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HAM, CURED (West Country method)

Take three or four hams weighing fourteen or sixteen pounds each. Let them hang for a day, then rub well into each one two ounces of sal prunella, two ounces of saltpetre, and one pound of salt. Put the hams into a deep pan, and turn them over and rub them each day for three days. Make a pickle by boiling together three gallons of water, four pounds of common salt, four pounds of bay salt, and seven pounds of moist sugar. Skim thoroughly, and when the pickle has boiled for twenty minutes, pour it hot over the meat. The hams must be rubbed and turned daily, and their relative position altered, the one at the top being put to the bottom, and so on. At the end of three weeks they must be drained and dried, and smoked, if practicable. This pickle will be found excellent for beef, bacon, tongues, etc., and will keep for several months if it be boiled and skimmed each time it is used, and kept closely corked. Salt and treacle should be added also to make up for the strength evaporating. Probable cost, 1s. per pound.