Chapter VIII: Part 8

=Toasted Marshmallows.=--One tablespoonful of granulated gelatine, one cup of boiling water, one cup of sugar, the whites of three eggs, one teaspoonful of vanilla, and some macaroons. Dissolve the gelatine in boiling water, add the sugar, and, as soon as dissolved, set the bowl containing the mixture in a pan of ice water; then add whites of eggs and vanilla, and beat until the mixture thickens. Turn into a shallow pan, first dipped in cold water, and let it stand until thoroughly chilled; remove from the pan, and cut into pieces of the size and shape of marshmallows, then roll in macaroons which have been dried and rolled. Serve with sugar and cream.

=“Tout Ensemble” Salad.=--Cream cheese, cherries (stoned), peanuts, currants, served on lettuce hearts with mayonnaise or French dressing.

=Two Loaves of Bread.=--Put three and a half pounds of flour (half a quartern) into an earthenware bowl, add half an ounce of salt; mix well with the flour. Make a hole in the middle, and set it in a warm place (if it is cold weather).

Take one ounce of yeast and one teaspoonful of sugar, and mix them in a small basin. If the yeast is good, it will soon become moist after the sugar is added. Put in two tablespoonfuls of flour, and mix to a smooth batter, with one quarter of a pint of warm water. Set it in a warm place, in front of the fire to rise; it will take about five minutes.

When risen, put it into the hole in the flour, and pour in one pint of milk, warmed by the addition of half a pint of hot water--it must be only new-milk warm; test it with your finger. If it is too hot, it will kill the ferment in the yeast. Stir with a knife or a wooden spoon. Then flour your hands and knead it for ten minutes till all the flour is absorbed, and the dough is smooth and elastic, and not sticky; some people prefer to knead it on a board. Cut three slashes across, and set the bowl in front of the fire on a stool, out of any draught. Cover it with a cloth, and let it rise till it has nearly doubled in bulk. Take the dough out of the bowl, scraping every bit off the sides, and cut it in half. Shape into loaves on the board, and put into greased loaf tins. The dough should half fill the tins, and touch the sides all round. Set them to rise in front of the fire for half an hour or three-quarters--the weather, and the temperature of the kitchen make such a difference, that there cannot be a fixed time, but the dough should be nearly level with the top of the tins when they are ready for baking.

The oven should be of moderate heat; not so hot as for pastry, but by no means slack. If the loaves are small, they may be done in fifty minutes, but an hour is the usual time. Sometimes a little longer may be necessary, so much depends on the temperature of the oven and the size of the loaves. Only experience can teach the learner. Tap the loaf all round, and if the sound is sharp and clear, the loaf is done; but if it be dull and thick, put it back for a few minutes.

If the bread smells sour, when baking, the oven is not hot enough; it should have a sweet wholesome smell.

When the loaves are out of the oven, they should remain in a warm airy kitchen for five or six hours, till they are quite cool, before being put into the bread pan.

=Unfermented Brown Bread.=--One cupful of rye meal, two cupfuls of corn meal, one cupful of white flour, half a teacupful of molasses, or sugar, and a teaspoonful of salt. Stir all these thoroughly together, and mix with about half a pint of sour milk; in which a level teaspoonful of bicarbonate of soda has been dissolved. Stir the batter as stiff as it can be worked with a spoon, and bake in a well-greased pan. Sweet milk and baking powder may be used instead of buttermilk and soda. (_Commoner._)

=Vegetable au Gratin.=--Cook separately in salted water, shredded cabbage, green peas, asparagus, etc. Drain, season to taste, and arrange in alternate layers in a buttered baking dish, season each layer with bits of butter and grated cheese. Cover with buttered crumbs, and bake for about an hour.

=Vegetable Curry= (1).--Mix one cupful each, of cooked carrots and turnips cut into dice, half a can of peas, one cupful of cooked Lima or kidney beans, reheat in brown sauce, season with minced onion, curry powder, a pinch of sugar and a little vinegar. Add a cupful and a half of cooked potatoes, cut into dice, simmer for twenty minutes and serve in a border of boiled rice.

(2) Chop an onion finely, and peel and slice a sour apple. Cook for two minutes in butter, then add a pint each of carrot, turnips, celery cut finely, a heaped tablespoonful of curry powder, and a sauce made of two tablespoonfuls of flour, cooked in butter; mix with a pint of milk, and cook until thick. Simmer for an hour and serve in a border of rice.

=Vegetable Galantine.=--Slice finely two carrots, one small turnip, one medium-sized onion, and stew in just sufficient stock until tender. Then add half a pint of cooked green peas, two ounces of fine bread-crumbs, some pepper and salt, a pinch of cayenne, and a little ketchup or Gaffer sauce. Mix three ounces of semolina with a little milk, and when cooked add this, and mix well and press on to a dish in a shape, leaving a hole in the centre. Leave it to cool, then improve the shape, brush over with a glaze made from a teaspoonful of liquid aspic jelly, add two teaspoonfuls of Gaffer sauce to darken it. Garnish with cold aspic, or the yolk of a hard-boiled egg, rubbed through a sieve, and the white chopped up with some parsley. Serve with lettuce and salad dressing.--_Sidney Beard’s Guide Book, “Order of the Golden Age.”_

=Vegetable Hash.=--Chop coarsely, cold cooked cabbage, parsnips and potatoes, and fry in butter, then moisten with hot water, and cook covered for five or ten minutes. Add salt and pepper.

