IRISH GARDENING 



23 



and keep down weeds. Dui'ing inclement weathev 

 prepare stakes so that, no time may be lost when 

 they are wanted, and as soon as the plants have 

 made some growth put in the stakes, as it is 

 impei-ativo to get this done (^arly. If the plants 

 are allowed to get lanky and falling abont, tlie 

 work takes twice as long and never looks so well. 

 I am afraid that many amateurs look upon such 

 advice as so miich ideal " talk " to be listened to 

 in a condescending kind of way, but the profes- 

 sional gardener wlio lias to get through an 

 enormous amount of woik with a very small staff 

 know s the value of taking time by the forelock ; he 

 would never succeed otherwise. 



Alpines. — At the time of writing the rockery is 

 covered with snow, and frost prevails, rendering 

 work in this department impossible. It will not 

 last forever though, and perhaps by the time 

 these lines are in print will liave vanished. It is 

 necessary to have a stock of topdressing material 

 ready for immediate use now, for 

 with the disappearance of the 

 snow and frost much w ovk 

 will be revealed, many small 

 plants wall be found raised almost 

 out of the ground and others 

 will be found very bare of soil. 

 The loose ones must be safeh' 

 pressed into the soil again, and 

 a nice gritty topdressing will be 

 appreciated by all. Any portions 

 devoted to peat -loving plants 

 will benefit by a topdressing of 

 fine peat with which may be 

 mixed a little w-ell - decayed 

 manure for the gross feeders. 

 • A watchful eye must be kept 

 for slugs, wdio will be on the lools 

 out for tender young growths 

 appearing and also for the flowers 

 of such things as Adonises, Saxi- 

 fragas, &:c. Assiduous collecting 

 is really the best nieans of rid- 

 ding the rockery of slugs, but 

 useful deterrents are soot and 

 lime scattered around choice 

 plants, also tobacco powder and even sharp 

 sand or ashes. Pi.antsmax. 



ih) 



I'/iutu bil\ 

 FlIUITIXG BliANC 

 RELIGIOSUM 



Economy in using Potatoes. 



In view of the high price of potatoes and the 

 small crops produced in many parts of the 

 coimtry, it is essential that all consumeis should 

 practice strict economy in their use. Apart 

 froiu the question of eating few^er potatoes, very 

 considerable economy may be effected by careful, 

 intelligent cooking. Let us consider for a moment 

 the construction of the i^otato. Investigation 

 has shown that the potato is made up approxi- 

 mately as follows : — 



per cent. 

 2 ^ 



n.of port 



89.0 



dible 

 ion. 



(1) Skin 



(2) Layer next to skin 



(3 ) Flesh 

 The edible portion contains about 75 per cent. 



of water, so that only about 2,5 per cent, is of 

 direct value as food, l-urther, the richest part 

 of the potato is that next the skin. 



Trial has shown that the most common method 

 of cooking potatoes — paring and then boiling 

 after placing the pared tubers in cold w^ater — is 



the most wasteful method practised. This is so 

 for three reasons : — 



(a) Not only the skin, but the surface layer 

 and perhaps 10 per cent, of the " flesh." 

 are removed by thick paring, partly 

 owing to deeply-snnk eyes and surface 

 irregularities : tlae total loss may, indeed, 

 amount to as much as 20 per cent, of 

 tlie whole tuber — or 1 tb. in every 5 lb. 

 The surface layers, wdiich are wasted, 

 contain a larger percentage of solids 

 than the remainder : and 

 (c) The subsequent boiling dissolves oiit 

 soluble ingredients of tlie potato, and 

 also breaks down the surface into the 

 water — which is throwni away. 

 Experiments on the subject showed that pared 

 potatoes put into cold water and boiled lost 15.8 

 per cent, of their protein or flesh-forming sub- 

 stances, 18.8 per cent, of their ash or mineral 

 matter, and some 3 per cent, of 

 tlieir carbohydrates or starch. 

 Plunged at once after paring 

 into boiling water and boiled 

 they lost 8.2 per cent, of their 

 protein, about 18 per cent, of 

 their ash and a small amount of 

 their starch. 



On the other hand, when boiled 

 in their jackets ^ potatoes lost only 

 1 per cent, of their protein, a 

 little over 3 per cent, of their ash, 

 and practically none of their 

 starch, whether plunged in cold 

 or hot water at the sta"t. 



It is clear, therefore, that if 

 pared potatoes are placed direct 

 in l)oiling water the loss in boiling 

 is very much reduced conipared 

 with the usual method — placing 

 in cold water: steaming instead 

 of l)oiling also reduces the loss ; 

 i/i' 1/ P I! ck while boiling or steaming" in their 

 T ' jackets reduces all losses to a 



HOFiLLiciiM luinimum — both the "boiling 

 (see p. -.1) losse^'" and the primary 20 per 



cent, loss due to paring are almost wholly 

 avoided. 



^^'hen potatoes are partially diseased they must 

 of course be pared in order to remove the affected 

 parts. 



Considering the facts already outlined, the 

 following points may be taken as maxims in 

 economisijig potatoes : — 



(1) In cooking for the table potatoes should be 

 boiled or steamed in their jackets : this will reduce 

 the loss to a minimum. To facilitate the escape 

 of steam and prevent the cooked potatoes from 

 becoming " stodgy " it is useful to make a cut 

 in the skin of the tubers at each end. 



(2) In baking potatoes slow cooking is desir- 

 able, so that the skin does not " bake on " to the 

 " flesh," and so cause loss. The skin should be 

 pricked or cut before baking to permit the escape 

 of steam. Proper baking of potatoes involves 

 little if any greater loss than boiling in their 

 jackets. 



(3) If because of injuries to the surface, or for 

 any other reason, potatoes must be pared, they 

 should be cooked by steaming, or by cooking in 

 the smallest possible quantity of water, which 

 should be boiling wdien the potatoes are put in. 

 The water should be used as a basis for soups, for 



