The Book of Household Management by Mrs. Beeton

402. INGREDIENTS.--Cucumbers, salt.

_Mode_.--Pare and slice the cucumbers (as for the table), sprinkle well with salt, and let them remain for 24 hours; strain off the liquor, pack in jars, a thick layer of cucumbers and salt alternately; tie down closely, and, when wanted for use, take out the quantity required. Now wash them well in fresh water, and dress as usual with pepper, vinegar, and oil. [Illustration: THE CUCUMBER.] THE CUCUMBER.--Though the melon is far superior in point of flavour to this fruit, yet it is allied to the cucumber, which is known to naturalists as _Cucumia sativus_. The modern Egyptians, as did their forefathers, still eat it, and others of its class. Cucumbers were observed, too, by Bishop Heber, beyond the Ganges, in India; and Burckhardt noticed them in Palestine. (See No. 127.) AN EXCELLENT WAY OF PRESERVING CUCUMBERS.