396 
THE COTTAGE GARDENER 
February 23. 
Ringwood Marrow. 
Synonymes:— Beck's Marrm: Flanagan’s Pea. 
This is a very valuable pea, and another rival of the 
Frames. It produces a very large, well-filled pod, and is 
a most abundant bearer; but it has 
a peculiarity, which, by some, is con¬ 
sidered an objection, from the pod 
being white instead of green, and 
presenting, when only fully grown, 
the appearance of over-maturity. 
This objection, however, is chiefly 
taken by those who grow it for mar¬ 
kets, and who find a difficulty in con¬ 
vincing their customers, that not¬ 
withstanding the pod being white it 
is still in its highest perfection. So 
far from being soon out of season, 
the Ringwood Marrow retains its 
tender and marrowy character longer 
than many other varieties; and I 
trust, from the statement I have now 
made, and the extensive publicity 
which it will have, that any preju¬ 
dice which may exist regarding the 
character of this excellent variety 
will be as generally dispelled. As 
regards earliness, I found it not more 
than two days behind the Frames; 
and, in every other respect, far supe¬ 
rior to them. 
Plant with a moderately vigorous habit of growth, 
producing a stem which is three-and-a-half to four feet 
high, and always simple, exeept in wet seasons, when it 
makes a second growth by throwing out shoots from 
near the ground. The lowest pods are within about a 
foot of the ground, and are produced at every joint, 
even to the extremity, the whole number on each plant 
being from ten to twelve. The pods are single and in 
pairs, in about equal proportions, from three to three- 
and-a-half-inches long, and six-tenths-of-an-inch wide, 
slightly curved and waved on the upper margin, and 
terminated rather abruptly at the point. As they ripen, 
they become thick and fleshy, with a rough, pitted, and 
shrivelled surface. They contain from six to seven 
large peas, which are roundish and not compressed, 
about nine-tenths-of-an inch long, seven-tenths wide, 
and the same in thickness. The ripe seed is white. 
The Ringwood Marrow was sown on the 5th of April, 
bloomed on the 10th of June, and was ready to be 
gathered on the 9th of July. It is far superior to 
Shilling's Grotto , both in earliness and filling. 
There is a variety called Lincoln Green, which pos¬ 
sesses all the properties of the Ringwood Marrow, 
without the objectionable white pod, at least, so I am 
informed, but I cannot speak of it from my own ex¬ 
perience, for the sample which I grew was late sown, 
and suffered so much by the attacks of the “ Dolphin” 
(Aphis), that it did not come to maturity. T. H. 
{To be continued.) 
Having given prominence to the statement by one 
correspondent, A. B. (page 354), of a mode of making 
cheap bread, which that correspondent declares she had 
“ tried,” and shewn the results to her “ own labourers,” 
we feel bound to give equal prominence to the following 
counter-statement, and shall be glad if A. B. can justify 
what she communicated. 
With respect to the addition of Potatoes to flour 
made into bread, they render it less cake-like than Rice 
makes it, but, to us, it appears quite as palatable, and 
causes the bread to continue moist for a much longer 
time. 
“ I take the liberty of adverting to the receipt for cheap 
bread, introduced into the leader of your journal of the 9th 
instant, where you have been iuduced, upon the statement of 
a correspondent, to give further publicity to an error which 
had previously gone the round of the provincial, and many 
of the metropolitan newspapers. The fact of its being an 
error, you may, in one moment, convince yourself, by adding 
together the weight of all the ingredients your corres¬ 
pondent directs to bo used, and you will at once see the 
impossibility of the result stated, unless we are again 
living in the age of miracles, and to those having faith an 
increase in the quantity of their Staff of Life (during the 
process of baking) is vouchsafed. If the bread made with 
1 j lb. of rice increased to the weight quoted, it could only 
be, of course, by the absorption of a much larger quantity 
of water than is allowed in the receipt given, and from 
which there would be no nourishment derived; but it isnoteven 
so, for I have repeatedly tried it, most carefully weighing 
every ingredient before mixing, afterwards the dough, and 
then the bread, and the result has always been that the 
increase in weight, over and above what the 14 lbs. of 
flour would have yielded, has been but a i lb. more than the 
actual weight of the rice added, viz., 2 lbs., the rice added 
having been 11 lbs. The bread thus made is very nice 
eating, but to reduce the rice to pulp is a great deal of 
trouble, occupies a great deal of time, and requires a con¬ 
siderable amount of firing ; these things taken into con¬ 
sideration, making the bread dearer, instead of cheaper than 
wlieaten-liour bread. 
“ I have also tried the addition of Potatoes, and find the 
weight of the bread increased only to the weight of pota¬ 
toes added; and certainly not so nice as by the addition of 
rice. 14 lbs. of good wlieaten flour will absorb lbs. 
of water, which, with -Jib. of yeast, makes 22 lbs. of dough, 
losing exactly 2 lbs. in baking ; therefore, yielding 20 lbs. 
of bread, and making an increase of 0 lbs. (by the absorp¬ 
tion and retention of water) upon the 14 lbs. of flour used, 
which is a much greater increase than can be obtained by 
employing any other ingredient, besides being purer, and 
far more nourishing, therefore cheaper, and in every respect 
the most desirable. If you add together the weight of your 
correspondent’s ingredients, viz., 
Flour... 14 lbs- 
Bice .. 11 
Three quarts of water.. 7f 
Sufficient yeast. i 
23 i lbs. of dough is 
the result. Allowing this to lose only 2 lbs. by baking 
(viz., the same as the .14 lbs. of flour dough), it will only 
yield 21^ lbs. of bread. Now, there is no disputing figures, 
therefore I repeat that it is utterly impossible that 23.) lbs. 
of materials can, by baking, (without Divine interposition), 
become converted into 30 lbs. of bread ; and the publication 
of such statements are sure to produce either disappoint¬ 
ment (more especially to the poor, who are not likely to 
enter philosophically into the subject, and discover the 
fallacy of the statement by calculation), or distrust, by 
creating doubts of the baker’s honesty, to whose oven the 
bread may be sent. 
“ To spare you the trouble of answering my query (ad¬ 
dressed to you by note last week), concerning Messrs. Beck 
and Henderson’s whereabouts, I write to inform you, that, 
after much trouble, I this day found their house of business, 
