THE COTTAGE GARDENER AND COUNTRY GENTLEMAN'S COMPANION.— September 9,1856. 425 
I 
I 
I 
i 
expose them wholly to the sun and air, and to he sure 
to have the bed in a spot fully open to the whole day’s 
sun. The kinds proper to sow are the Green Hardy, 
Hammersmith, Brown Dutch, and it might be a Brown 
and Green Cos. 1 have even found a good white cab¬ 
baging sort stand the winter well; but this is not always 
the case, and as the plants are destined to be planted on 
a dry south border, it is prudent not to lose time in 
getting them planted out whenever they are large enough 
to handle; and L might as well add here, that ground 
that has been dug a week or two is better than that 
newly turned up for securing the young crop from slugs 
and other enemies after they are planted. And the same 
may be said of the seed-beds, which, if they be under 
glass, bad better be formed of such dry, light soils as 
have been exposed some time to the weather; even road 
dust or other dry earth is often better than the damp 
unkind working earth that often exists in gardens, which, 
by the varied multiplicity of their crops, cannot always 
be dug at the time most necessary to their pulverizing 
nicely. 
Mushrooms. —It seems the universal opinion that 
Mushrooms are not produced out of doors in a natural 
way in such abuudatice as they used formerly to be, and 
it is difficult to account for such a state of tilings ; con¬ 
sequently, our duty would be to endeavour to have them 
as plentiful in an artificial state as possible, and it now 
and then happens that a very little trouble suffices to 
insure that. Therefore the amateur who has any old 
covered-in shed or building may easily make a bed or 
two, and there is no doubt but he will succeed in having 
Mushrooms. The mode of makiug up beds having been 
given at page 294, nothing further need be said here, except 
that in making up beds in any building that may be at 
hand, ventilation may be disregarded, for this production 
belonging to the lowest class of vegetation, a close, con¬ 
fined atmosphere seems as congenial to its well-being as 
the most liberal ventilation is to others. A close cellar 
answers as well as any place, and the best Mushroom- 
house I remember to have ever seen was in a sort of 
cave dug out on a dry hill-side, while I have seen them 
produced in a coal mine; the condition necessary to 
their successful culture being a close, uniform tempera¬ 
ture, aud that suitable medium for growing in which 
has been dwelt upon elsewhere. 
Potatoes. —Doubtless there are different conditions of 
this useful root, but the general opinion seems to be that 
the crop of the present year is a light one, but of good 
quality, and less diseased than on any preceding year 
since its murrain visited us. Aud the time is now ap¬ 
proaching for taking them up, which, however, ought 
not to be too hastily done, for disease sometimes makes 
sad havoc amongst them when thickly stored away be¬ 
fore the disease has had its “run.” To arrest it is no 
easy matter by any artificial means, although I firmly 
believe the fine sunny weather we had the last week in 
July and beginning of August did arrest it very much; 
while, at the same time, I feel convinced that its de¬ 
structive powers are much increased by the tubers being 
prematurely taken up, and stored away so thickly as to 
have no chance of hardening to resist decay ; so that I 
would not advise the bulk of the crop to he too hastily 
taken up, unless the ground be wanted for something 
else; and, if possible, let the digging up aud sorting be 
performed in fine drying weather, and there is less like¬ 
lihood of disease following. J. Robson. 
VEGETABLE CULTURE AND COOKERY. 
It is some time since I last sent you a portion of the sub¬ 
ject which I had undertaken to complete; but 1 doubt not 
you, along with many of your numerous readers, will be 
perfectly able to understand my long silence when I say that 
the long summer days, and the captivating operations of the 
garden, had so many attractions as to induce me to leave 
pen and paper for the candle-light. With your permission, 
then, I shall be glad to continue my papers on Vegetable 
Culture and Cookery, beginning where 1 left off, with the 
Red Cabbage. The cultivation of the plant was given in my 
last paper; and I shall now only furnish examples of the 
uses to which Red Cabbage is applicable. 
