favourites with many, even of those who do not re- 
pudiate pastry; but, bottled as Gooseberries, with- 
out sugar, and duly sweetened, when used. Bil- 
berries for tarts, are superior, in the estimation of 
many persons, to the Gooseberry or Currant. 
Guiseppe Mannetti, in a communication to the 
late Mr. Loudon, says that the mountaineers in a 
district of Italy, when grapes ai'e scarce, make 
wine, for their own use, of Bilberries. They gather 
them, and put them in vessels to ferment, with about 
four pints of water to each pound of fruit : thus 
a wine is prepared, equal to that commonly drank 
in the country from grapes. Further, he states, 
that wine made of the juice only, of the Bilberry, 
cannot be distinguished from the best of that ob- 
tained from grapes. 
An admirable wine from this fruit is said to be 
made by the following recipe. To five gallons of 
the fruit add five of cider, and five of water ; boil 
this with fifteen pounds of sugar. Ferment in the 
usual way, and add two ounces of red tartar, two 
quarts of spirit of wine, an ounce of bruised ginger, 
and a quarter of a pound of bruised bitter almonds. 
The addition of red tartar accords with the recom- 
mendation of M. Chaptal, the celebrated French 
chemist, who was employed to investigate the me- 
thods of wine-making in Finance; and the practice 
would, we believe, be advantageous to many, if not 
all, of our British wines. 
To those who possess shrubbery ground, the Bil- 
berry may be especially recommended for cultiva- 
tion ; requiring only to be planted in good sandy 
peat, which is essential to its success. 
