1850, 
THE CULTIVATOR. 
303 
taken at a time, and a part being left till the weath¬ 
er is tolerably well settled.” 
“ Tea and China roses may also be kept in tan; 
though a portion of them will fail.” 
Cutting off the Leaves. 
Last summer I mentioned the case of a rose shoot 
which had withered in the hot sunshine, and which 
was preserved by removing all the leaves. A few 
weeks ago, a case somewhat similar also occurred. 
The gardener’s spade had disturbed a layer of the 
painted damask , and it was much withered before 
I observed it; but immediately I cut away all the 
leaves, and part of the stems, at the same time 
screening it from the sun. It is now recovering its 
foliage. The questions may arise, however, would it 
not have recovered without this excision, and would 
not the leaves, as soon as they were dead, have 
ceased to pump out the moisture , and thus by a pro¬ 
vision of nature, recover without any care of ours? 
I think not. The leaves would act as long as any 
moisture was left; and when none was left, the 
branch or shoot would perish with them. D. T. 
Greatfield, 6 mo., 20. 
Virgilia lutea— Yellow Flowering Virgilia. 
So it is called in the Encyclopedia of Plants, 
and the flowers are marked as yellow, agreeing 
with Nuttall in this particular. The only tree of 
this sort that I have ever seen stands in my garden, 
with white Jlowers. It has stood there about twen¬ 
ty years-—8 inches in diameter, and 18 or 20 feet 
high, with a fine spreading top. It has never been 
in full bloom till the present time. The racemes 
are compound or shouldered like a bunch of grapes, 
about a foot in length, pendulous; and having a 
darker foliage than the locust, it is greatly admired. 
There is a constant buzz from the bees that fre¬ 
quent it. 
Although it comes from the south,—Nuttall says 
hitherto only found in the mountains of Tennessee,— 
it is perfectly hardy at this place. D. T. 6 mo. 21. 
Corrections of last Number. 
In the last number of the Cultivator, on page 
268, the printer has erroneously converted Rambour 
into Rambo, these being names of quite distinct 
varieties. On page 270, Bowyer's Early Heart is 
changed to Boyer’s, the former being the correct 
name. The figure of the wire-loop label, on page 
269, should have been drawn so that the notches 
designating the numbers should be near the twist in 
the wire, and reading from it, to prevent mistake 
by reading the wrong way. In the figure imme¬ 
diately above, the notch designating O, should be 
deeper or more distinct, so as to be about four times 
as large as the others. 
Rose Cuttings. —One of the best methods of 
securing the success of these, is to stick the cutting 
about an inch deep into clean river sand—with 
properly prepared soil about an inch below to 
receive the roots as soon as they strike’. The clean 
sand prevents the wood from rotting. A corres¬ 
pondent of the Horticulturist succeeded with this 
when every other mode failed, and says he does not 
lose one in twenty. 
The little and short sayings of wise and excellent 
men are of great value, like the dust of gold, or the 
least sparks of diamonds. 
SDoimsfa (fronomg, limpes, 
To Cook the Egg-Plant. 
This is a delicious and highly nutritious vegetable, 
which would be more extensively used, if the proper 
mode of cooking it was understood. The following 
mode has given satisfaction so far as we have known it 
tried. Cut the purple egg-plant into slices a third 
of an inch thick. Put the slices on a plate, one over 
the other, with a sprinkling of fine salt between 
each layer, and lay a weight of three or four pounds 
on the top; leave them in this situation for four or 
five hours or over night. The salt will form a 
liquid with the juice of the egg-plant, which will 
take out the bitter quality. The liquid should be 
drained off. Fry them brown in lard or butter. 
The following mode of stewing the egg-plant is 
given by Miss Beecher: Take the purple kind, stew 
till soft, take off the skin, mash it with butter and 
sweet herbs, grate bread over the top, and bake it 
till brown. 
Preserving Tomatoes for Table use. 
Tomatoes may be so prepared as to be kept a 
long time, and when cooked are almost as good as 
the fresh fruit. The following is a receipt sent us 
a few years since by a subscriber in South Carolina. 
Prepare the tomatoes as for cooking, (without 
seasoning,) boil them one hour; then put them in 
small stone jars; cork and boil the jars for two hours, 
then take them out and seal them air-tight. When 
opened, season, &c., and cook for half an hour. 
Tomato Figs. 
The small pear-shaped tomatoes, may be preserved 
as follows. They are very fine and their resem¬ 
blance to figs is not wholly in name and appearance. 
A chemist at our elbow, who has analysed both figs 
and tomatoes, tells us that the composition of the 
fruits is quite similar. 
Scald and peal the tomatoes, and then boil them 
in one-third their weight of sugar, till they are 
penetrated by it. Then flatten and dry them in the 
sun, occasionally turning them and sprinkling with 
sugar. When dry pack them in layers, with sugar 
sprinkled between. 
Tomato Ketchup. 
Pour boiling water on tomatoes, let them stand 
until you can rub off the skin ; then cover them with 
salt, let them stand twenty.four hours. Then strain 
them, and to two quarts put three ounces of cloves, 
two ounces of pepper and two nutmegs. Boil half 
an hour, then add a pint of wine. Miss Beecher. 
To make Cucumber Pickles. 
Soak the cucumbers three or four days in old, sour 
cider, or two parts water and one of vinegar; then 
place them in the pickle-jar; heat good cider vinegar 
scalding hot, with an ounce of alum to a gallon of 
vinegar, with any kind of spices, and in such quan¬ 
tities as suits the taste; pour it over the cucumbers 
while boiling hot; cover them tight, set them in a 
cool place and if the vinegar is right they will keep 
till June, when the old vinegar should be discarded 
and new substituted. Pickles made in this way are 
always crisp ; the alum hardens the skin of the cucum¬ 
ber, so that it never turns soft. Those made in 
this waya year ago are in excellent condition now. 
