Choose small cucumbers or gherkins for this purpose.  Reject all that are specked or misshapen.  Wash them thoroughly; drain off all the water, and allow them to lay in a tub overnight, thickly salted.  In the morning; wipe the pickles carefully.  Lay them in a stone jar or a wooden bucket, in this way:  Put in a layer of pickles.  Cut up a few green or red peppers; put a few pieces in each layer, also a few cloves (remove the soft heads) and a tablespoon of mustard seed, and one bay leaf, no more.  Then proceed in this way until the pickles are used.  Then take half a pound of the very best ground mustard, tie it in a cloth loosely (use double cheese-cloth for the purpose), and lay this mustard-bag on top of the pickles.  Boil enough white wine vinegar in a bell metal kettle to just cover them; add a cup of sugar for every gallon of vinegar, this does not sweeten them, but tends to preserve them and cut the sharpness of the vinegar.  If the vinegar is very strong, add a cup of water to it while boiling; it should not “draw” the mouth, but be rather mild.  See that the pickles are well covered with the vinegar, and pour the vinegar hot over the pickles and mustard.  If the vinegar does not completely cover the pickles, boil more and add.  Lay a plate on top of all to keep the pickles under the vinegar, and when cold tie up.  Look them over in a few weeks, if you find any soft ones among them, boil the vinegar over again, and pour it over them hot.

SALT PICKLES

(For immediate use.) Take nice, large cucumbers, wash and wipe them; lay them in a jar or wooden pail, sprinkle coarse salt over each layer, and add dill, whole peppers and grape leaves, if you have them, also a very few bay leaves.  Cover with water up to the brim and lay a piece of rye bread in the jar; it will help to quicken the process of souring.  Cover with a plate and put a clean, heavy stone on top of the plate, in order to keep them well covered with the brine.  Set them in a warm place, say back of the kitchen stove, for the first three days.  They will be ready to use in a week.

SALZGURKEN

Take half-grown cucumbers; lay them in water overnight, then wipe each one dry and reject all that are soft at the ends.  Lay a layer of cucumbers in a new barrel or wine keg (a small vinegar barrel is best), then a layer of the following spices:  Fennel, dill, bay leaves, a few whole peppers; then cover with grape and cherry leaves, and begin again with a layer of cucumbers and fill in alternate layers until all are used.  Then boil enough salt and water to just cover them, test the strength of the water by laying an egg in it, if it rises the water has enough salt in it, if not, add more salt.  Pour this over the cucumbers when cold.  Get a cooper to tighten up the barrel, and roll it in the sun and allow it to stay there for two weeks, turning over the barrel once each day.