=Very Light Buns.=--Take a quarter of a peck of the finest flour, rub lightly into it three-quarters of a pound of fresh butter till it is like grated bread, a little more than half a pound of sugar, half a nutmeg grated, a small quantity of ground ginger, three yolks of eggs, and the whites beaten separately. Add to the eggs half a pint of thick ale yeast, a little brandy, or red wine. Make a hole in the flour, pour in the yeast and eggs, and as much warm milk as will make it into a light dough. Set it before the fire to rise for half an hour. Grease some patty-pans, fill with the mixture; brush over the top of each wig with beaten egg. Put them into a quick oven for about thirty minutes.

=Walnut Croquettes.=--Take one pound of cold mashed potatoes, three-quarters of a pound of cold carrots, half a pound of cold mashed haricots, half a pound of ground walnuts, some chopped parsley, one egg, pepper and salt if liked. Mix potatoes, haricots, and carrots well; add one or two tablespoonfuls of water or good vegetable stock. Then add ground nuts and parsley. Bind with egg, form into croquettes, and fry in nutter (the mixture holds together pretty well without the egg). This recipe is very good for using up any cold vegetables in order to make a savoury breakfast or dinner the following day.--_Nu-Era Recipes._

CHEESE DISHES.

=Cheese and Oatmeal.=--Two cupfuls of oatmeal, one cupful of grated cheese, one tablespoonful of butter, one teaspoonful of salt, and pepper. Cook the oatmeal as usual; shortly before serving stir in the butter, and add the cheese, and stir until the cheese is melted and thoroughly blended with the cereal. The cheese should be mild in flavour and soft in texture. The proportion of cheese used may be increased if a more pronounced flavour is desired.

=Cheese Balls.=--One and a half cupfuls of grated cheese, one tablespoonful of flour, the whites of three eggs, salt, and pepper, and cracker dust. Beat the whites of the eggs and the other ingredients. Make into balls and roll in cracker dust. If the amount of flour is doubled the mixture may be dropped from a spoon, and fried without being rolled in crumbs.

=Cheese Croquettes.=--Three tablespoonfuls of butter, half a cupful of flour, two cupfuls of milk, the yolks of two eggs, one cupful of grated cheese, and salt and pepper. Make some white sauce, using the flour, butter and milk; add the unbeaten yolks, and stir until well mixed, then add the grated cheese. As soon as the cheese melts remove from the fire, fold in pieces of cheese, and add seasoning. Spread in a shallow pan and cool. Cut into squares or strips, cover with an egg and crumb mixture, and fry in deep butter.

=Gnocchi Alla Romana.=--Mix in a saucepan five eggs with three tablespoonfuls of flour, the rind of a lemon and two ounces of Parmesan cheese; and by degrees one pint of milk. Season with salt, and place the saucepan on the fire. Mix until the paste is cooked, then spread the paste on a dish which has been rubbed with butter. Let it cool, and then cut it into small squares. Boil them up in a French fireproof dish; spread a little butter and grated Parmesan cheese between each layer. Place in the oven for ten minutes and serve in the same dish.--Mrs. ROSS, _Leaves from a Tuscan Kitchen_.

=Another Gnocchi.=--Melt a quarter of a cupful of butter, add a quarter of a cupful each of flour and corn-starch, a pinch of salt, two cupfuls of boiling milk. Cook until smooth and thick. Take from the fire. Add the yolks of two eggs and half a cupful of grated cheese. Pour into a buttered shallow pan. Cool, cut in strips, roll in grated cheese, and brown in the oven.

CAKES AND PUDDINGS WITHOUT EGGS.

=Apple Fruit Cake.=--Take one cupful of sugar, half a cup of shortening, half a cup of raisins and dates, half a teaspoonful of cinnamon, a quarter teaspoonful of cloves, half a nutmeg, one and three quarter cups of flour, one cup of apple sauce, with one tablespoonful of nutter. Stir in the sauce the last thing and bake.

=Another Cake.=--Take one cupful of sugar, one cupful of milk, two cupfuls of flour, five tablespoonfuls of nutter or butter, one heaped teaspoonful of baking powder; sift into the flour, and one tablespoonful of boiling water. Flavour to taste with sultanas, caraway seeds or currants, and bake about three-quarters of an hour.

=Baked Bananas.=--Peel and quarter four bananas, and put into a buttered baking dish with eight tablespoonfuls of water, four tablespoonfuls of sugar, four teaspoonfuls each of melted butter and lemon juice, and a sprinkling of salt. Bake slowly for half an hour or less, basting frequently. The lemon juice may be omitted.

_Another Recipe._--Remove half the peel from each banana, cover and bake half an hour, open side up. Remove the rest of the skin and serve with melted butter, to which a little hot cream may be added, or serve in the skins.

=Escalloped Bananas.=--Peel and slice the bananas, and put into a buttered baking dish in layers. Season each layer with salt, pepper, butter, and a little nutmeg. Cover with buttered crumbs, moisten with cream and bake, covered for half an hour, then uncover and brown.

=Chestnut Cream Sandwiches.=--Peel, boil, drain, and mash some large French chestnuts; rub them through a sieve and mix thoroughly with sweet cream, and a touch of salt or sugar, as is liked, and spread the paste on thin slices of fresh white bread, freed from crust and cut in round disks; then cover with another round. Use a biscuit cutter for shaping after the slices are cut.

=Curd Cheese.=--Take two pints of new milk, curdle it either by slow heat, or by rennet, lemon juice, fig juice, or bruised nettles. Turn the curd into a cheesecloth or butter muslin (coarse canvas will do) previously scalded, tie loosely and hang up to drain. After three or four hours tie again tighter. In twelve hours it is fit to eat, but if preferred it can be pressed and turned every day till as firm as ordinary cheese.--Mrs. C. W. EARLE’S Recipe.

