FOREIGN NOTICES. 



529 



supposes its native country to be Corea, or the north 

 of China. It is a shrub of from 6 to 9 feet high, 

 and has upright, close, bushy, slender branches, 

 which are covered with a smooth, ash-coloured bark, 

 that detaches itself at a later period in thin scales. 

 The leaves are oval, or ovate-ellipticj rounded at 

 their base, obtuse or a little acute at their apex, 

 downy beneath, denticulated at the edge. The 

 flowers, wiiieh grow^ by threes or sixes, cover the 

 whole length of the branches, are as white as snow, 

 and very double, inconsequence of a complete abor- 

 tion of their stamens. Their shape is exactly like 

 that of the Ranunculus aconitifolius, with double 

 flowers, and their number and arrangement, togeth- 

 er with a light and elegant bright green foliage, 

 render this plant a charming addition to the shrubs 

 which grow in the open air. — Ch. L. For the ac- 

 companying woodcut we are indebted to Mr. Van 

 Houtte, of Ghent, who has a large stock of this 

 plant for sale. — Gard. Chron. 



Manzanilla Wine. — " In Andalucia it was no 

 less easy for the Moor to entourage the use of wa- 

 ter as a beverage, than to prohibit that of wine, 

 which, if endued with strength, which sherry is, 

 must destroy health when taken largely and habitu- 

 ally, as is occasionally found out at Gibraltar. — 

 Hence the natives of Xerez themselves infinitely 

 prefer a light wine called Manzanilla, which is made 

 near San Lucar, and is at once much weaker and 

 cheaper than sherry. The grape from whence it is 

 produced grows on a poor and sandy soil. The vin- 

 tage is very early, as tiie fruit is gathered before it 

 is quite ripe. The wine is of a delicate pale straw 

 colour, and is extremely wholesome; it strengthens 

 the stomach, without heating or inebriating, like 

 sherry. All classes are passionately fond of it, 

 since the want of alcohol enables them to drink 

 more of it than of stronger beverages, while the dry 

 quality acts as a tonic during the relaxing heats. — 

 It may be compare 1 to the ancient Lesbian, 

 which Horace quaffed so plentifully in the cool 

 shade, and then described as never doing harm. — 

 The men employed in the sherry wine vaults, and 

 who have therefore that drink at their command, 

 seldom touch it, but invariably, when their work is 

 done, go to the neighboring shop to refresh them- 

 selves with a glass of 'innocent' Manzanilla. Among 

 their betters, clubs are formed solely to drink it, and 

 with ice water and a cigar it transports the consu- 

 mer into a Moslem's dream of paradise. It tastes 

 better from the cask than out ot the bottle, and im- 

 proves as the cask gets low. 



" The origin of the name has been disputed: 

 some who prefer sound to sense derive it from Man- 

 zana, an apjile, which, had it been cider, might have 

 passed; others connect it with the distant town of 

 Mansanilla on the opposite side of the river, where 

 it is neither made nor drunk. The real etymology 

 is to be found in its strikinir resemblance to the bit- 

 ter flavour of the flowers of Chamomile (7/)rt7ican?7/a) 

 which are used by our doctors to make a medicinal 

 tea, and by those of Spain for fomentations. Tiiis 

 flavour in the wine is so marked as to be at first 

 quite disagreeable to strangers. If its eulogistic 

 consumers are to be believed, the wine surpasses 

 the tea in hygeian qualities: none, say they, who 



67 



drink it are troubled with gravel, stone, or gout. Cer- 

 tainly, it is eminently free from acidity. The very 

 best Manzanilla is to be had in London of Messrs. 

 Gorman. No. 16 Mark Lane. Since ' Drink it, ye 

 dyspeptics.' was enjoined last year in the ' Hand- 

 book,' the importation of this wine to England, 

 wliicli previously did not exceed ten butts, has in 

 twelve sh'irt months overpassed two hundred; a 

 compliment delicate as it is practical, which is ac- 

 knowledged by the author — a drinker thereof — with 

 most profound gratitude. 



" By the way. the real thing to eat with Man- 

 zanilla is the alpistera. Make it thus: — To one 

 pound of fine flour (mind that it is dry) add half a 

 pound of double refined, well-sifted, pounded white 

 sugar, the yolks and whites of four very fresh eggs, 

 well beaten together; work up the mixture into a 

 paste; roll it out very thin; divide it into squares about 

 half the size of this page; cut it into strips, so that 

 the paste should look like a hand with fingers; then 

 dislocate the strips, then dip them into hot melted 

 fine lard, until of a delicate pale brown; the more 

 the strips are curled up and twisted the better; the 

 alpistera should look like bunches of ribbons; pow- 

 der them over with fine white sugar. They are 

 then as pretty as nice. It is not easy to make them 

 well; but the gods grant no excellence to mortals 

 without much labor and thought. So Venus, the 

 goddess of grace, was allied to hard-working Vul- 

 can, who toiled and pondered at his fire, as 

 every cook who has an aspiring soul has ever done. 

 — Ford's Gatherings from Spain." 



Italian Asparagus Growing. — We have so 

 often occupied the attention of our readers with 

 the subject of Asparag-us, that it would seem that 

 little remains to be saitl. It is, however, too ex- 

 cellent a vegetable, and its good qualities are so 

 much impaired by the common mode of cooking 

 it, that for ourselves, at least, every new fact con- 

 nected with it, is interesting. We therefore make 

 no scruple about mentioning the following meth- 

 od of growing asparagus at Nice, of which we 

 have just Iieard a high account, but of which we 

 have no personal knowledge. Now is the season 

 for trying the experiment, and we trust that some 

 of Our correspondents will put it in practice. 



Take a quart wine bottle, such as French wine is 

 sold in; invert it over the head of an aspara- 

 gus shoot, just, rising above ground, anil secure it 

 by tliree sticks, so that it cannot be knicked over. 

 If left in this state, tlie asparagus will grow up 

 into the interior of the bottle, and being stimula- 

 ted by the unusual heat and moisture it is there ex- 

 posed to, will speedily fill it. As soon as this has 

 taken place, the bottle must be broken, and the 

 asparagus renjoved, when it will be found to have 

 formed a thick head of tender delicate shoots, all 

 eatable, and as compact as a cauliflower. — Gard. 

 Chron. 



Frozen Roots. — Trees may be transplanted, 

 generally, from the month of October, until early 

 in tlie spring. Now, it often happens that those dis- 

 patclied during the winter months are touched by 

 the frost, and the roots are found to be injured, in 

 spite of the care taken in packing. For this diflS- 



