184 Memoirs of the Caledonian Horticultnral Society/. 



dom. The keg must be hermetically secured, to exclude the 

 air ; and must not be too large, as, the sooner used alter being 

 opened, the finer are the cucumbers. 



PrcsoTiug CuUnari) l^c<ictahlcs i/nough the IVintcr. — Cab- 

 bages are preserved in the gardens (set close together, to save 

 room), by building a roof over them of old boards, covering 

 them witli the old dung of the hot-beds, or the cleanings of 

 the fi;«»i'dens, and then shovellinir over all the eai'th from the 

 adjacent beds. If the ground is dry, and it is })ossible to dig 

 downwards, the house (if so I may call it) will be warmer ; 

 but the best situation is the brow of a hillock. Two tubes or 

 chimneys are adapted to let out the confined air, when it thaws, 

 or towards spring. Leeks, celery, in short all similar vege- 

 tables, may be jireserved in the same way. The chimney 

 must be stuffed up when it freezes. 



The following is the mode of preserving French beans, 

 parsley, celery leaves, and spinach, through the winter : — 

 Gather the leaves or beans without washing them ; jnit 

 them into a barrel without a head, alternate layers of vege- 

 tables and salt. Then put a board uj)on the vegetables, and 

 a weight upon the board, which will now be covered with the 

 juice of the vegetables. When wanted for use, take out the 

 quantity required, and wash it carefully, retaining the board 

 and weight. Tiie best weight is a clean water-worn stone, 

 tolerably heavy. The watery juice toward the board excludes 

 tlie action of the air, and prevents putrefaction. 



Parsley, celery, and spinacii leaves, carefully diied and kept 

 from moisture, are excellent for soups, isLC. 



61. On the Kinds of Grape Vine best suitcdjbr Hot house Walls in 



Scotland. Read Nov. 2. 1 827. 



Mr. Shields reconunends the White Muscadine and Black 

 Hamburgh, and, next to these, the early July Black Cluster, 

 for a fined wall. A medal was awarded I'or the specimens of 

 fruit sent. 



62. On the Use of Hop Tops as a Ctd/nan/ I'ffrctablc, and an 

 Account of different Modes of dressing; (iourds for the Table. 



By Mr. Lewis Pccleraiia, Ihiiyburloii House. Jltad Sept. 18. 

 1 828. 



The hop forms an excellent substitute for asparagus, and 

 the tops may be had the whole year round. " Hop tops also- 

 form an admirable ingredient for a variety of dishes, sucli as 

 soups, omlets, i>cc. Long experience in the practice t»f cookery, 

 both in this and in n)y native country, foi- uj)wards of forty 

 years, niakes me bold in reconnnending hop tops. 1 was for 

 some time in the kitchen of the king of Sardinia, where the 



