In cooking the pits without shells, too much of the prussic acid contained in them naturally would be let into the preserve; but peaches cooked whole, either pared or not pared, are pleasantly flavored by this acid, and not enough comes out of the stone to do the least harm. No peach preserve is equal to that made of whole, pared peaches. To four quarts of them, add one cup of sugar and one cup of cold water. Boil slowly till soft, but not broken ; or four quarts, as above, two teacups of molasses of best quality, one cup of cold water, and boil slowly till soft, but not broken. A pinch of salt will help to keep them whole, and improve them.

Oranges prepared for the fruit dish at dessert in the following manner have the double recommendation of looking pretty and being very easy to manipulate on one's plate. The skin is removed from the orange with the exception of a band about an inch wide around the middle. All the white inner skin is next carefully removed and the edges of the band of skin trimmed perfectly neat and straight. Then this girdle is cut in one place and the fruit pressed open to the center. Each section of the orange is separated from the adjoining one and when the work is complete the ends of the band are brought together and the fruit put into its place on the dish, where it appears as round and firm as ever, until subsequent investigation on the individual dessert plate disclose a number of tiny pieces joined only by the ribbon of rind.