668 Hints for Improvements. 



the coolness of the season, or to the rains. This popular notion is 

 erroneous : the difficulty of boiling them soft arises from a superabun- 

 dant quantity of gypsum imbibed during their growth. To correct this, 

 throw a small quantity of sul)carbonate of soda into the pot along with the 

 vegetables, the carbonic acid of which will seize upon the lime in the 

 gypsum, and free the legumes, &c., from its influence. {Bull, des Scien, 

 Econ.) 



To prepare Verjuice for bottling and keeping. — Express the juice of un- 

 ripe grapes or gooseberries, without bruising the seeds, whicli would give a 

 disagreeable taste to the liquor. Strain the juice through a linen cloth ; 

 bottle it, and expose it, uncorked, to the sun for six or seven days. The 

 liquor will ferment, and a part will be lost in froth, which must be replaced 

 every morning. When the fermentation has ceased, decant the liquor into 

 other bottles, cork them, and place them in the cellar for use. In this way, 

 the juice of any sour fruit as the citron, crab, &c., may be preserved, and no 

 expense of sugar incurred till the moment it is to be used. Verjuice is much 

 used in France as a summer beverage ; a little syrup or sugar is mixed with 

 a small part of it, which is then well shaken, and afterwards poured into a 

 glass, and filled up with water. Gooseberry verjuice is commonly used j 

 and, when mixed with sugar, it is sold by the confectioners of Paris, under 

 the name of Sirope de Groseilles {Gooseberry Syrup). Any gardener or 

 cottager might make it for himself. (Jour, de Connoissan. Usuelles.) 



Bread of the Shetland and Orkney Islands. — Over those islands, with the 

 exception of the capital towns of Kirkwall and Lerwick, the superior 

 classes are compelled to bake their own bread, and this they do in great 

 perfection without the assistance of yeast. Their method, which is as fol- 

 lows, may be adopted with great advantage in countries where yeast is diffi- 

 cult of attainment ! — Mix two pounds of mashed potatoes with a table- 

 spoonful of yeast (or double the quantity of porter), two table-spoonfuls of 

 flour, and a table-spoonful of salt; beat these ingredients well together, 

 adding as much lukewarm water as will reduce the composition to the con- 

 sistency of butter. Let it stand for twenty-four hours in a closely covered 

 earthenware jar, when it will be tit for use. For every pound of flour to 

 be baked, take four table-spoonfuls of the composition; mix up two 

 thirds of the flour, adding a little lukewarm water or fresh cream, then 

 knead the remainder of the flour into the mass of dough ; give it the desired 

 shape, and let it stand four hours covered with a large dish, before it is 

 put into the oven. Replace the composition by an equal quantity of 

 mashed potatoes, flour, and salt, in the proportions stated above ; and beat 

 the whole together in the jar, having first poured off the liquid collected at 

 the bottom of the vessel. Let the jar be kept well covered, in a warm 

 place in winter, and in a cold place in summer. The loaves or rolls may 

 not rise well on the first or second attempt; but after a ^ew repetitions, 

 they will be found superior to any baker's bread, and the composition, if 

 daily renewed according to the directions, will continue for years to improve 

 in quality. {From Dr. Hoivison's MS. Nvtes.) 



Art. V. Hints for Intprovements. 



The Fine Arts as a source of Moral Improixement for the People. — Why 

 do not our societies for the improvement of the people avail themselves of 

 the fine arts, as at least a i)owcrful auxiliary in the attainment of their 

 laudable objects? They may depend upon it, that " the ocular proof of 

 the miserable consequences of vice hanging on the walls of a cottage, would 

 have more eflect than a hundred mor^l essays hidolen in the cupboard. With 



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