FOREIGN NOTICES. 



nairoti constitutions, it is invaluable. In April nnd Miiy, late potatoes shonld 

 always be peeled some ten or twelve hours, and steei)ed in cold spriuf? water 

 before they are cooked. This is a great improvement ; it makes the potato 

 nearly as good as those dug in October. The proper way to make a cu]) of good 

 tea, is a matter of some importance. The plan wliieh I have practised for these 

 twelve months is this: The tea-pot is at once tilled up with boiling water; then 

 the tea is put into the pot, and is allowed to stand for five minutes l)efore it is 

 used ; the leaves gradually absorb the water, and as gradually sink to the bottom. 

 The result is, that the tea leaves are not scalded, as they are when boiling water 

 is poured over them, and you get all the true llavor of the tea. In truth, much 

 less tea is re(iuired iu this way than under the old and common practice. — James 

 Cuthill, London. 



Mr. Bateman's idea — doubtless the oidy one — of a ])inetum is a most irregular 

 series of groups of the same or kindred species of conifers ; and he has placed 

 them on mounds, for the double purpose of rendering these groups more pictur- 

 esque, and of bringing the beautiful forms of many of the sorts between the spec- 

 tator and the sky, witliout any intervening background. The great variety in the 

 shape and height of the mounds, likewise affords the best facilities for securing the 

 precise amount of exposure, shelter, shade, moisture, or dryness, which any par- 

 ticular species may demand. And the carpet of Heather, by its color, and by its 

 naturalness, seems to transfer the plants at once, in appearance, to their native 

 hills, while, unlike bare earth or grass, it requires no labor or attention whatever 

 to preserve it in good order. 



Comparatively recent as is the formation of this pinetum, and though the plants 

 are none of them much more than ten or twelve feet high, the difl'erence between 

 the system of groui)ing here pursued, and the common method of spotting about 

 the plants at comparatively regular intervals on a flat surface, is most conspicuous 

 and satisfying. Nothing of the kind could be more beautiful than the groups of 

 deodars and araucarias (at least a dozen plants in each grouj)) which burst into 

 view as the pinetum walk is entered. Occupying a slope to the west, and assum- 

 ing the greatest diversity of character, with some of them standing out clear against 

 the sky,'and others (especially the deodars) being backed up by the mounds them- 

 selves, or by yew-trees planted behind them, they present themselves, even to 

 those most conversant with their forms, in many novel aspects and combinations. 

 So striking, indeed, is the difference of habit which the araucarias assume, that 

 some fanciful name, indicative of their character, has been applied to each indi- 

 vidual i)lant. — Cottage Gardener. 



Melons in Persia are treated with the greatest attention. In the best gardens, 

 they are placed on tiles, and turned round several times a day, in order that each 

 side may rijien equally in the heat of the sun. The result is, that they jirobably 

 excel in flavor any melons in the world. They are esteemed a great delicacy in 

 Persia, and are sent as presents not only to the cities of the interior, but even to 

 Bagdad and the holy places of Kerbela and Nedjef in Arabia. Unlike the Turks, 

 who dine from off a circular tray raised upon a stool, and upon which one dish 

 at a time is served, the Persians place all their dishes together upon a cloth 

 spread over the floor. Those who eat crouch around upon their hams (a position 

 particularly disagreeable and inconvenient), painful, at all times, to Europeans 

 with tight " continuations," but unbearably so when accompanied by the process 

 of lifting rice with one's fingers to one's mouth. At great festivals, the floor of 

 room is frequently covered with dishes, and the servants thread their 



