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Melon Mangoes

Choose small, late melons, green and sound. Wipe them clean, and make a circular incision round the stem, which piece remove, to scoop out the pulpy part and seeds. Make a pickle of salt and water that will float an egg, lay the melons in a broad-bottomed pan or tub, having first replaced the piece taken out, and pour the pickle over them, two inches above the top. In twenty-four hours take them out, and drain on a sieve. Make a seasoning of a small quantity of scraped horse-radish, shredded shallots, equal parts of bruised mustard and coriander-seed, a few peppercorns, allspice, pounded mace, and cloves. Fill the hollow of the melons with the spice, etc.; put in beans, small onions, and cucumbers. The onions should be peeled and boiled for a minute or two, the beans, etc., scalded, and the piece sewed on firmly with coarse thread, always remembering to lay the cut sides up when the melons are put into the jar. Boil as much vinegar as will be required to cover with the seeds of the fruit. Strew cloves, pepper, and put in a few capsicums before straining over the melons. Cover with a cloth, and let the jar stand near the fire for an hour or so. Next day, and for four or five successive days, make the vinegar hot, adding at the last heating about half an ounce of garlic, the same of white peppercorns, ginger, and cardamom seeds. Boil twenty minutes. Cover when cold, and set aside for use.