pint of Bechamel, No. 367; salt to taste, a few
drops of garlic vinegar, 1/2 teaspoonful of pounded sugar, a squeeze of
lemon-juice.

_Mode_.--Put the shalots and mushrooms into a stewpan with the stock and
ham, and simmer very gently for 1/2 hour, when add the Bechamel. Let it
just boil up, and then strain it through a tammy; season with the above
ingredients, and serve very hot. If this sauce should not have retained
a nice white colour, a little cream may be added.

_Time_.--1/2 hour. _Average cost_, for this quantity, 10d.

_Sufficient_ for a moderate-sized dish.

_Note_.--To preserve the colour of the mushrooms after pickling, throw
them into water to which a little lemon-juice has been added.

TO PICKLE LEMONS WITH THE PEEL ON.

455. INGREDIENTS.--6 lemons, 2 quarts of boiling water; to each quart of
vinegar allow 1/2 oz. of cloves, 1/2 oz. of white pepper, 1 oz. of
bruised ginger, 1/4 oz. of mace and chilies, 1 oz. of mustard-seed, 1/2
stick of sliced horseradish, a few cloves of garlic.

_Mode_.--Put the lemons into a brine that will bear an egg; let them
remain in it 6 days, stirring them every day; have ready 2 quarts of
boiling water, put in the lemons, and allow them to boil for 1/4 hour;
take them out, and let them lie in a cloth until perfectly dry and cold.
Boil up sufficient vinegar to cover the lemons, with all the above
ingredients, allowing the same proportion as stated to each quart of
vinegar. Pack the lemons in a jar, pour over the vinegar, &c. boiling
hot, and tie down with a bladder. They will be fit for use in about 12
months, or rather sooner.

_Seasonable_.--This should be made from November to April.

THE LEMON.--In the earlier ages of the world, the lemon does not
appear to have been at all known, and the Romans only became
acquainted with it at a very late period, and then only used it
to keep moths from their garments. Its acidity would seem to
have been unpleasant to them; and in Pliny's time, at the
commencement of the Christian era, this fruit was hardly
accepted, otherwise than as an excellent antidote against the
effects of poison. Many anecdotes have been related concerning
the anti-venomous properties of the lemon; Athenaeus, a Latin
writer, telling us, that on one occasion, two men felt no
effects from the bites of dangerous serpents, because they had
previously eaten of this fruit.

TO PICKLE LEMONS WITHOUT THE PEEL.