338 THE FARMER AT HOME. 



large pot of cold water, as much rye flour as will make thin dough ; 

 this is then placed in an oven moderately heated, for three hours, and 

 afterwards taken out and thrown into a tub of cold water ; the mix- 

 ture is worked with a machine like a chocolate mill, till it froths. To 

 this liquor is added two basins of the grounds of old quass, leaven or 

 a piece of their sour bread ; and the tub is covered with cloth, and 

 laid by till the liquor has acquired a sourish taste, which marks its 

 being ready for use. 



Q,UINCE. A low, tortuous tree, named after the ancient town 

 of Cydon, in Crete, from which place it was said to have been intro- 

 duced into the other parts of Europe ; but it appears to grow wild in 

 Western Asia, and some of the neighboring parts of Europe. It is 

 now cultivated throughout Europe, and in many parts of the United 

 States, for the sake of its fruit, which, though hard and austere when 

 plucked from the tree, becomes excellent when boiled and eaten with 

 sugar, or preserved in syrup, or made into marmalade. Quinces, when 

 mixed with other fruit, in cookery, communicate a very pleasant flavor ; 

 and a delicious wine may be made from their juice, mixed with sugar 

 in the proportion of one quart to the pound, and fermented. The 

 leaves of the quince tree are simple, alternate, and entire ; the flowers 

 are large, white, sometimes with a blush of rose, and are solitary at 

 the extremity of the young branches, and the fruit is somewhat pear- 

 shaped, yellowish, and cottony, internally containing five cartilaginous 

 cells, in each of which the seeds are arranged in two series, to the 

 number of eight and upwards, and covered with a mucilaginous sub- 

 stance. The character of the numerous seeds is the principal circum- 

 stance in its structure, which distinguishes the quince from the apple 

 and pear. The quince succeeds best in a light soil ; if it be too rich, 

 the fruit becoms insipid, and if too dry, it remains small and coria- 

 ceous. 



RADISH. A well known esculent root, universally cultivated in 

 temperate climates, and in daily use. Several varieties have been 

 produced by long cultivation, differing in the form, size, and color of 

 the roots ; either turbinate or round, spindle-shaped ; annual or bien- 

 nial ; white, red, violet, or blackish, externally, but always white 

 within. The taste is more or less pungent in these different varieties ; 

 but they are good only when young, becoming hard, woody, and hollow, 

 with age. The radi&h requires a deep, loose soil to attain perfection, 

 and it may be produced successively throughout the year, by sowing 

 monthly. It is of easy culture, but, during extreme heats, frequent 

 irrigation is necessary, which renders the roots more mild and tender. 

 The seed will keep five or six years. The stem of the radish is herba- 

 ceous, upright, two or three feet high, and rough, with short hairs. 

 The leaves are alternate, the superior ones simple arid sessile, the in- 

 ferior lyrate, divided into cval or rounded lobes, toothed on the margin, 

 with the terminal lobe much the largest. The flowers are white or 



