434 THE COTTAGE GARDENER AND COUNTRY GENTLEMAN'S COMPANION.— September 16,1856. 
| out those who coulil enter into his views, and afford him 
co-operation. 
While engaged in what he called I'Ordre Universel de la 
Nature, or Natural System, he made a tour through nearly 
every department of France, even visiting the Pyrenees and 
the Alps, with the view of studying the interior structure of 
| high mountains. He returned with an immense collection 
j of valuable specimens, besides a great number of drawings. 
! But alas for such devotion to science 1 The revolution 
j came, and, like thousands more, Adanson lost all, and was 
i reduced to great privations in his old age. But better times 
j returned, and his circumstances slightly improved. He 
' built a small house, and continued his studies till within a 
| short time of his death, which took place in 1800, at the 
I advanced age of nearly eighty years. Among his MSS. a 
curious work on the monstrosities of plants was found. He 
also left a work called Histoire Naturelle, en Tableaux, con¬ 
sisting of about 2,000 drawings, all done under his direction 
by able artists : some of the figures had been engraved. 
There is, besides, a treatise on Vegetable Physiology, applied 
to Agriculture and Horticulture, together with many other 
important papers, which testify to his immense knowledge 
and his marvellous facility of working. I cannot say whether 
these MSS. have been published separately; but what of 
his great work was completed was published in the year 
1763. The second edition came out in 1847, including nil 
that had been prepared and left in MS. The editors are 
Alexandre Adanson and J. Payer, who have added what was 
required to bring the work down to the present day, and 
they have given a considerable number of engravings. The 
title is Les Families Naturelles des Plantes. The first part 
comprises the history of botanical science. It indicates 
great research, and contains, among other features, a table 
of brief particulars relating to the botanical writers of every 
age and country. Adanson was a member of the Royal 
Society of London, and, besides being an accomplished 
scholar, as well as a profound philosopher, he v'as one of 
those original minds which never fail to leave their impress 
on the age in which they live.—P. E. Heir. 
HOW OUGHT BRIER TO BE SPELT? 
I take in your Cottage Gardener monthly, and, there¬ 
fore, do not see the correspondence directly, go your question 
about the orthography of Brier may have been answered by 
some one more competent than myself. If so, my remarks 
may be thrown aside. Your own Cottage Gardeners’ 
Dictionary spells it Sweet Friar, omitting any mention of 
Brier. 
Johnson spells it Brier. 
The Bible of 1051, Bryars. 
Gascoigne, an early poet, died 1750— 
“Among the Bramble Briers." 
Stow, in Chronicles of Edward VI., 1502, Briers. 
Barrow, in his 30th Sermon, Briars. 
Cowper, in the Task, Book 0 ,— 
Bird’s Eye, a small, round variety, not much larger than a 
Marrowfat Pea. They are all used for pickling green, and 
as ingredients in soups, sauces, salads, and pickles, or, when 
ripe, ground to a coarse powder to make Cayenne. 
The seed is to be sown 1 in pots at the end of March or 
beginning of April, and placed in a hotbed, Cucumber frame, 
or any other place of a similar temperature. When the j 
plants are two or three inches high, they are to be pricked ; 
out, three in a pot, in some rich soil, and returned to the i 
frame, where they are to remain till the roots fill the pots. 
They may then be repotted into larger pots w here they are j 
intended to remain, either singly or in threes; and about 
the middle of June gradually hardened off so as to stand out ' 
in-the open air, where they may be planted under a wall i 
with a southern aspect, or in some other warm situation, j 
At the end of August, or beginning of September, the pods | 
will be ready to gather. 
It is the ripe pods of the Capsicum, when dried and 
ground, which form the true Cayenne pepper. 
To Pickle Capsicums. —Gather the pods with the stalks 
on before they turn red ; cut a slit down the side, and take 
out all the seeds, but as little of the pulp as possible ; lay 
Ihe pods in a strong brine for three days, changing it every 
day; take them out, lay them on a cloth, and lay another 
over them till they are dry; put them into a glass or jar, 
and having boiled as much vinegar as will cover them along 
with some bruised mace and nutmeg, pour this over them 
when it is cold. Secure the bottles or jars with corks or 
bladder, so as they may be air-tight. 
Capsicum Vinegar. — Take six Long Red Capsicums, 
which slit up, and boil in three pints of strong vinegar; j 
boil down to one quart, and then strain and bottle it for j 
use. It will keep for years. 
Chiu or Cayenne Wine. —Pound and steep fifty fresh j 
Red Chilies or a quarter of an ounce of Cayenne pepper j 
in half a pint of brandy, white wine, or claret for fourteen 
days. This, which takes up a larger proportion of the 
flavour of Cayenne than of its fire, will be found a very 
warm auxiliary to season and finish soups and sauces. 
Chili Vinegar.— Infuse fifty fresh Red Chilies, cut in 
half or pounded, in a pint of the best vinegar for a fortnight. 
Those who cannot eat fish without the addition of an acid 
and Cayenne will find this an agreeable relish. 
Cayenne Pepper.— This may be made of the Long Red 
Capsicum, but Chilies are much superior in flavour, and 
are, therefore, to be preferred. Take any number of 
Chilies, remove the stalks, and put the pods into a colander, 
in which set them before the fire, and dry them as soon as 
possible without scorching them. When dry put them into 
a mortar, with one-fourth their weight of salt, and pound and j 
rub them till they are as fine as possible. Then keep it in 
well-stopped bottles. Be careful not to agitate too much 
in pounding it, as the dust may fly to the eyes. 
Essence of Cayenne.— Put half an ounce of Cayenne 
pepper into half a pint of brandy or wine; let it steep for 
a fortnight, and then pour off the clear liquor. This is 
nearly equal to fresh Chili juice.— Roger Ashpole. 
“ Picked from the thorns and Briers of reproof.” 
Byron, in Beppo, Stanza 4th, first line,— 
“ You ’d better walk about begirt with Briars." 
Chaucer spells it Breres, and only in one author do I 
find it used in the singular number. 
Browne, in the Shepherd’s Pipe, Eclogue 2,— 
“ And spoyle the smelling Breere." 
The word is Anglo-Saxon, Brier, to prick. 
I think, from the authorities quoted above, that the word 
may be spelt with either c or a, and yet he correct.—A. Q. 
[Our correspondent leaves the question in about the same 
doubt as he found it. Authorities spell the word Briars 
and Briers. The latter is nearest to the Anglo-Saxon.] 
VEGETABLE CULTURE AND COOKERY. 
CAPSICUM. 
There are a great many varieties of the Capsicum, but 
those which are generally cultivated for domestic use are 
the Louy Bed and the Chili. There is another called the 
QUERIES AND ANSWERS. 
GARDENING. 
SUCCESSION OF FLOWERS IN WINTER. 
“ A Novice, wishing to have a continual supply of flowers ] 
in pots for the drawing-room during the winter, would be ! 
much obliged for a few bints; but they must be simple j 
flowers and easily grown, as- there is no green or hothouse 
to raise them in, merely' a pit, such as is used for riiising 
cuttings of A erbenas, Ac. Will you also kindly mention 
when they should he sown or planted, how treated, and 
when they will blossom? A Novice has always entrusted 
this charge to a gardener, hut has never had any success; 
a few Crocuses and Hyacinths being the only flowers she i 
has been able to obtain, and these not coming into bloom \ 
until March or April. A small display about December j 
would be worth double to any later ones, as the garden then | 
begins to contribute a lew wherewith to deck and adorn the * 
room.” 
[With the assistance of such a pit as you mention, it will 
