184 
THE COTTAGE GARDENER. 
Dkcl’mbkr 11. 
• hnrtHy toll the slay-at-home’s liow easily one fire would heat 
llic whole. I prefer the sashes fixed; small sipiarcs of 
: ;,'lass, uot air-tight; the air given at the top, either hy a lew 
i moveable, small lights, or, what is preferable, ventilators, on 
I similar principles, in the way conservatories are generally 
: done. A house of this description, arranged as No. 1, will 
give 1,400 superficial feet for ti-aining Teaches, Ac.; and, 
allowing eight inches square for one Teach—which is no 
very extravagant expectation—you will have 2,100; a house 
the length of Mr. Tdvers’s, of sixty-six feet, 2,772 ; not Tom 
Thumb’s, but Teaches, the sii^e that has realised AT per 
dozen as late as the 10th of August, and 10s. on the 24tb, 
within those last three years, in Covent Garden, without 
asking for it. As to varieties, you may have all the varieties 
in cultivation worth a place, and even those that are not 
worth it, as you may have a score of sorts on one tree if 
you like; and by placing the earliest sorts at one end, you 
may, with little trouble, prolong their season to all reason¬ 
able limits. Besides, you may have them much earlier in a 
house of this description; and, if the borders are properly 
prepared, there need be no iilarin about the Moss, Ferns, 
Ac., covering the border. What a fine show Chi’ysanthe- 
murns would make in' this dull season in such a house as 
this ! As to watering the trees at the roots, under ordinary 
circumstances, they will take no harm if you never give 
them a drop; and a good syringing about as often as a 
labourer wants a clean shirt will iio them more good than 
being always at it.— D. Fergusox, ISlowe, Biic/dii'iham. 
(To be continued.) 
VEGETABLE CULTURE AND COOKERY. 
BORAGE. 
I Forwerly this w'as much more extensively cultivated than 
j it is at present; and although its use is now' almost dis- 
I continued, it is still to be found in the seedsmen’s cata- 
I logues. The leaves, liowers, and young tops, are the parts 
i Tised, and, according to some writers, singular qualities are 
! ascribed to them. Evelyn says, “ the tender leaves and 
I tlowers, especially, may be eaten in composition, but above 
^ all, the sprigs in wine, like those of Balm, are of known 
; virtue to revive the hypochondriac, and cheer the hard 
1 student.” Langley says, “ The Howers being eaten in salads, 
1 exhilirate and make the mind glad,” and the parts used are 
I “ the flowers and tender leaves when eaten in a salad; the 
leaves and young tops, with their blossoms, wdien used for a 
cool tatdnird, in wine, Ac.” 
I Borage is raised from seed, which is sown either broad- 
I cast or in rows, in IMarch or Apnl, in the situation where it 
is intended to remain; and when the plants are about two 
' inches high they are thinned out to a foot apart. These 
will furnish a supply during the summer till October and 
; November; and if a crop is intended to stand the winter, 
' another sowing may be made in August or September, 
i Cool Tankard. —For making a Cool Tankard, Ur. Kit- 
; chener gives the following instructions. A quart of mild 
ale, a glass of white wine, one of brandy', one of capillaire, 
tlie juice of a lemon, a roll of the peel pared thin ; nutmeg 
grated at the top, a sprig of Borage or Balm, and a bit of 
toasted bread. 
BORECOLE. 
j Tuts is a variety of the common AVild Cabbage, growing 
, with a stem from two feet to two-fcet-and-a-half high, pro- 
j ducing numerous side-shoots, and furnished Avith large 
' leaves, which are very much crumpled and curled on the 
; margin. ^ The names by which it is known arc kail or kale, 
■ Scotch hale, Kihnaurs Kale, German Greens, Curled Greens, 
and Cnrlies. There are three varieties, the 3 ’r//, the ihrar/’, 
and the Heading, the last being a new' introduction, and foim- 
j ing itself into a head like the cabbage- and Savoy, Avhile the 
I others produce numeroirs side-shoots. Borecole is one of 
the best and most profitable Avintcr greens we have, and it is 
an unfailing resource in the most severe winters, when every 
other plant of the kind has perished ; no garden, therefore, 
ought to be without an abundant supply. 