=Curried Corn= (_Green_).--(1) Open a tin of green corn, and drain off the liquid, and stand aside. Fry two large onions cut in rings in a pan with two ounces of butter. When nicely browned, add a dessertspoonful of curry powder and a pinch of salt. Fry, stirring all the time, for five minutes; then sprinkle in a dessertspoonful of flour, and fry for another five minutes. Great care must be taken not to burn the contents of the pan; add the corn, coarsely chopped, and the juice of a large lemon, and cook for ten minutes longer. Serve with boiled rice, heaped around the dish, or separately, as liked.

=Dood Park (Indian).=--Rice, milk, sultanas, blanched almonds, cinnamon. Cook the rice in a saucepan with the milk to the consistency of thin porridge, add the sultanas (previously soaked for some hours) and almonds (chopped finely) and pieces of cinnamon ten minutes before serving.

=Doughnuts without Eggs.=--Take one and a quarter cups of sugar, one cup of sour milk, one teaspoonful of bicarbonate of soda, two teaspoonfuls of melted butter, a quarter of a teaspoonful of ginger, nutmeg to taste, and flour to make as soft as can be handled. Don’t make them too stiff; fry in boiling nutter in a frying basket, and dip each one in a basin of boiling water which you can keep boiling on a stove conveniently near. Prepare to dip it quickly just as soon as it is lifted from the hot nutter. It will not scale, and will keep moist much longer.

=Gnocchi of Semolina.=--Bring half a pint of milk to the boil, sprinkle in two ounces of semolina (coarse); when it is off the boil add an egg and a little cheese (the egg may be omitted). Spread it on a dish to get cold. Then cut it into rounds with a cutter or a wine glass; put the rounds into a fireproof dish with a little cream and some more grated cheese, and put a little butter on the top. Put in a hot oven for about five minutes, and serve immediately.

Both recipes are from Mrs. C. W. EARLE, _Diet Difficulties_ and _Helpful Hints_.

=Good Plain Cake.=--A cup of butter, a cup of molasses, a cup of brown sugar, a cup of sour milk, and a teaspoonful of bicarbonate of soda, a teaspoonful of cinnamon, a teaspoonful each of nutmeg and cloves, half a pound each of raisins and currants, a quart flour, and half a teaspoonful of salt. Bake in a slow oven.

=Green Corn Savoury.=--(2) Boil two ounces of macaroni in salted water. Chop coarsely the contents of a tin of green corn, and toss it in a pan with an ounce of butter; care must be taken not to burn it; flavour very highly with cayenne pepper and salt. Place a layer of cooked macaroni in a deep dish that may be taken to table, and lay some of the corn on it; repeat the macaroni and corn. Make a good white sauce by frying an ounce of flour in the same quantity of butter, and pour over it a pint of milk with which two tablespoonfuls of cream have been mixed and salt and pepper. Stir in two ounces of grated cheese, and pour over the macaroni and corn in the dish. Grate a layer of brown bread-crumbs over the whole, finally stewing the whole with grated cheese. Bake in a good oven until a delicate brown. Serve very hot. The macaroni may be omitted if not liked, and a double quantity of corn used instead. In this case the white sauce should be made a little thicker.--1 and 2, _Garden City Health Food Stores Recipes, Letchworth_.

=Ice Cream without Eggs.=--Take one quart of new milk, set it in a kettle of hot water, and when it comes to the boiling point, add two large tablespoonfuls of arrowroot, smoothly mixed with cold milk, and two teacupfuls of caster sugar. Stir until smooth and thick. When cool add one pint of rich cream, and flavour to taste. Put in a freezer and churn rapidly.

=Light “Wigs.”=--Make into a dough one pound and a half of flour, with half a pint of milk made lukewarm, mixed with a quarter of a pint of good yeast; cover it up, and let it stay by the fire for half an hour. Then add half a pound of sugar, half a pound of butter; work this into the dough. Grease some small patty-pans and half fill them with the mixture. Use as little flour as possible in making up, and set to rise in front of the fire for half an hour. The oven must be hot; the cakes will then rise very quickly to double their size.

=Nut Meat Mould= (_practically no cooking required_).--Take a quarter of a pound of ground hazel kernels, a quarter of a pound of ground walnuts, half a pound of bread-crumbs, one ounce of onion, three-quarters of an ounce of nutter, and a quarter of a pint of tomato sauce. Melt the nut butter in a stewpan, add the onion and fry for five minutes (if fresh tomatoes are in season, chop up a small tomato and fry with the onion), then add tomato sauce to fried onion; put in ground nuts and bread-crumbs, mix well; turn into a mould, and leave till cold. Serve with salad.--_Nu-Era Recipes._

=Plum Pudding without Eggs.=--Take half a pound of raisins, half a pound of butter or nutter, half a pound of flour, two ounces of citron, or mixed peel finely chopped, two ounces of bread-crumbs, spice to taste; a teaspoonful of baking powder if liked. Mix with milk, and boil for six hours.

=Stuffed Figs.=--Remove the inside of steamed, or fresh figs, and mix the parts removed with chopped nuts moistened with a syrup of sugar and lemon juice, and stuff the figs with the mixture.

=The Simplest Nut Roast.=--One pound of pine kernels (ground), two medium-sized tomatoes. Skin the tomatoes, pouring boiling water over them, which makes it easy to peel them; mash them, and thoroughly mix with the ground nuts. Put the mixture in a well-buttered pie dish, and bake in a rather hot oven until nicely browned. Turn out on to a hot dish, and serve with brown sauce or tomato sauce (a little sage or thyme may be included in the mixture).--_Nu-Era Recipes._

=Vegetables en Casserole.=--Mix one half cupful each of cooked peas, carrots, button mushrooms, and very small white onions, with enough white sauce to moisten them. Line a buttered mould with boiled rice. Fill the centre with the vegetable mixture; cover with rice, and place in a steamer over hot water until heated through. Turn out on to a dish; pour over white sauce to which has been added some grated cheese and a pimento cut in small pieces.

