IRISH GARDENING. 



141 



Reviews 



The Food Producing Garden.* 



The writer of this work lias made one out' 

 standing error — he has vainly attempted to cover 

 an enormous amount of ground in an impossibly 

 small amount of space. Noi. counting the Index, 

 the book runs to 94 pages, and deals with fruit 

 and vegetable growing, ))eekeeping, poultry, 

 ducks, rabbits, pigs and goats. As a result we 

 get a smattering of knowledge on these and 

 kindred topics, but many of the points which 

 puzzle amateurs have had to be left untreated. 

 Why has the book been spoilt in this way ? 

 That is a question we should like to put to the 

 author. A useful chapter is given on The Allot- 

 ment, but to attempt to give all the essential facts 

 connected with vegetables in a seven-page 

 chapter on The Vegetable Garden is obviously 

 foolish and childish. What there is of the book 

 is fairly well written, thoixgh there is room for 

 improvement here. Why is the author so 

 foolishly fond of italics, we wonder ? There are 

 lumdreds of italicised words in the book which 

 are quite unnecessary, and these serve to spoil 

 the book to a great extent. 



Fruit Bottling and Preserving.! 



This excellent httle book by Mrs. Beckett, wife 

 of the well known head gardener at Aldenham 

 House, contains much useful information on the 

 preserving of surplus fruit, and will appeal to a 

 wide circle of readers. The directions are given 

 in homely simple langviage, such as anyone can 

 understand, yet one has a feeling that ]Mrs. 

 Beckett understands the various operations 

 thoroughly. Although lacking in any scientific 

 pretensions there is every evidence that the 

 authoress has been successful with many different 

 kinds of fruits, and we have no doubt that if her 

 instrvictions are carefully followed out success 

 \\ill attend the efforts of others. 



Journal of the Royal Horticultural 

 Society, t 



Volume XLIII., Part I., is now to hand, and 

 contains numeroiis articles and reports of great 

 interest to gardeners and many others at the 

 present time. The R. H. S. rightly attaches 

 much importance to food production and gives 

 prominence in the present volume to articles 

 dealing with this subject. That by Mr. Edwin 

 Beckett, an expert cviltivator, contains nnich 

 information and many useful hints. Mr. Beckett 

 believes in thorough cultivation of the ground, 

 and in this we agree with him, as where deep 



* •' The Food Producing Garden." By Harry 

 A. Day. Methuen & Co., Ltd., London. 1918. 

 Price 2s. net. 



t " Country Life," Ltd., 20 Tavistock Street 

 Covent Garden, W.C.2, and Geo. Newnes, Ltd. 

 8-11 Southampton Street, Strand, W.C.2. 



t Sold by W. Wesley & Sons, 28 Essex Street, 

 Strand, London, W.C. 



cultivation is constantly practised less is heard 

 about want of manure, both natural and artificial. 



Increasing the Home Food Supply is ably 

 dealt with by Mr. E. A. Bunyard, who naturally 

 confines himself to fruit growing and gives many 

 helpful hints on manuring, varieties, gathering, 

 storing, &c. 



Other interesting articles are The Herbaceous 

 Border, by John Dickson ; Snowdrops, by E. A. 

 Bowles, M.A. ; Delphiniums, by A. Perry ; Hardy 

 Border Carnations, by J. Douglas ; and A Year 

 in a Garden in N.W. Scotland, by O. Mackenzie — 

 the latter is full of interest and information from 

 start to finish, and will be a revelation to many 

 who have a hazy idea that Scotland is somewhere 

 in the Arctic regions. Mr. J. K. Ramsbottom 

 writes on the Narcissus Disease, on which he has 

 spent much time with good results. 



The whole volume is full of useful matter. 

 The price to those who are not Fellows of the 

 Society is 7s. (M. 



Canning and Bottling of Fruits and 

 Vegetables.* 



This excellent book would be welcome at any 

 time, and is doubly so in the presentcritical state 

 of our food supply. Too little attention has been 

 paid in the past to the preserving of fruits and 

 vegetables for use in the winter and spring. 

 Thousands of people are expert in the making of 

 jam at home when sugar is available, but com- 

 paratively few know anything of canning and 

 bottling without sugar. Dr. Goodricli has studied 

 the subject thoroughly and brings to bear on it a 

 training in science without which no author could 

 hope to produce a reliable book giving instruc- 

 tions in simple language such as the best educated 

 people always use. The secret of successful 

 preserving lies in destroying and excluding harm- 

 ful bacteria ; the methods to employ are best 

 understood by a trained biologist, and Dr. 

 Goodrich has succeeded in setting forth her 

 instructions in such a way that the housewife, as 

 well as the large manufacturer, can readily follow 

 her. 



Sterilization by heat includes — apparatus re- 

 quired, preparation of produce, methods of 

 bottling and canning, causes of failure, etc. 

 Other methods of preserving are ably dealt with 

 in Chapter IV., while suitable methods for special 

 fruits and vegetables are given in Chapter V. 



On page 28 is given a chart showing at a glance 

 the products to be canned, preparation and time 

 for cooking at 212^ Fahrenheit. 



Dr. Frederick Keeble, Controller of Horti- 

 culture, contributes an Introduction and pays a 

 well deserved tribute to Dr. Goodrich's work in 

 tx'aining people in the art of food preserving. 



We heartily commend this useful book to the 

 notice of our readers, many of whom are in an 

 excellent position to as.sist in the conservation of 

 fruits and vegetables and only lack simple 

 directions as to methods and apparatus required. 

 It is our conviction that the issue of this little 

 volume will be the means of inducing many 

 people to adopt canning and bottling and to 

 continue the practice long after the war is over. 



"Canning and Bottliug of Fruit and Vege- 

 tables." By Dr. Helen Goodrich, D.Sc. Published 

 by Messrs. Longmans. Green & Co., .39 Paternoster 

 Row, London, E.C.4. Price 2s. 



