THE CANADIAN llOlll ICUl/lUKIS T. 



285 



roumlings. Where the canon broadens 

 out into a little garden-like expansion, 

 it loves to take possession of the gravelly 

 bottoms on either side of the stream, 

 where it grows to the exclusion of al- 

 most everything else. The suri-oiind- 

 ing cliffs, covered with vines and ferns, 

 form a rich setting for the garden be- 

 neath. 



In the flower garden it would doubt- 

 less admit of great improvement, as 

 even at home its appearance varies 

 greatly with soil and altitude. As it 

 is accustomed in tl»e Sierra Madre to 

 severe cold and very sudden and fre- 

 quent changes, it would probably 

 prove nearly, if not quite, hardy in 

 this latitude. It should be grown in a 

 light, rich, well-drained soil, with an 

 abundance of water, especially about 

 the time of flowering. During winter 

 it should be well covered with mulch, 

 or be placed in a frame. — H. H. 

 RusHBY, ill The Garden. 



BURNING COAL-TAR TO KEEP OFF 

 THE FROST. 



Only two seasons in twenty years 

 have grapes frozen in my vineyard pre- 

 vious to the 20th of October. The 

 nights of the 4th and fith just passed 

 were one of the exceptions. With the 

 thermometer at '24° in the morning, 

 strong measures are needful for protec- 

 tion. My vines, bearing four tons of 

 grapes to the acre, were uninjured the 

 tirst night by the protection given from 

 fires kept burning throughout the night. 

 Having part of a barrel of coal-tar on 

 hand, I found it of more service and 

 less expensive than wood. Hereafter 

 I shall be provided with a few barrels 

 of it when frosts are expected, also 

 some brush or combustible material at 

 the edge of the field to be [)rotected. 

 The application of coal-tar is easy and 

 produces the slow combustion needful. 

 Coal-tar is so much more effectual and 

 cheaper than wood, while more conveni- 



ent for use during the night, that it 

 often may be available when other fuel 

 could not or would not be ])rocured. 

 What grapes were on the vines on the 

 night of the 5th and unprotected by 

 tires were completely frozen to the 

 centre, although the thermometer regis- 

 tered the same degree of cold as the 

 previous night. — J. H. Dickehman, 

 yew Haven County, Ct., in N. E, 

 HomestPAvd. 



DRYING TOMATOES. 

 In Italy an extensive business is car- 

 ried on in drying tomatoes to use dur- 

 ing those portions of the yeai- when the 

 ripe fruit cannot be obtained. Toma- 

 toes are raised, for the most part, be- 

 tween rows of grape vines, so that the 

 land of their culture costs nothing. 

 Sometimes the tomato vines are trained 

 on the lower bars of a trellis, to which 

 the grapes are attached. The tomatoes 

 are allowed to remain on the branches 

 until they are quite ripe, when they 

 are picked and pressed in bags made of 

 coarse cloth, which allows the pulp to 

 pass through, but which retains the 

 seeds and skins. The pulj) is then 

 thinly spread out on cloth, boards, or 

 in shallow dishes, and exposed to the 

 sun to dry. When it has become quite 

 (hy it is broken up tine, or ground, and 

 put into boxes or bags and sent to 

 market. A large part of it is used for 

 making soups, but considerable of it is 

 employed as we do tomatoes that are 

 preserved in tin or glass cans. It is 

 soaked for a few hours in warm water, 

 and then cooked in the ordinary man- 

 ner. Large quantities are wanted for 

 home consumption, and considerable is 

 exported. This would seem to be a 

 profitable industry to engage in in this 

 country. The pulp of tomatoes could 

 be dried to good advantage in any of 

 the styles of apjxaratus employed for 

 drying apples, peaches, and small fruits. 

 — Rural Record. 