COOL DRINKS.

_Recipes from “The Providence Journal,” U.S.A._

=Currant Shrub.=--Extract the juice from two quarts of well-ripened red currants. Add one cup of granulated sugar to each pint of juice. Beat the mixture well, then dilute the juice with twice as much crushed ice and water as there is of currant juice. Grate a small amount of nutmeg into each glass.

=Egg Lemonade.=--Beat one egg well, and add to it one tablespoonful of lemon juice, one of crushed ice, three of ice water, and sweeten to taste. Shake well, pour into glasses, fill with ice water, and sprinkle on the top nutmeg, or ground cinnamon.

=Ginger Spice Punch.=--Stick about two dozen cloves into each of four oranges. Let them remain for two hours, then remove the cloves. Rub the yellow part of the rind from three lemons (after having washed them clean) with several lumps of sugar, then extract the juice from the fruit. Put the lumps of sugar into the juice, and add one tablespoonful of strained honey, half a teaspoonful of powdered cinnamon, half a grated nutmeg, a pinch of ground allspice, and one cupful of flaked pineapple. Keep on ice until ready to serve, then turn into a punch bowl, or glass pitcher, adding the juice from the spiced oranges, a pint of ice water, and a pint and a half of ginger ale. While it is still effervescing, serve in small punch cups with straws.

=Grape Punch.=--Prepare one pint of strong lemonade, add two chopped oranges, four tablespoonfuls of cold tea, a bunch of fresh mint, and a quart of grape juice; mix thoroughly and place in the ice box until cooled; pour in, just previous to serving, a pint of finely chopped ice; serve from a large cut-glass pitcher into wide-rimmed glasses, decorating with tiny clusters of fresh grapes that have been dipped into a boiled fondant frosting.

=Lime Sherbet.=--Squeeze the juice from four limes, strain, and add a cupful of fruit vinegar, two cups of sugar, and a pinch of powdered cinnamon. Cover, and place on ice for two hours, then pour in gradually a cupful of iced tea. Add two sliced oranges and the stiffly whipped whites of two eggs. Prepare a lime syrup, by boiling two quarts of water with one pound of sugar for fifteen minutes, adding the juice and grated rind of four limes. Remove from the stove and add to the other ingredients, pouring slowly over a block of ice that has been placed in a crystal punch bowl, and add small fruits.

=Linseed Drink.=--A delicious hot weather drink. It is best made in a double pan, for the beverage is one requiring long and slow cooking.

Take two tablespoonfuls of whole linseed, and put it into the cooker, with a quart of boiling water. Set it on the stove, and let it come to the boil. Then let it cook in the double pan for two to three hours, strain, and add to the liquid a quarter of a cupful of lemon juice, half a cupful of sugar, and a little grated lemon rind. Serve very cold. If drunk while hot it is an excellent remedy for a cold.--A recipe from the _Chicago Journal_.

=Milk Flummery.=--Break one egg into a large glass, beat well, add one tablespoonful of crushed ice, sugar to taste, and one-third of a pint of fresh milk. Whisk well (if you have no whisk, beat with a rotary egg-beater before putting in the ice), pour into small glasses, sprinkle with nutmeg, and serve.

=Nut Fudge.=--Mix four cupfuls of brown sugar with three-fourths of a cup of rich milk, add two tablespoonfuls of butter, and three ounces of unsweetened chocolate broken in small pieces. Set back on the stove until the chocolate is melted, then boil until it begins to thicken.

Take from the fire, beat until rather stiff, add two cupfuls of English walnut meat, or butternuts, and pour into a buttered shallow pan. When nearly cold mark into squares.

A cupful of chopped figs may be substituted for nut meats if desired. (_Washington Herald._)

=Pineapple Frappé.=--Flake thoroughly with a silver fork a fine ripe pineapple. Sprinkle liberally with powdered sugar, and add one cucumber sliced very thin. Cut into small dice two limes or lemons and two large bananas, add half a pint of sweet cider; mix thoroughly and set in the refrigerator. When ready to serve, add the whites of two eggs stiffly beaten, and two quarts of Apollinaris water. Serve in glasses half-filled with shaved ice.

=Raspberry Vinegar.=--Put twelve quarts of juicy, ripe raspberries or Logan berries into a large stone jar, and pour over them enough pure cider vinegar (dilute if too strong) to barely cover the berries. Soak for thirty-six hours. Mash the berries a little, and strain off the liquid through a cheesecloth. To every pint of the liquid add a pound of loaf sugar, and boil for ten minutes. Then bottle and seal. Use two tablespoonfuls of the syrup to each glass of water, and put in two tablespoonfuls of crushed ice. This syrup can be used as the basis of a number of cooling drinks which the clever housewife may devise.

SUCCESSIONAL CROPPING IN SMALL GARDENS.

By _A. C. Curtis_.

Comparatively few realise the continuity and quantity of good green vegetables that can be raised from a small plot of garden ground, therefore it seems well that a few pages should be devoted to a simple description of successions cropping, which is the basis of success for the small garden.

First the gardener must remember that if he propose to take crops continuously out of the earth that earth must be continuously supplied with soluble plant food. Therefore heavy dressings of fat, well-matured stable manure, must be dug in as often as possible, and lime must be applied freely every third year.

