No. 2. Italian Mode of Cooking Maize. — Althce Rosea. — S^c. 



51 



able, and the plant impoverishes the soil in 

 a high degree, if the culms, which are in- 

 variably left untouched by cattle, are not 

 cut before the seed advances towards per- 

 fection. When this is neglected, the field 

 after midsummer exhibits only a brown sur- 

 face of withered straws. 



For permanent pasture, the produce and 

 nutritive powers of the rye-grass, compared 

 with those of the cock's-foot grass, {Dactylis 

 glomerata) are inferior nearly in the propor- 

 tion of five to eighteen ; and inferior to the 

 meadow fox-tail {Alopecurus pralensis) in 

 the proportion of five to twelve; and inferior 

 to the meadow fescue {Bucetum pralense) 

 as five to seventeen. The rye-grass is but 

 a short-lived plant, seldom continuing more 

 than six years in possession of the soil, but 

 is continued by its property of ripening an 

 abundance of seed, which is but little mo- 

 lested by birds, and suffered to fall and ve- 

 getate among the root-leaves of the perma- 

 nent pasture-grasses. It is only within these 

 last forty or fifty years that other species of 

 grasses have been tried as a substitute for 

 the rye-grass in forming artificial pastures, 

 it having been the favourite grass with most 

 farmers from the time of its first cultivation 

 in 1674 to the present period. 



The rye-grass, when not more than three 

 years old, flowers in the second week of 

 June, and ripens its seed in about twenty- 

 five days after : as the plants become older 

 they flower much later, sometimes so late 

 as the beginning of August. It is a very 

 common grass throughout the whole of Brit- 

 ain ; also a native of Lapland, Norway, 

 Sweden, Germany, France, Spain, Portu- 

 gal, Switzerland, Italy, Russia, North of 

 Africa, and West of Asia. It occurs also 

 in the United States, but it is stated to have 

 been introduced from Europe. Its litpit of 

 altitude seems to be about 1000 feet above 

 the sea. 



Lolium (cmulentum — the Darnel — differs 

 from Lolium perenne, in the glume being 

 longer than the spikelet, and the outer palea 

 furnished with a delicate awn; — whereas in 

 L. perenne, the glume is shorter than the 

 spikelet, and the florets have no awn. 



Italian Mode of Cooking Maize. — 



While journeying in Italy some years ago, 

 I was delighted with the admirable mode in 

 which the polenta or Indian ineul is prepared 

 in that country. I think, with a recent cor- 

 respondent to the London Gardener's Chro- 

 nicle, that the only fault of tiie Italian me- 

 thod is, that or.e is apt to eat too much, as 

 he says, '* I am ashamed to say it has been 

 my case at the Hotel de la Couronne, at 



Brides, near Moutiers. The landlord is re- 

 nowned for his culinary skill ; but could he 

 only make, or had he never made any other 

 dish than Timballe de Polenta a la Savo- 

 yarde, that alone should render him famous." 



"Take Polenta (Indian meal) perfectly 

 dry and fresh, moistened with boiling water, 

 and perfectly mixed by stirring with a wood- 

 en spoon until the mass is reduced to a tho- 

 roughly smooth paste, of consistence to ad- 

 mit boiling. Keep it just below a boiling 

 temperature until, by tasting, you find it to 

 be perfectly homogeneous ; about ten min- 

 utes suffice; stir the whole time. Remove 

 it from the fire, and add as much fresh but- 

 ter, strong brown gravy, grated Parmesan 

 cheese, and as much garlic as suits your 

 palate; grated ham is an excellent adjunct. 

 Simmer ten minutes, stirring the whole 

 time; pour or turn the mass into a well- 

 buttered mould ; serve with brown gravy. 



I defy the world to produce the equal of 

 this as a farinaceous dish. — South. Planter. 



AlthjE R3SEA. — The Hollyhock, says 

 Maund''s Botanic Garden, for several years 

 pa», has had much to complain of, from the 

 undue neglect with which it has been treat- 

 ed. Here and there it has found a discern- 

 ing patron; but, generally speaking, the flo- 

 ral world has been influenced by a Dahlia 

 excitement, from which it is now subsiding, 

 in sober disposition to judge all flowers by 

 their respective merits. The Rose is again 

 the queen, and the Hollyhock is again at 

 court. As society has changed, so have 

 flowers, and the Hollyhock has now to frame 

 its costume to the fashion of the times. 



Good Natire. — One cannot imagine any 

 quality of the human mind whence greater 

 advantages can arise to society than good 

 nature, seeing that man is a sociable being, 

 not made for solitude, but conversation. Good 

 nature not only lessens the sorrows of life, 

 but increases its comforts. It is more agree- 

 able than beauty, or even wit. It gives a 

 pleasing expression to the countenance, and 

 induces a multitude of the most amiable ob- 

 servations. Were it not for good nature, 

 men could not exist together, nor hold inter- 

 course witli one another. For this reason, 

 men invented that species of artificial ur- 

 banity called good breeding, which is nothing 

 more than an imitation of good nature; for 

 what is it but the reducing into a system of 

 affability, complaisance, and easiness of tem- 

 per! Good nature is an aptitude of the mind 

 on which objects act in an inexplicable way, 

 and which discovers itself in universal be- 

 nevolence to the whole creation. 



