November 7.] 
THE COTTAGE GARDENER. 
01 
they are quite hot, rub them through a sieve or colander 
(the sieve is best); then, to every pound of pulp, put half a 
pound of loaf sugar; boil for half an hour: the cheese is 
then made. Bitter almonds blanched, the kernels of plum- 
stones, or the juice of blackberries, may be used to flavour 
or colour it. It should be kept in saucers , and covered over 
with oil or brandy papers. It cuts quite firm—forms an 
excellent dish for dessert; is very good with boiled rice, hot 
or cold, and many other purposes which will, doubtless, 
suggest themselves to your readers ; and will keep for many 
months if stored in a cool, dry place. 
To Preserve Eggs. —The simplest, least troublesome, 
and certainly a very excellent plan, is to simply pack them 
in pans, with the broad end downwards, in salt —surrounding 
them entirely , and packing them row above row until the 
pan is quite full. A moderate-sized pan will hold, perhaps, 
one hundred. They will eat like quite fresh eggs for a week 
or ten days after packing them in the salt; and will keep 
good for twelve months, if necessary. I have kept all my 
eggs thus for years, and never had one spoilt in the keeping. 
Of course it is needless to say, the eggs must be kept in a 
quite dry place.— Cantium. 
Potatoes on Dry Soil. —After reading the first article in 
your number of last week, it occurs to me that possibly it 
may be interesting to you to know—not that I tried any ex¬ 
periments with my potatoes this year, for I was too much of 
an ignoramus in matters of husbandry to do so—that I 
planted two long beds in my kitchen-garden, and somewhat 
less than an acre of glebe (which had not been broken up 
within the memory of man) with early potatoes (the farmer 
of whom I procured the sets calls them Radicals) ; also 
another plot of less than half an acre with late potatoes— 
they were “ Early Risers,” and he recommended them as 
having found them freer from disease than other lands. 
All three of these plots of ground are dry, having light soil; 
the latter plot is particularly dry and sandy ; and among the 
whole of my potatoes my gardener tells me there were scarce 
a dozen diseased. This would appeal* to confirm the view 
taken by yourself and by Mr. Turner, of Neepsend, that the 
rot arises from excess of moisture. I should add, that my 
neighbours, whose land is lower than mine, and moister, 
nearer to “ the moss ” as we call it in Cheshire, have 
suffered much this year in respect of their potato crops. 
IVhile I am upon this subject, I may state a circumstance 
which puzzles me, viz., the exceeding partiality with which 
my potatoes were affected with scab. In some places the 
tubers were quite free from it for many yards together, and 
then came several yards of perfectly disfigured tubers. 
What is the cause of “ scab ? ”— Rev. D. A. B-, IV - 
He dory. 
[The scab in potato tubers seems to be an hereditary 
disease; for it never affects some varieties. We think it is 
oftenest found in soils containing an excess of oxide of iron.— 
Ed. C. G.] 
TO CORRESPONDENTS. 
*** We request that no one will write to the departmental writers of 
The Cottage Gardener. It gives them unjustifiable trouble and 
expense. All communications should be addressed “To the Editor of 
The Cottage Gardener, 2, Amen Corner, Paternoster Row, London .” 
The Cottage Gardener’s Dictionary {G. F. P .).—You will see 
by an advertisement that the first number is published ; and a number 
will appear every Thursday until completed. When you obtain your 
j copy, which you can through any bookseller, you will understand what 
care is required in preparing it. 
Rockery ( R, A. L., Devonshire ).—You say your rockery has been 
lately finished; and wish to know whether it would be advisable to let it 
remain without planting until spring, or if any plants are to be inserted 
now, and what kinds ? All dwarf shrubs suitable for rock-work may, 
with great propriety, be planted in open weather now; such, for in¬ 
stance, as Cotoneaster microphylla, Dwarf Cistuses, Dwarf Rhododen- 
' drons, Daphne Cneorum, Epigea repens, Dwarf Genistas, and hardy 
Heaths, if your soil is, or can be made, peaty. Some of the evergreen 
rock-plants may also be planted, especially the Saxifrages. Gold and 
j Silver fish will live in your pond, though a still one. They will require 
a protection from frost, by covering a portion of the water with some 
rails, and spruce-fir branches or a matting of reeds. They will exist and 
increase without feeding; but it is very amusing and pleasing to feed 
them, though not absolutely necessary. Gold fish will travel by railroad in 
water, in a vessel to which air is admitted. They will die in an air-tight 
| vessel. 
Roses (S .).—The four standard roses that will suit your purpose 
are i—Baronne Prevost, pale rose ; Dr. Manx, carmine ; Mrs. Elliott , 
purple; and Geant des Batuilles, brilliant crimson. Your six dwarfs 
may be Aubernon, bright red; Safrano, pale yellow ; Fabvier , scarlet ; 
Souvenir de Mulmuisnn, rosy flesh; Charles Souchet, purplish ; and 
Gloire de Guerin. The two best climbers for your six-feet pillars are 
Brennus, rosy crimson; and Laura Davoust , pink, changing to white. 