Lime is best given, after the ground has been trenched, at the rate of as much as half a pound to the square yard. It may either be in the form of ground chalk, or, better, slaked lime. We prefer to buy quicklime in sacks, and to make heaps of it over the ground, about a bushel of lime to a heap. Earth is turned over these heaps, and they are left to slake for a fortnight. At the end of that time the heaps are scattered evenly over the bed, and it is all forked in. A fortnight later it will be quite safe to sow.

Lime applied in this way destroys all sorts of insect and fungoid pests, including club. It acts chemically on the constituents of the soil, releasing valuable plant food in a soluble form, and itself, though very slowly soluble, is invaluable for many crops, especially peas and beans.

Deep digging at every possible opportunity is absolutely essential to success where heavy cropping is pursued. And in dry weather the steady use of the Dutch hoe where possible is invaluable both in keeping weeds down and in preserving a friable moisture-holding top to the soil.

In making his plans for the year’s work the gardener will at first consider what vegetables are desired by his household, and in what probable quantities; he will not strive for unduly early, or late crops, especially if he employ but one man a day or two a week, but he will try to have a useable amount of vegetables in hand, the year round, not wasting his ground either by excess or undue thrift of any one crop.

Taking a small plot of ground of about one-tenth of an acre as our text, it will be the simplest way to describe one form of successions cropping which should freely supply a household of at least six people with vegetables the year through. But not with main crop potatoes, these are better and cheaper field grown, and it is a waste of ground and labour to grow them.

(_From “The Small Garden Useful”_)

Scale.--The ground divided into 2-foot squares]

Plan I describes itself, and it will be seen to be divided into three main plots for successions cropping, each forty-one by twenty-two feet, and lettered A, B, and C. The cropping of these plots should be so arranged that year by year the scheme for one plot may be moved forward to the next, ensuring a different class of subject being grown on the ground in successive seasons, resulting in the least exhaustion of the ground. Of course in a garden of this size this is rather a counsel of perfection, difficult to reach, yet where the rule has to be broken, deep digging, manure and lime are used to minimise the evil.

This succession may be expressed in a formula:

First year A B C
Second year C A B
Third year B C A

Supposing that our scheme of successions cropping has already been in operation, it must be remembered that the ground at the beginning of the year will be pretty fully occupied, and we shall point out the crops already in possession of the various plots as we discuss them month by month. Taking then Plan I as the text, we will proceed to briefly discuss the year’s routine, beginning with New Year’s day.

TABLE OF SUCCESSIONAL CROPPING

Each plot 22 × 41 feet. The rows of plants = 41 feet.

+-----+-----------+-------+--------+-----------+-------+--------++-----------+ | | |Planted| | Followed |Planted| || Followed | |Plot | Crop | or |Gathered| by | or |Gathered||Next Season| | | | Sown | | Crop | Sown | || by | +-----+-----------+-------+--------+-----------+-------+--------++-----------+ | A |Onions | 2-3 | 8-9 |Spring | 8-9 | 4-7 || Runner | | | (6 rows) | | | Cabbage | | || Beans | | | | | | (4 rows) | | || | | |Parsnip | 3 | 10-3 | | | || | | | (1 row) | | | | | || | | |Salsify | 4 | 10-3 | | | || Early | | | (1 row) | | | | | || Potatoes | | |Carrots | 4 | 8-9 |Endive and | 8-9 | 11 || | | | (2 rows) | | | Chicory | | 11-2 || | | |Beet | 4 | 8-9 | | | || | | | (2 rows) | | | | | || | | |Celery | 6 | 10-3 | | | || | | | (2 double| | | | | || | | | rows) | | | | | || | | |Lettuce | | | | | || | | | (between)| | | | | || | +-----+-----------+-------+--------+-----------+-------+--------++-----------+ | B |Broad Beans| 12-3 | 6-7 |Turnip | 7 | 8-9 || Onions | | | (2 double| | | | | || | | | rows) | | |Couve | 7 | 11-1 || | | |Dwarf Peas | 2-3 | 6-7 | Tronchuda| | || | | | and | | | | | || | | |Spinach | | |Savoys | 7 | 11-12 || Parsnip | | | (between)| | | | | || Salsify | | | 2 rows | | |Broccoli | 7 | 3-4 || Carrots | | |Kidney | 4 | 7 | | | || Beet | | | Beans and| | |Chicory | 7-8 | 11-2 || | | |Lettuce | | | | | || | | | (1 row) | | |Late Spring| 7 | 4-5 || Celery | | |Dwarf Peas | 4 | 7 | Broccoli | | || | | | and | | | | | || | | |Lettuce | | |Endive | 8 | 10-11 || | | | (2 rows) | | | | | || | | |Peas | 5 | 7-8 |Leeks | 5 | 10-3 || | | | (2 rows) | | | | | || | | | Leeks | | | | | || | | | between | | |Lettuce | 8 | 9 || | +-----+-----------+-------+--------+-----------+-------+--------++-----------+ | C |Runner | 4 | 7-10 | | | ||Broad Beans| | | Beans | | | | | || | | | (1 row) | | | | | || | | |Early | 3 | 6-7 |Cauliflower| 5 | 9 || | | | Potatoes | | | (1 row) | | || | | | (7 rows) | | |Broccoli | 5 | 9-10 || Peas | | | | | | (1 row) | | || | | | | | |Brussels | 5 | 10-2 || | | | | | | Sprouts | | || | | | | | | (5 rows) | | || | +-----+-----------+-------+--------+-----------+-------+--------++-----------+

JANUARY

=Plot A.=--Contains kale, spring broccoli, and leeks, a six-foot breadth of ground where savoys and couve tronchuda stood must be cleared and trenched and heavily manured as early in the month as possible, as onions are to come here, a good dressing of lime and soot forked into the top spit will do good. Nothing more can be done in this plot during the month, beyond blanching chicory which still stands in it.

