THE COTTAGE GARDENER. 
Felhuauy 20. 
8!)r> 
add gradiiiilly the beaten eggs, and stir llie mixture, or 
shake it over the fire till it becomes thick. Toast sufficient 
bread to cover the bottom of a deep dish ; pour the egg and 
liuttcr over tlie hot toast, then place the Brocoli upon it, the 
l.arge head in the centre, and the smaller ones round it, with 
tlie shoots round the edges as a garnish. 
I’uocoLt Sat.ad. —Boil it as directed above, lay it in a dish, 
and beat it up with oil, vinegar, and a little salt. Garnish 
with Nasturtium-seeds. 
ISIany of the receipts given for Cauliflower may also be 
used for Brocoli.— Rogeu Asitpole. 
GARDEN HERBACEOUS PLANTS. 
Youn correspondent under this head alludes to the family 
of “ Helleborus ” as giving flowers in the winter. I take 
leave to add a list of other beautiful attributes of Nature, 
that are now displaying their beauty and fragrance in the 
I beds of my gai’den. Helleborus niger; Eranthis byemalis ; 
i Tritoma media; Tussilago fragrans; Galanthus nivalis, in 
sorts; Crocus billorus; Anemone liepatica, in varieties; 
A. hortensis, in varieties ; A. coronaria, in varieties. Wliile 
upon the bushes is the sweet Chimonanthus fragrans, and 
the Jasminum nuditlorum, wreathed in its flowers of gold. 
'I’hese and the succession of another fortnight produces 
Erythronium dens canis, in sorts ; Leucojum vernum ; 
i Arabis montana ; Alyssum saxatile ; Scilla bifolia ; Scilla 
I priPcox; the beautiful family of the Crocus in all their 
I colours, while we yet remember the Crocus autumnalis, 
i and the the Colchicum of the past season, 
j 'With all these lloral beauties, however, how many of the 
I gardens I am led into that assume only the chai-acter of a 
I 'Welch churchyard! There are the beds, it is true; but, 
i unless well-directed gardening can lead me to some object 
I for admiration, I would rather it were turfed over. 
Botany lias certainly sunk greatly in the few past years ; 
the rage for glare has, for a time, at least, placed science in 
the shade. Ask the young gardener the classic name of 
the “ Rose of .Tericho," and he will tell you he knows the 
“ Cloth of Gold,” Rose, and he can add a list of Verbenas, 
with the “Flower of the Day” Geranium, Ac. Such are 
the acquirements of the day. 
Please tell “Anti Frigi" that I cover my jiit with sail¬ 
cloth upon rollers, and prepared with a pliant composition, 
that neither cracks with cold, nor becomes adhesive by 
heat.— Snowdrop. 
[Our correspondent is wrong; never was there a time 
when the scientific names were so well known by young gar¬ 
deners. Of course there are exceptions. — En. C. G.] 
PRACTICE IN RUSTIC WORK. 
TitERE are some people who must be .always putting, 
notching, or carving with a knife. Sometimes they seek to 
perpettiate their precious memory by the formation of cer¬ 
tain well-known letters in the bark of a tree, or any other 
surface which happens to be near. "When their hands are 
not otherwise occupied, almost every fonu or bench c.an 
testify to the interesting fact that the owner of some name 
beginning with “A. B.,” or “ R. W.,” once marked the 
spot with his presence, and left .an impression behind him. 
Others, ambitious to give a touch of art to their productions, 
are absorbed for many a long hour in developing the head 
of a monkey, or a dog, on the top of what is highly 
esteemed as a walking-stick. I once knew a boy who had a 
remarkable fondness for making pen-knives, including even 
the plate for engraving the name, and alt in wood. Among 
poor people, too, there is really no limit to the number of 
juvenile ship carpenters, all more or less distinguished for 
cutting out their smacks, cutters, schooners, and other mer¬ 
chantmen destined to scale the mountain waves of the 
nearest ditch. 
Let us not frown on these humble efforts, however they 
may make us smile, but rather let us endeavour to give 
them scope and direction, so that the time and labour which 
would otherwise be wasted may be profitably and agreeably 
spent. Rustic work, such as relates to the construction of 
flower-baskets and flower-stands, is well suited for this pur¬ 
pose, for it includes both cutting and carving, as we shall 
see by-and-by. 
Those of your readers who have a little taste and spare 
time, could hardly do better than give it a trial. 
In introducing this subject to notice, I send a sketch of 
one of the simplest flower-stands I have been able to find. 
It is intended to contain a jdant in a pot, and to be placed 
either in an open corner, or behind other plants. The con¬ 
struction of this siiif/le .'itand requires but little skill or 
labour, and the only point which needs particular explanation, 
is that at a. 
Here there are two different ways of working, in order to 
produce the projecting bottom. With the first of these two 
ways, the bottom is formed of two circular boards, the 
loirer projecting a little, say about half-an-inch, beyond the 
margin of the wppcr, and on this latter the lath-like sticks 
or r/7/s are neatly nailed, after being properly prepared. 
The other mode is not so convenient, nor so much adapted, 
but it saves a little wood. It consists simply in carrying a 
narrow band of wood, or a branch, round the bottom of the 
ribs after they have been nailed on to the bottom. But 
before saying more about the construction of the stand, I 
wish to offer a few observations respecting the 
Materials. —The legs (either three or four may be used) ! 
are of the thickness of an ordinary walking-stick; sometimes , 
they are a little thicker, according to the size of the top. It i 
is almost unnecessary to say that any kind of branch will | 
I serve the pinq)Ose, but it is desirable to have all the branches ; 
I of the same thickness, and as even as possible. ! 
, Birch will, perhaps, be found the best description of wood i 
i for the ribs, if it can be procured, but any other may be used. 
Common deal board, about balf-an-iuch thick, is good 
enough for the bottom ; but it is somewhat ditlicult to cut a 
piece of wood evenly round, except with a good saw made 
