FOREIGN NOTICES. 



is'closed over with sealing-wax, and the bunches are taken to a dry and dark room, where 

 they are suspended from the ceiling on rods which are placed across the room, and ou tem- 

 porary tressels : the bunches must on no account touch each other, and will require look- 

 ing over once in a week, to remove any berries which may happen to get mouldy among them. 

 Mr. Sandars informed us he has practised this for years, and keeps the grapes without 

 shrivelling, and in very good condition for the table, until the beginning of March, by 

 which time the early forced grapes are ripe. There can be no doubt that after grapes are 

 once ripe they will keep better when cut in the manner described and hung in a dry dark 

 room where a uniform temperature of something like 40° can be maintained, than when 

 allowed to remain on the vines. The great drawback to keeping grapes through the 

 winter is damp and the action of the sun's rays, which, by exciting a circulation in the sap 

 of the vines, tends to produce decay in the ripe fruit. We were ourselves forcibly reminded 

 of this at the end of last February with a house of the St. Peter's. The mild warm weather 

 of that month put the sap in motion, and we found it even exude from the berries, which 

 rapidly decayed in consequence. Now had these grapes been cut previously, and kept 

 according to the plan of Mr. Sandars, this would not have happened, and the grapes would, 

 we doubt not, have kept till the end of March. The economy of the system must be obvi- 

 ous to all ; the expense of firing houses with retarded grapes is great, particularly in wet 

 weather, as air must be given largely at the same time, and this expense is increased when, 

 as often is the case, only a few grapes are left, as they are just the same trouble. We need 

 not say, as an additional recommendation, that when the fruit is cut the house can be 

 used for a variety of purposes, which would be impossible when it contained the fruit. As 

 the best plan for fruit rooms is now often discussed, we hope a dry compartment for the 

 above and other similar purposes will be connected with it, as one of the most useful garden 

 structures which could be built where fruit has to be kept, and which no good garden should 

 be without." 



DwAKF Dahlias. — Dwarf Dahlias may be produced by bending down the stems while 

 young, and keeping them in the required position with pegs. When cultivated in this 

 manner, they grow into large masses, and produce a fine effect ; at the same time, they can 

 be conveniently covered during the early autumn frosts, and their beauty retained for a 

 much longer period. 



Condensed Egg, — A process has been devised for drying eggs, so that they will keep good 

 for any length of time. This is effected by evaporation. The yolk and white of the egg 

 are exposed to a slow heat, and the moisture is thus driven off. The whole is then reduced 

 to powder, and packed up in tins. The material is not necessarily kept air-tight, but may 

 be freely exposed to the air. The powder is used in the ordinary way as eggs are, being 

 mixed with a little water, and is thus an excellent substitute for milk on long voyages, 

 besides capable of being used for all cooking purposes in the same way as the fresh egg. 

 Tlie powder will keep any length of time without fear of deterioration. 