=Plot B.=--Contains Brussels sprouts; if not already done during December, the ground from which runner beans and cauliflower and broccoli came last autumn, must now be trenched and manured, and a dressing of superphosphate of lime, two ounces to the square yard, should be forked into the top spit. If the weather be propitious two double rows of broad beans may be sown across this ground now.

=Plot C.=--Contains spring cabbage, parsnips, salsify, and celery, probably a row or two of chicory also, and may be conveniently left for a month or six weeks until all but the first are cleared away.

=Permanent Crops.=--Seakale and rhubarb should have a few crowns of each covered up with fern or clean straw for blanching and to induce early growth.

FEBRUARY

=Plot A.=--If the onion bed was made last month, no further digging can be done here, but the onion ground must be prepared now, if the weather was impossible in January.

=Plot B.=--This is a good month to plant broad beans if they are not already in, but if the weather is bad leave them till March, there is no sense in setting beans to rot in sodden soil. The Brussels sprouts must now go, and as they and the early potatoes have pretty well exhausted the ground, and have well paid for their manure, trench the ground well, and give a good dose of manure and lime also; either as superphosphate, two ounces to the yard, or as lime pure and simple if it has not been given for a couple of years.

About the end of the month a sowing of dwarf peas may be made, if the weather be open. They should go thirty inches from the broad beans, and we know no better sort than the Little Marvel. Place eighteen-inch wire netting along the row at the time of sowing, and run a row of spinach fifteen inches on the hither side of the peas. Continue to blanch chicory.

=Plot C.=--By the middle of the month the crops still in this ground must be cleared away. The few roots of salsify and parsnip left should be stored in sand in a dry place, and the celery laid in in the open, where the cook can easily get to it. Immediately this is done the ground must be trenched and heavily manured, as it is to bear two exhausting crops without any further help. In addition we like to fork kainit into the top spit, an ounce to every square yard, and find that if done in February, this does not interfere with the early growth of the potatoes, but helps them and the Brussels sprouts very mightily later on.

=Frames.=--Make up the hotbed about the middle of the month.

=Seed Bed.=--Sow a little early lettuce, radishes, and if there be good conditions it may be worth while to sow early peas in the early border, besides spinach, at the beginning of the month.

=Permanent Crops.=--Cover more seakale, and finish putting pots or boxes over the rhubarb. Tidy up the asparagus, and give a top-dressing of five pounds kainit and fifteen pounds of superphosphate to a bed the size of that in the plan.

MARCH

=Plot A.=--Plant or sow the onions in rows a foot apart as early in the month as possible. As the kale and early spring broccoli are used clear them quickly off the ground, and trench a six-foot breadth of ground next the onions, one and a half spits deep only, being most careful not to bring any old manure up to the top spit. At the bottom of the trench put a small dressing of manure and a dusting of kainit, and fork it in before returning the earth. Towards the end of the month sow one row of parsnips next the onions; as parsnips are not in very great demand, this should be sufficient. Before sowing in this, and all, newly trenched ground, tread it well to consolidate it and make it firm, choosing a dry day for the purpose.

=Plot B.=--Two rows of early peas may be sown this month, one row sown as soon as the next earlier peeps through. The rows should be of Little Marvel or some similar dwarf and early kind, placed thirty inches asunder, and spinach should be sown between the rows.

If the broad beans are not in sow them at once.

=Plot C.=--Keep the ground hoed between the spring cabbage, and give them a slight sprinkle of nitrate of soda in showery weather.

Plant seven rows of early potatoes (such as May Queen) about the 20th, the rows should be about thirty inches apart, the potatoes a foot in the row.

=Permanent Crops.=--Earth up the rest of the seakale. Dig a slight dressing of old manure into the artichoke ground and replant.

=Frames.=--Sow tomatoes, leeks, Brussels sprouts, Autumn Giant cauliflower, autumn broccoli, lettuce (both dwarf and main crop), cucumber, vegetable marrow, mustard and cress, and if there is a frame to spare, sow forcing carrot, radish, and a sprinkle of forcing lettuce.

APRIL

=Plot A.=--Sow salsify, one row, and two rows each of beet and carrots; more can be sown of the last two if desired; these should all be a foot apart.

=Plot B.=--Sow one row of kidney beans about the middle of the month, sow dwarf second early peas (such as dwarf Marrow-fat) as soon as the previous sowing shows up, prick out lettuce between the rows, about thirty of a sort at a time.

=Plot C.=--Earth up the potatoes as they require it. Clear up the two middle rows of spring cabbage, and open out a trench in the way of a celery trench, fork in a handsome dressing of old manure and return the earth to within five inches of the level of the ground, in preparation for the Scarlet Runner beans.

=Frames.=--Sow celery early in the month. Sprouts, cauliflower, broccoli, and leeks should be pricked out into boxes and gradually hardened off. Plant out lettuce from the frames. Pot up tomatoes. Towards the end of the month plant a couple of cucumber plants out, one under each light of the frame. Repot vegetable marrows.

=Seed Bed.=--Sow winter and spring brassicas about the 7th. Make successions sowings of lettuce and radishes.

MAY

=Plot A.=--Keep weeded; thin the parsnips to six inches, the other roots to single plants.

=Plot B.=--Sow the two last rows of peas (such varieties as “Ne plus ultra” or Continuity) five feet apart, about ten days between the sowings, plant leeks out, between these rows in a shallow trench, with some old manure forked in at the bottom. Plant out more lettuce.

=Plot C.=--Earth up the potatoes early in the month for the last time, and the same day put out one row each of cauliflower and autumn broccoli between the rows, and five rows of Brussels sprouts, the plants should be thirty inches apart.

