iirae 15, 1890 j 
JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AXD COTTAGE GARDEXER. 
479 
nre Treelandi, white ; candidissima, white ; Dazzler, bright scarlet; 
President Cleveland, very rich scarlet.—M. H. 
SALADING AND SALADS. 
AViien a distinguished foreigner, such as INIons. Henry de Yil- 
morin, is good enough to come over from Paris and give a lecture 
on winter salading it is manifest that the subject is one of import¬ 
ance, and equally so that we have a good deal to learn upon the 
subject. It is one of the fallacies which people indulge in on this 
subject. Oh ! yes, it is all very well to recommend salad in the 
winter, but then Paris is so much warmer than we are, and they 
can do it with impunity ; but Paris is colder in winter than most 
parts of England, and therefore that does not hold good, and yet 
we find it very hard to persuade people that a well-dressed salad is 
a wholesome addition to a meal even in the middle of winter. 
As this is the season when preparation should be made for the 
purpose of obtaining the materials for winter salading, it will not 
be out of place to set forth some of those which, although largely 
used on the continent, are but little known or valued amongst us, 
ipremising that as all these must be blanched they can never attain 
the crispness of our summer salads. There is a prejudice amongst 
us against eating salad in winter, and although we grow largely and 
consume great quantities of the very indigestible Celery, people as 
a rule pass the salad bowl when it is handed round at dinner. 
Sometimes it may be because it is not presented in a very tempting 
form (of this more anon), but more frequently because it is con¬ 
sidered a very cold and unwholesome thing to eat in winter. 
The principal ingredients, as far as the vegetables are concerned, 
used in winter salading in France are Endive, Lettuce, Chicory 
(Barbe du Capucin), Dandelion. There is another form of Chicory 
much used in Belgium called Witloof, and frequently found in 
the Paris market ; but we do not find in our greengrocers’ shops 
these latter vegetables. They are to be seen in Covent Garden, but 
do not command a very ready sale. 
It is remarkable that we do not attempt on any large scale the 
cultivation of Lettuce for winter use, for we import a considerable 
quantity from France annually. Around Paris it is largely culti¬ 
vated in market gardens under those curious bell-shaped glasses 
■“cloches,” but the attempt to introduce them into England in any 
large measure has failed, yet they are quite as easily managed here 
as in France. The practice there is to put about four or five 
Cabbage Lettuces under a cloche, to protect them sometimes 
in very severe frost with loose litter. In mild winters the old 
Hammersmith will standout without any protection, and if planted at 
tke foot of a wall facing south will, even in more severe winters, 
weather the storm, as it is very hardy. The Endive is, however, 
much more used, and although one rarely sees the good perfection 
in which it is brought to the Paris markets, yet it can very easily 
be grown. There are two kinds mostly in use, the Curled and the 
Broad leaved Batavian. This latter is the hardier and the best for 
eating ; the Curled is too much so to be pleasant for eating, and 
is very easily blanched. Some confusion is caused by the fact that 
the Endive is called Chicoriie by the French, while the ■wild Chicory 
is called Barbe du Capucin. There are several ways in which 
Endive may be blanched. I have been accustomed to place large 
pots over each plant, putting a cork or piece of slate over the ho'e, 
and if carefully watched so that damp does not get into them, this 
answers very -well. I have also taken up some plants and planted 
them in boxes and put them into the cellar, for where light is 
excluded there the blanching very soon takes place. Some place a 
shutter flat down on a number of plants. In fact, anything that 
will exclude light and moisture will effect the purpose. 
Chicory, or Barbe du Capucin, is treated in an entirely different 
way. The seed is to be sown about the middle or end of May in 
a fairly open place in rows about 12 inches apart. AVhen the 
seedling plants are fit to handle the rows should be thinned out 
and the plants left at about 9 inches apart. The beds must be 
carefully weeded and the plants allowed to remain all the summer ; 
at the latter end of September they are to be liftel off and taken 
into the house. They may be laid up as Carrots or Beetroot are 
stored, and then from time to time when wanted a certain number 
of them are taken up, planted in a pot, slightly watered, and 
returned to the cellar or whatever dark place is convenient, and 
allowed to shoot. It is these young blanched shoots when they 
attain about 9 or 10 inches in length that are used ; they are not 
fit for salad by themselves, but they do very well for making one 
up. Either Lettuce or Endive—Witloof may be treated in the 
same way. 
