184 Memoirs of the Caledonian Horticultural Society-. 



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

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

 opened, the finer are the cucumbers. 



Preserving Culinary Vegetables through the Winter. — Cab- 

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

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

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

 the gardens, and then shovelling over all the earth from the 

 adjacent beds. If the ground is dry, and it is possible 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 preserved 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 ; put 

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

 tables and salt. Then put a board upon 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. The best weight is a clean water-worn stone, 

 tolerably heavy. The watery juice toward the board excludes 

 the action of the air, and prevents putrefaction. 



Parsley, celery, and spinach leaves, carefully dried and kept 

 from moisture, are excellent for soups, &c. 



61. On the Kinds of Grape Vine best suited for Hot-house Walls in 



Scotland. Read Nov. 2. 1827. 



Mr. Shields recommends the White Muscadine and Black 

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

 for a flued wall. A medal was awarded for the specimens of 

 fruit sent* 



62. On the Use of Hop Tops as a Culinary Vegetable, and an. 

 Account of different Modes of dressing Gourds for the Table. 

 By Mr. Lewis Pederana, Halyburton House. Read Sept. 18. 

 1828. 



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, such as 

 soups, omlets, &c. Long experience in the practice of cookery, 

 both in this and in my native country, for upwards of forty 

 years, makes me bold in recommending hop tops. I was for 

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