=Frames.=--Prick out and harden off celery. Repot tomatoes and vegetable marrows. The tomatoes should be now moved to the glass-roofed tool-shed, keep them near the glass, and put the strongest out in large pots or boxes to remain there.

=Seed Bed.=--Prick out the winter and spring brassicas, just a few plants more than will be required. Sow radish and lettuce.

=Permanent Crops.=--Thin out the seakale shoots.

JUNE

=Plot A.=--Finally thin carrots, salsify, and beet. The late Queen broccoli will now be done with, clear it off, and make two celery trenches eighteen inches wide at the top, and four feet apart, plant out double rows of celery in them and set lettuce between.

=Plot B.=--Clear spinach and lettuce away as they are done with.

=Plot C.=--Set stakes to the runner beans.

=Frames.=--Plant vegetable marrows out early in the month. Put the tomatoes out along fences or the edges of sunny paths about the 14th.

=Seed Bed.=--Sow chicory, lettuce, radish, and a pinch of endive.

JULY

=Plot A.=--Keep weeded, water celery, and look out for celery fly.

=Plot B.=--Clear off broad beans and early peas the moment they are done. Sow two rows of turnip, and put out couve tronchuda, savoy, kale, purple sprouting broccoli, early and late spring broccoli, as soon as room can be made for them. A row of chicory can either be sown or pricked out in this plot this month.

=Plot C.=--Dig the whole crop of potatoes without waiting for the haulm to die down, somewhere between the 10th and 20th, store the potatoes and tread the ground round the brassicas.

=Seed Bed.=--Plant out lettuce and sow more. Sow endive and chicory, and about the 24th sow flower of spring cabbage.

AUGUST

=Plot A.=--Towards the end of the month the onions may be ready to harvest; if so, get them up, also the carrots and beet, though the last may have to wait till September. Follow the onions with spring cabbage, and the carrots with chicory, planted out, and endive. The celery will probably be ready for a first slight earthing up.

=Plot B.=--Clear the latest peas away, and immediately follow them with endive, chicory, and lettuce from the seed bed. As soon as established give the lettuce a slight dressing of nitrate of soda, it makes all the difference to the quality of autumn lettuce; the endive also will be improved by similar treatment. If desired a sowing of turnips may be made here at this time.

=Plot C.=--Keep this plot and the rest of the ground clear of weeds; use the Dutch hoe.

=Seed Bed.=--Sow more spring cabbage, endive, and Tripoli onions.

SEPTEMBER

=Plot A.=--Harvest onions, carrots, and beet, if not already done. Follow the onions with spring cabbage, the roots with endive and chicory. Continue to earth up the celery, in many seasons the final earthing may be done by the end of this month.

=Plot B.=--Earth up the leeks with the hoe.

=Plot C.=--Keep this and the other plots well weeded.

=Frames.=--Fill one frame with lettuce and endive.

=Seed Bed.=--Prick out a few more dwarf lettuce and a few endive. Blanch endive, a few at a time.

OCTOBER

=Plot A.=--Finish earthing up all celery.

=Plot B.=--Keep weeded; blanch endive.

=Plot C.=--Keep weeded.

=Frames.=--Fill a second frame with endives.

NOVEMBER

Culture has now ceased for the growing crops, beyond keeping them weeded. Endive must be blanched, and the frames kept open as far as the weather will permit. Begin to blanch chicory, clean up rhubarb, seakale, and asparagus, and mulch the plants.

DECEMBER

=Plot B.=--The turnips will be off the ground, so will the couve tronchuda and savoys before the end of the month, if possible trench the onion bed for next season. Clean up all weedy corners. Continue to blanch chicory and endive.

This, or a slightly modified scheme, will be found to hold good for a smaller plot of ground, even in such a small plot as is sketched in Plan II the same methods will obtain. In this plan the asparagus has been sacrificed, so have artichokes, but the latter could be substituted for seakale, if desired. Beyond some cramping of the ground the plots will carry nearly as many, though shorter, rows as in the larger scheme. Possibly in Plot A the same number of rows could be grown by slightly contracting the space between the celery trenches, and by allowing only nine inches between the rows of root crops. This is perfectly sound practice if only care is taken to thin the plants so that those in adjacent rows do not come opposite each other, but opposite the centre of the intervals between their neighbours.

In Plot B one row of peas would have to be sacrificed, and in Plot C one row of potatoes and one of Brussels sprouts must go, but there will be plenty of vegetables for a family of four, and probably enough potatoes to last till Christmas.

This scheme of successive cropping will be found to be sound roughly south of the Trent, but for northern and colder districts it would have to be modified. With some modification as to the time of sowing, Plots A and C would broadly stand as arranged, but Plot B would have its times of sowing much later, the peas would have to be at least three feet six inches apart, to make room for the winter and spring greens, which would have to go out between the rows before the peas were off the ground, and it is probable that all brassicas for winter and early spring would be better sown in a cold frame.

But when all is said, this is only one of several possible schemes, and every gardener as he learns his subject will be able to adapt it to his special soil, climate, and household needs.

LITTLE KNOWN VEGETABLES.

