1/4 hour to 20 minutes to simmer the plums in the first syrup;
20 minutes to 1/2 hour very gentle simmering in the second.

_Seasonable_ from August to October.

TO PRESERVE PLUMS DRY.

1582. INGREDIENTS.--To every lb. of sugar allow 1/4 pint of water.
_Mode_.--Gather the plums when they are full-grown and just turning
colour; prick them, put them into a saucepan of cold water, and set them
on the fire until the water is on the point of boiling. Then take them
out, drain them, and boil them gently in syrup made with the above
proportion of sugar and water; and if the plums shrink, and will not
take the sugar, prick them as they lie in the pan; give them another
boil, skim, and set them by. The next day add some more sugar, boiled
almost to candy, to the fruit and syrup; put all together into a
wide-mouthed jar, and place them in a cool oven for 2 nights; then drain
the plums from the syrup, sprinkle a little powdered sugar over, and dry
them in a cool oven.

_Time_.--15 to 20 minutes to boil the plums in the syrup. _Seasonable_
from August to October.

PLUMS.--The wild sloe is the parent of the plum, but the
acclimated kinds come from the East. The cultivation of this
fruit was probably attended to very early in England, as Gerrard
informs us that, in 1597, he had in his garden, in Holborn,
threescore sorts. The sloe is a shrub common in our hedgerows,
and belongs to the natural order _Amygdaleae_; the fruit is
about the size of a large pea, of a black colour, and covered
with a bloom of a bright blue. It is one of the few indigenous
to our island. The juice is extremely sharp and astringent, and
was formerly employed as a medicine, where astringents were
necessary. It now assists in the manufacture of a red wine made
to imitate port, and also for adulteration. The leaves have been
used to adulterate tea; the fruit, when ripe, makes a good
preserve.

STEWED FRENCH PLUMS.

(_A Dessert Dish_.)

1583. INGREDIENTS.--1-1/2 lb. of French plums, 3/4 pint of syrup No.
1512, 1 glass of port wine, the rind and juice of 1 lemon.

_Mode_.--Stew the plums gently in water for 1 hour; strain the water,
and with it make the syrup. When it is clear, put in the plums with the
port wine, lemon-juice, and rind, and simmer very gently for 1-1/2 hour.
Arrange the plums on a glass dish, take out the lemon-rind, pour the
syrup over the plums, and, when cold, they will be rea