Morecole is r;iised from seed, which is sown on a bed in 
the open ground, in the latter end of March and beginning 
’ of April; the soil is to be prepared Avith a fine surface, and 
' the seed sown broadcast, and raked in. As soon as the 
plants ai'e four inches high, the strongest are to be thinned 
' out and transplanted Avliere they are to remain, in roAvs 
two-feet-aud-a half apart, and a foot-and-a-half distance in 
the rows. This may be done in the middle of June, and in 
October and November they will be ready for use. 
Some of the smaller plants, Avhich were left in the seed¬ 
bed, should be pricked out into another bed, about four 
inches distance from each other, and in July planted out 
Avhere they are to remain, in the same Avay as the others 
Avere, and they Avill come in to stand during Avinter, and fur¬ 
nish a supply of tender leaves and sprouts in the spring. 
AVhen first planted out, Boi'ecole should receive a good 
Avatering till fully established; and in autumn the plants 
should be earthed up on both sides to secure them against 
high Avinds. Before the leaves are fit for use, they sliould 
I have endured a good sharp frost to make them sufficiently 
' tender; and in spring the plants Avill throAv out a plentiful 
! supply of tender shoots, Avhich Avill furnish one of the most 
j delicious greens the garden can produce. 
' To Dress Borecole. — Select those leaves only that are 
fresh and succulent, discarding all Avhich shoAV a tendency to 
turn yelloAv, and never gather them till they are to be used. 
Should they be allowed to become fiaccid, no art aa ill ever 
restore them to their former crisp and succulent state; but 
as in large towns where vegetables are supplied tltrough the 
markets and greengrocers it rai'ely happens that they can 
be procured in that state of freshness Avhich is obtained 
Avhen taken directly from the garden, it Avill be found advan¬ 
tageous before cooking them to immerse them for a short 
time in cold spring water. Should Borecole be frozen Avhen ga¬ 
thered, lay them in cold water for an hour before boiling, and 
put a piece of saltpetre in the saucepan Avhen set on the fire. 
Before boiling them, see that they are carefully Avashed, and 
cleansed from insects, dust, and dirt; then put them into a 
saucepan without a lid, in Avhich there is an abundance of 
briskly boiling Avater, to Avhich a little salt has been pre¬ 
viously added. Be careful to keep the water constantly 
boiling, and Avhen the vegetables sink they are done enough. 
Take them up immediately, otherAvise the colour and flavour 
Avill be lost, and drain the Avater thoroughly from them 
before sending them to table. 
Greens of all kinds .should be boiled in soft water, but 
Avhen such cannot be obtained, and the Avater is hard, the 
addition of a piece of soda Avill preserve the colour.— Roger 
Ashrole. 
VARIETIES OF THE CANARY BIRD. 
{Continued from page 1113.) 
Tr may not be out of place, as I have desciibed the 
management of these pretty birds, now to make a few j 
rentarks as to their varieties. All naturalists that 1 have 
consulted ascribe the origin of our domesticated Canaries 
to the Avild originals of the Canary Islands, of Avhich I have 
not met Avith any minute or accurate description, a circum¬ 
stance I much regret. W. Aug. Osbaldiston, Esq., Avriting 
in his “British SjAortsman,” in 17!)2, describes the Canary 
as a green bird, and says that they cannot be distinguished by 
some country people from our commoti green bird; all other 
naturalists agi’eo that the Avild colour is green. Some, too, 
are of opinion that there are other varieties to be found in a 
j wild state; and Dr. Bechstein says, that there arc Iaa'o birds 
I found in the south of Europe, the Serin and Citril Finches, 
i that are so nearly allied to the Canary that they breed freely 1 
I together; and he also states, that “The resemblance is 
I indeed so close, that I should take the Citril Finch for the 
original wild stock of the Canary, Avere not such to be found 
in the Canary Islands at this day.” 
I lately had in my possession a Canary that was caught 
Avild in the woods of St. Helena, that much resembled his 
description of the Serin, the beak of Avhich Avas short, thick, 
and dark ; the shanks and toes AA’ere also very dark, the irides 
broAvn, the upper parts of the body of a bright green, the quill 
feathers of the wings and tail black edged with green; over 
the beak and passing backAvai'ds across the eyes Avas a yellow 
stripe; the throat, breast, and under parts were also yelloAv; 