To Pickle Red Cabbage. —We have tried several ways, 
some of which instructed us to pour on the vinegar hot, 
which is a great mistake, as it entirely destroys the colour. 
The best practice we have found is, first take off the large 
outside leaves, then cut the Cabbage in quarters, taking out 
the stalk ; shred the whole into a colander, and sprinkle 
with salt, in which let them remain for about twenty-four 
hours, but not longer ; drain them dry, put them into a jar, 
and pour over them the following pickle, which should be 
made in readiness:—To each quart of vinegar put an ounce 
of ground black pepper, half an ounce of pounded ginger, 
some salt and horse-radish cut in slices, and a few capsi¬ 
cums or Cayenne according to taste. Put all these into a 
jar stopped close, and let them steep three days on a trivet 
by the side of the fire, and when cold strain the liquor 
through a cloth, and pour on the Cabbage. 
To Stew Red Cabbage. —Strip off the outer leaves, 
wash the Cabbage, and quarter it. Take out all the stalk, 
and cut the Cabbage into fine shreds. Slice some cold ham 
as thin as possible, and put it into a stew-pan alternately 
with layers of shred Cabbage, having first put some bits of 
fresh butter in the bottom of the pan. Add half a pint of 
boiling water; cover the pan closely, and let it stew for 
three hours, till the Cabbage is very tender and the liquor all 
wasted. Should it be found to be dry and in danger of 
burning, add a little more boiling water. When done, press 
and drain it through a colander, and serve it; the Cabbage 
heaped up in the middle of the dish, and the ham round it. 
The colour may he improved by adding a slice or two of 
beet-root, aud the flavour by a table-spoonful of vinegar. 
Red Cabbage Larded. — Take a large firm Cabbage, 
parboil it, and remove the stalk; add some gravy and fat, 
pepper and salt. Lard the Cabbage with large pieces of 
bacon, and tie slices round it; put it in a stew-pan, the 
place of the stalk uppermost, with a little butter in it. Let 
it stew three hours over a gentle fire; take it off and skim 
the sauce ; reduce it, pour it over the Cabbage, and serve. 
Red Cabbage Marinaded.— Take a large Cabbage, re¬ 
move the under part of the stalk and outer leaves, and cut 
it in quarters. Then cut the quarters in shreds like ver¬ 
micelli, beginning at the head and finishing at the stalk. 
Parboil the Cabbage ten minutes in boiling water salted; 
drain it, and put it into a large dish ; season it, and pour 
over it an equal quantity of vinegar and water; leave the 
Cabbage three hours at most, then squeeze it dry. Put a 
large piece of butter into a stew-pun, add the Cabbage, 
moisten it with gravy or cullis, and stew it very gently.— 
Roger Ashtole. 
TREBIANA GRAPE. 
Your correspondent “ 0. M.,” at page 409, has jumped 
into a wrong conclusion. He says that I have been writing 
about a “ Black Champion G rape,” which I said was better 
than the Hamburgh; but I never heard of such a Grape till 
I read his article! 
I can give him the history of the Trebiana Grape, for I 
first sent it into the world with a very good character. It is 
one out of forty-six kinds of Grapes which I “ proved ” in a 
house on purpose from 1830 to 1836. The late Earl Powis 
introduced it at Walcot, from the south of Spain, about the 
year 1825 or 1826. I saw it in fruit there two or three 
years running, under Mr. Forbes’ care, from whom I had 
eyes of it. I sent it all over the country, and to Mr. Mearns, 
at Welbeck, among the rest. Mr. Tillery found it there 
with my name to it, as he once said in some notes about 
Grapes which I read from his pen. Welbeck is the only 
place that I know of now where this is to be had true, 
unless the Caledonian Horticultural Society kept it; but 
they were all at sixes and sevens at the Experimental of 
Inverleith when I sent it there, and I never heard anything 
from them about it. As far as I know there are very few 
