January 12. 
THE COTTAGE GARDENER, 
met each other, and being used up betimes from the 
circumstance of tlieir being in such a congenial com¬ 
post, they sprouted forthwith, and by tho middle of 
November the whole surface of the plot was one uni¬ 
form mass of young sprouts, and never before or since 
have I seen such a marvellous produce. As I always 
sow a successional crop about the last week of June, 
which period would be too early for our more southern 
neighbours, we had no occasion to use the sprouts until 
the succeeding February and March, when they pro¬ 
duced thousands of what might be termed small Cole- 
worts, just what our fancy cooks like, and forming a 
valuable connecting link between the true winter Cole- 
worts and the early spring Cabbages of the dwarf and 
early-hearting kinds. But, be it remembered, this mode, 
with the best of soil, can by no means carry out 
the designs of the cultivator, unless the kind be 
genuine; aud of this, together with the disappointments 
incident to the cultivator through the ungenuineness 
of spurious kinds, alboit well prepared and well named, 
more in a succeeding notice. 
And now I have attained, I hope, a point, as to 
vegetable economics, which was, indeed, the aim I took 
in taking, “ the Colewort, and its culture,” for my theme, 
viz., to shew, that even in the culture of so simple a 
thing as Dwarf Cabbages, a progressive improvement 
in culture (as to copious supplies to meet the demands 
of families from their kitchen-garden) has really taken 
place, as compared with the kitchen-gardens of some 
twenty years since; I have, therefore, to suggest, that 
those gardeners who still adhere to the old system 
of growing heavy crops of summer Cabbages of large 
size (fanaous, to be sure, on exhibition-tables, as asto¬ 
nishing those who are simply gratified with a sudden 
display), just give the subject a second consideration, 
and see whether the conveniences and comforts of a 
private family in the country be not rather enhanced 
by a capital vegetable garden, which keeps, as they say, 
“ the pot a-going,” than by those diversions which are 
created by extraordinary specimens occasionally, and 
which, whatever merit they may possess, too often serve 
to decoy the attention from matters less specious, but of 
more general utility. 
I much fear that our great exhibitors, who live near 
great towns, where a big dust must be kicked-up 
occasionally, to evince progress, will blame me for thus, 
as they may say, decrying the exhibition-table. I must 
beg, however, to assure them, that no one can admire 
a big cabbage more than myself, although a Drumhead-, 
and that when 1 feel a strong appetite, 1 should, cer¬ 
tainly, prefer a big one to a small Colewort for my 
dinner; but such narrow views must not be allowed to 
settle a whole case, and that these ex parte ways of 
settling an affair, although sometimes very popular, are 
not entirely worthy of the age we live in. The great 
fact is in the exhibition of vegetable specimens which 
astonish by their size, that they ought simply to be con¬ 
sidered as samples of what may be done , rather than 
what ought to be done on every occasion. If any prefer 
the exhibition-table to a good round of domestic con¬ 
veniences, I have no right to blame them; but still it is 
proper such persons should know that not nnfre¬ 
quently such aims are rather antagonistic to that con¬ 
stant and useful supply in a long succession which is so 
agreeable to our cooks. When, however, the case be¬ 
comes agricultural rather than horticultural, it is purely 
what has been termed a “ breeches-pocket argument." 
Generally speaking, he who can produce, in one crop, the 
| greatest amount of produce from a given space of ground 
is the greatest hero. Thus it is that gardeners are not 
always more successful thau Mr. Mechi: their balance 
sheets will not please everybody. 
It is well for those of our friends whom we can ma¬ 
nage to impress with the due amount of importance 
the subject deserves, to observe, that from the second ! 
week in June to the middle of July is the period when ! 
a proper succession of Coleworts should be sown; and I 
that they must be dwarf, early-hearting, round-hearted I 
kinds; as for names, we are in danger of being swamped ! 
with them. Our market-gardeners, who, many of them, 
save their own kinds, hold the seed-shop names in su¬ 
preme contempt. The fact is, that be a seedsman what 
he may, he cannot undertake to produce kinds in perfect 
purity ; his business is too complicated to admit of it. 
Plenty of manure is indispensable to their culture ; 
for Blue Cabbages, which are the result of poor land, 
drought, or club, are, by no means, sought after by 
good table men. 
One point more. I hold it good practice, with the 
private gardener, to take up well-hearted Coleworts in 
the end of November, and “heel” them right close 
together; and as soon as a stiff frost sets in, and the 
ground is well seated, to cover them with loose litter, 
keeping them frozen with all his might; aud when they 
must thaw, to take care that their final thawing and 
inurement to light runs over about three days, avoiding 
sudden sunshine. All this requires care, of course. 
R. Errington. 
PRESERVING AND SERVING ICE. 
Ice crowned the last days of the old year so com¬ 
pletely that all the ice-houses and ice-cellars in the 
country are now, or ought to be, quite full of it; ice¬ 
bergs, or ice-heaps, ought also to be finished, if not 
thatched, before this sees the light. In our “ Dictionary” 
there are two ways named for doing the ice, one of 
which, with plans, is by the late Mr. Cobbett, and the 
other by your humble servant. Any one who follows 
the last plan need not fear about the safety of his ice- 
heap until ice comes again; or, at least, till ice-time 
comes round, whether we shall have ice then, or not; 
and any one who follows Mr. Cobbett’s plan will 
assuredly find his ice run short when he most needs it. 
Some one played off a hoax upon Cobbett about keeping 
ice, and the ice world was so much divided upon the 
subject, for many years after his plans were given, that 
this hoax got into a ready circulation among all the 
books and newspapers on gardening. No one ever 
wrote more clearly than did Cobbett, and that was the 
main reason why so many people in the country read 
his works, who never believed one-half of what he said 
on politics, and in his wranglings with those from whom 
he differed in other things ; hence the great demand for 
his “ Cottage Economy,” in the sixteenth edition of 
which the hoax about keeping ice first appeared; but 
he said the plan was not his own, he only believed what 
some one else told him of it; aud he said, that if the 
plan should fail, the house lie proposed would be a 
model for a pig-stye for all generations. Those who have 
not the “ Dictionary,” or access to that edition of the 
“ Cottage Economy,” will understand the plan from this 
description of it:—A strong pole is fixed in the ground 
like the handle of an umbrella, fifteen feet long; the 
umbrella roof is of straw, and four feet thick; the wall 
all round, aud up to this roof, is also of straw, and of 
equal depth, and the circle within is ten feet across. The 
usual drainage is very good, and the ice is to be packed 
all round the centre post up to the roof, and if any of 
our readers can keep ice with that contrivance till St. 
Swithin’s day, I pledge my word that I shall go down 
to him to ice the things for his next party dinner, if he 
only pays me for travelling expenses. The great error 
in this plan is the centro post, thirty inches round, j 
without it the ice would keep double the time, but it is j 
only waste of time and money to make so small a heap as 
this; although it is ten feet across, the real diameter of ! 
