12 THE GARDENING YEAR 



and ruts, hence the necessity in olden days of 

 having teams of oxen to draw the chariots of the 

 great people, which no doubt plodded but slowly 

 towards Laughton Tower, leaving only traces of 

 hoofs and wheels for those who come after. 



But enough of past days. Like the French 

 peasant, we should make a study of thrift, learning 

 to prepare for all emergencies ; and thus even the 

 wild fruit of the hedgerows, the blackberry, could 

 be turned to useful account. Especially is this 

 the case in a year when apples are so plentiful that 

 they are barely accepted gratefully as a gift and 

 cannot all find room on the shelves in the fruit 

 house. There is nothing more delicious than 

 blackberry-and-apple jam, and the advantage of 

 this mixture is that the blackberries help to keep 

 the jam, as apples if boiled alone and bottled would 

 not last without the berries. For the assistance 

 of the good housewife, I give the following recipe, 

 which I have myself found useful : 



11 To every pound of blackberries put i lb. of 

 apples peeled and cored and i lb. of sugar when 

 it comes to the boil. It should boil for one hour. 

 Leave it at the side of the stove some time to get 

 hot gradually before the final boiling-up." 



It is certain that the Great War will teach much 

 to the people of our land, and amongst many other 

 industries a greater impetus will be given to jam- 

 making and fruit-preserving. It is to be hoped 

 that vegetable-bottling, which hitherto has re- 

 mained so largely in German hands, will be more 

 extensively carried out in England. 



For many years, those who have endeavoured 