Dandelion is another root which is used in somewhat the same 
way. There is a broad-leaved French variety which is preferable. 
Care must of course be taken that it does not flower and seed, ai 
ve have plenty of them in our gardens ■without importing any I 
more. It must be taken up in the same way as Chicory, and 
it is the blanched shoots which are eaten. There is a pleasant 
bitterness about them which adds considerably to the value of the 
salad. 
There are some other plants which are used for salading in 
Paris, but as far as my recollection goes these are the principal. 
Beetroot is extensively used as it is with us, but it is so generally 
grown that there is no need of giving any directions with regard to 
it, save this. Do not sow too soon. There is no advantage in getting 
large roots, they are sure to be stringy. Medium sized roots are 
always the best, and if sown too early they are sure either to be 
large or to “ bolt.” 
But after all there is one very important matter, a point, too, 
in which I think English housekeepers are sadly deficient—the way 
of using the materials provided for them. One calls to mind the 
frightful messes that are sometimes handed round a dinner table, 
nasty flaccid stuff saturated with vinegar or some mixture or other, 
or thinks of the recipes that are given for making a salad in some 
books. Thus I remember one which had these lines in it— 
“ And in the magic mixture toss 
A spoonful of anchovy sauce.” 
Can anything be thought of more dreadful than to sit down to 
such a mess as this ? Then we have salad mixtures of various kinds, 
some good and some bad, but if anyone would only watch a French 
waiter preparing a salad he will not need any further lesson. In 
the first place the salading must be perfectly dry. When well 
washed it should be shaken in a wire basket, and then gently dabbed 
with a dry cloth. It should never have a steel knife near it, and 
should either be pulled to pieces with the fingers or else cut with a 
silver knife. Salt should then be gently sprinkled over it, and oil 
and vinegar poured evenly over it in the proportion of one of 
vinegar to four of oil. It is better to use tarragon vinegar unless 
the herb itself can be had to mix with the salading. After it is 
mixed the salad should be gently turned over with a wooden spoon 
and fork, and all this should be done a few minutes before it is 
wanted. Few persons, I think, will resist the temptations of a 
salad so prepared, while they may well be pardoned if they refuse 
many of the things offered to them as salads.—D., Deal. 
GRAPES FROM THE CAPE. 
The extract given in the Journal from the report on the 
attempt made to send Grapes and other fruits from the Cape to 
the London market proves conclusively that Sir C. Dilke was 
entirely wrong when he said in “ Froblems of Greater Britain 
that Grapes were imported from the Cape in large quantities, and 
that they arrived in good condition and realised good prices. In 
this case he must have been drawing on his imagination for his 
f3.cts! 
W'hile remarking on this inaccuracy, I might also point out 
another gross blunder in Sir C. Dilke’s book. Referring to the 
Cape Town Botanic Gardens, he describes them as splendid, and 
one would think that large sums of money were expended on them 
when reading the glowing desc'iption of them! As a matter 
of fact they are shabby in the extreme. This is not to be won¬ 
dered at when it is stated that only £500 a year is allowed to keep 
up the Botanic Gardens at Cape 'Town, and of that paltry sura the 
major portion is swallowed up in paying the scientific director ! 
The practical man is left with a miserable pittance, which he has 
to eke out by selling plants, seeds, &c. If the visitor to Cape Town 
first goes through the splendid Parliament House there and then 
steps across the avenue to the Botanic Gardens he cannot fail to be 
struck with the contrast. _ 
In the one case no expense has been spared in order that Capo 
legislators may have every comfort, convenience, and luxury ; in 
the other case poverty stares one in the face. 
Such a state of matters is highly discreditable to the Cape Town 
people and to Cape colonists in general, and it is to be hoped that a 
more adequate sum will soon be set aside for the maintenance ^ of 
the Botanic Gardens. Then there may be some hope of their being 
entitled to be described as Sir C. Dilke has described them m his 
interesting but not too accurate book !—J. T. 
NOTES ON EARLY ENGLISH HORTICULTURE. 
(_Cmtinue:l from jtar/e CSS). 
Ir is possible that too great honour has been given to Holland 
for the influence it exerte 1 upon our horticulture during two or 
three centuries. The Dutch and Flemings introduced to England 
several vegetables unknown in this land. 'Ihey inspired our 