_Extracts from a Lecture by W. F. Giles (of Messrs. Sutton & Sons, Reading)._

Although the English gardener could grow these vegetables as well as the French and German, many English cooks have probably never heard of some of these, for the simple reason that they are so seldom asked for, and therefore there is little opportunity of learning about them. Of course the first question usually asked is, “Can such be grown in England?” And we assure inquirers there is no difficulty at all in the cultivation. Many can be grown entirely in the open air, whilst those which require shelter do not need much heat. Vegetables now play a very important part in our everyday life, and during the past generation or two have been so much improved, that there is now a varied assortment at our disposal at all seasons of the year. It is somewhat remarkable however, that, considering the large number of different types which are suitable for cultivation in countries with a temperate climate, only a small proportion are commonly grown in all, some of the remainder being perhaps largely grown in one country, and practically unknown in another. Even in the commoner kinds of vegetables different nations have their peculiar fancies. For instance, take potatoes. In this country we prefer white-fleshed sorts, which will cook floury, whilst in France yellow-fleshed kinds, which have a close, waxy texture, are more generally liked. Again, practically every Englishman prefers the delicious marrow-fat peas with wrinkled seeds, but on the Continent the small rounded sorts are still very largely grown for the “petits pois,” although where the marrow-fats have been introduced they are much appreciated. In this country also scarlet runner beans are very much liked, but they are seldom, if ever, used in France, although acres of dwarf beans are grown, the small pods of which are served up whole. Then in cabbages, whilst we most appreciate the tender, conical-headed kinds, in America the coarser Drumhead or flat-headed types are almost exclusively grown in some parts, and on the Continent it is rarely served up at all as a vegetable. The American specially enjoys sweet corn or maize, squashes, and wax-pod beans; the German, kohl-rabi and celeriac; the Italian, his finocchio or Florence fennel; the Spaniard, his capsicums; whilst in France large quantities of globe artichokes, aubergine or egg plant, chicory, salsify, and other varieties are used, which are, however, not generally popular in the other countries referred to. Even amongst what are usually looked upon as English vegetables there are many types which are almost unknown to the public in general, although of course they are familiar to the majority of gardeners. Such as yellow tomatoes, custard marrows, asparagus kale, white sprouting broccoli, couve tronchuda, mercury (Good King Henry), spinach-beet, are a few examples, and I shall hope to include some of them in my remarks.

=Aubergine or Egg Plant.=--There are several types of fruit of the aubergine; some are quite white, and of the shape of an egg, but they are mostly only used for decoration or garnishing. The round and long fruited dark purple are those used for culinary purposes, and they may be cooked in several ways; the fruit may be stuffed with chopped meat, egg, mushroom, &c., and herbs, and baked.

=Bush Marrows (Tender and True).=--Generally speaking the majority of marrows are of a trailing habit, but there are several which are known as “Bush” marrows, and these throw out no runners at all. Where space is limited these Bush varieties are very useful, but naturally they will not keep up a supply like the trailing types, which produce fruit all along the vines. In some parts of Bedfordshire the long white and long green fruited Bush marrows are grown for market purposes, but the round fruited kind (Tender and True) are a newer introduction. This is a very prolific sort, producing several fruits at a joint, and if cut when young they make a very nice dish.

=Capsicum.=--This plant is closely allied to the chilli, and is grown in much the same way as the egg plant. There are various types of capsicums and chillis; the pods of some large kinds which are fleshy are used as vegetables in some countries, especially Spain and America. In the former country it is largely in demand, and although it was introduced into Naples by the Spaniards in the sixteenth century, its use in Italy has not spread very much farther. When the fruits are used as a vegetable they are picked green, and after the seeds have been taken out they are filled with a stuffing made of meat, herbs, bread and crumbs, and are then baked. They can also be partly boiled, and afterwards baked. The long narrow fruits which one often sees in pickles are forms of chilli, and sometimes the dried pods are ground for cayenne pepper. The real cayenne pepper, however, appears to be made from _Capsicum baccatum_ or bird pepper.

=Celeriac= is a form of celery in which the root has been developed instead of the leaf-stalk. It has been largely grown in Germany for a long time, and is there used both as salad and a cooked vegetable. It is grown in much the same way as celery, except it does not require to be put into trenches or earthed up. In the autumn the roots are ready for use; and abroad it is often the practice during growth to break off the lower leaves, which is supposed to induce better growth and size in the roots. To cook them the roots are peeled and quartered, and boiled till tender, and served up in the same way as beetroot, or they may be sliced raw, and fried in butter till nearly brown.

=Chicory= when blanched is largely used for salad, and is very wholesome; it is also cooked as a vegetable, in a similar manner to seakale.

=Chow-Chow or Chinese Cabbage.=--It has the appearance of the Cos lettuce. This vegetable is in season in the autumn or early winter. It requires no heat.

=Climbing French Beans.=--This type of plant grows almost or quite as late as the ordinary scarlet runner, but it has foliage like that of the dwarf French bean, and with the same kind of smooth pod. They can supply tender pods after the dwarf beans are over. There are several varieties of this class; one called the Earliest of All can be gathered as early as July, but probably Tender and True is the most useful if only one is grown, as this bears so abundantly. The pods should be cooked in the same way as dwarf beans.

=Couve Tronchuda or Portugal Cabbage= belongs to the Cabbage tribe, and is a plant in which the large midribs have been much developed. It is a delicious vegetable, quite easy to cultivate, and comes into use in the autumn and early winter; this plant has been highly praised by those who have tried it.

=Drumhead Kale.=--This is another type of kale not much known; instead of producing leafage or shoots like most kales, this forms a head, and it has large midribs, which are delicious when boiled; it partakes of the flavour of seakale. The cultivation is the same as for ordinary kales; this variety comes into use late in the autumn.

=Finocchio or Florence Fennel= is one of the favourite dishes of the Italians, and around Naples it is grown by the acre. Generally speaking, the plant has a slight resemblance to celery, and is used in much the same way; the flavour, however, is sweeter than celery; in fact it has a little taste of aniseed about it. This finocchio differs from the fennel largely used for fish sauce, &c., and is eaten raw as a salad, or cooked and served in the same way as is usual with celery.