“ A conserve made of mint is grateful, and the distilled waters, both sim¬ 
ple and spirituous, are much esteemed. The juice of spearmint, drank in 
vinegar, often stops the hiccup. Lewis observes, what has before been ob¬ 
served by Pliny, that mint prevents the coagulation of mills, and hence it is 
recommended in milk di its.” 