These will furnish you with fine roses from July until the frost destroys 
the flowers. 
Scorching (F. W . T.). —It is a hopeless task to give reasons for your 
plants scorching, or, as you term it, “scalding,” without knowing the 
elevation, thickness, size of glass, &c., &c. You seem to think your 
gardener does not give air early enough; most probably you are right, if 
your house is very lofty, and at a high angle. However, it might easily 
be proved, by trying giving air early during one season. Internal as 
well as external temperature must be studied in giving air. Peat soil is 
best kept in the open air fully exposed, 
Scarlet Geraniums {Jane). —You have such as Tom Thumb from 
three months to three weeks old from the cuttings, in a spare room, and 
we do not think you have any reason to be alarmed, or to speak forebod- 
ingly of disappointment. See what Mr. Fish says, pages 7 and 8. You 
may save them by keeping them rather dry in your spare room up stairs, 
by keeping them near the light in fine weather, and from frost when it is 
severe. You may also save them in a loft, if there is a window in it, and 
you throw some material over them when frosty. You will also succeed 
perfectly with them in your cold frame, giving plenty of air when the 
weather is fine, and covering up when frosty ; but you will not succeed 
with putting them in a dark cellar, though dry, except with a few of the 
first struck ones that were potted early, and early submitted to a starving 
system, to concentrate organisable matter in their little stems. In an¬ 
other season you may keep older plants there, if, as you say, the position 
is dry ; and you will do this all the better if the plants are kept in pots, 
because the stems will not be so succulent as when planted out in the 
open ground. When the latter is the case, both roots and stems should 
be pruned before lifting them, so as that the latter may be firmer in con¬ 
sequence. This has several times been lately referred to. And lastly, 
your small plants should stand within a foot or so of the glass in the 
frame, because that distance will not rob them of light; and if a sudden 
frost comes, the air between the glass and the plants will take some time 
to cool. If the pots are set on ashes, &c., they will require to be watered 
very seldom, but always give as much as will reach all the roots when 
you do water. 
Tom Thumb Geraniums {An Amateur). —1st. These you have struck 
in the soil of an old hot-bed, sheltered with glass, and a mat at night, but 
giving plenty of air, and you wish to know if they can be kept there, as 
they are so healthy, by banking round the frame with ashes and decayed 
manure, or whether they should be potted and taken to the greenhouse ? 
Either way will do if you give the requisite attention. The cuttings 
would have done quite as well in the open air as under the glass. If 
your bed is raised considerably above the surface ground, there will be 
less danger of damping. You will succeed better with ashes alone round 
the frame, or ashes and earth; avoid the decaying manure if possible. 
If the plants are very thick, you had better thin them and put them in 
the greenhouse. If you have plenty of small pots, you might pot them 
all—taking them up with small balls—and transfer them to the frame 
again, which would check their luxuriance, and they would be ready to 
be moved anywhere in spring. We almost fear that, in the rich soil of 
the hot-bed, they will grow too freely. However, we are trying a great 
many ourselves, by leaving them in the border where they w'ere struck ; 
but they are not so forward as yours. Preserving old geraniums and ver¬ 
benas that were bedded out has often been referred to (see preceding 
correspondent); and verbenas are best kept by securing small cuttings 
before they are cut down by frost, and preserving them in a cold frame or 
greenhouse, or window. 
Late-sown Carrots {Ibid). —These should be allowed to grow a 
little longer if you wish to have them large. These roots are taken up 
not so much to escape frost, as to escape from being disfigured and eaten 
by worms, &c. 
Her Majesty’s Gardens at Frogmore {A Gardener). —We cannot 
say whether these are open to gardeners generally, and at any time. Mr, 
Ingram is well known for his urbanity and kindness. 
Solandra Grandiflora {Ibid). —This has never flowered with you, 
though kept in sandy loam, and also dry from May to October. We 
should give it a little peat and leaf-mould, and, instead of keeping it dry, 
we would grow it vigorously during the summer, and then let it have a 
season of comparative dryness and coolness ; and if in the process the 
leaves fall, that wall not prevent its flowering afterwards. 
Various {Arthur Loftus). — Azaleas —These inserted in pots of sand, 
and placed in a moderate hotbed in July, should have been rooting. Have 
you not given too much air ? Did you place a bell-glass over the pot ? 
Was not the wood rather hard ? if so, they will be longer in striking; and 
as they are healthy perhaps they will do so still. A nice sweet bottom heat, 
and a bell-glass over them, would soon lead to success or failure. Your 
shrubby Calceolarias inserted at the same time were inserted too early for 
autumn and too late for spring propagation. In autumn they strike best 
when kept cool; in spring, after the plants begin growing, cuttings from 
them strike best in a gentle heat; we seldom lose a cutting at either 
season. You would have been more successful close to a wall with 
a north aspect than in a frame with peat, but the subject will be alluded 
