April 24.] 
THE COTTAGE GARDENER. 
59 
most economical food for a labouring man’s family. But¬ 
cher’s meat is now so cheap, that I am surprised to see it 
so little used. You may depend upon it that a shilling’s 
worth of meat is much better economy than anything else 
at the same price. I do not mean that you are merely to 
roast or boil it, and then eat it; but if a pound of meat, 
at 4d., is boiled down with vegetables, and a pound of rice, 
at l|d., you will find a good wholesome meal is ready for a 
large family. I have before given receipts for soup, and 
also for dressing sheep’s feet, which in the country can be 
bought for a penny each ; and, as I am convinced that you 
will find them both palatable and economical, I very much 
hope that a trial has been given them. I will now, there¬ 
fore, say a few words on two articles which, I think, are 
much neglected by the cottagers of England. These are, 
rice and oatmeal. The latter is fully appreciated by the 
Scotch : the children there “ live and grow fat ” on oatmeal, 
and I can answer for its being most wholesome. The coarse 
oatmeal is very cheap, and easily procured. Breakfast is 
the best meal at which to eat it. A pint of oatmeal will 
make a sufficient quantity of porridge for a good-sized party. 
It should be mixed with cold water gradually until quite 
smooth ; a quart of water to a pint of oatmeal is about the 
right proportion. When well mixed put it into a saucepan j 
and boil it for a quarter of an hour, stirring it well during I 
the time it is boiling. It should be eaten with salt, and if 
a little milk can be spared it will be a great improvement. 
If it is used for dinner, it should always be mixed with a 
little cold broth instead of water, and for that meal half 
the quantity of oatmeal is sufficient. 
There are numerous ways of dressing rice, and you will 
find it a favourite dish with your children. Before using it 
you should soak it two or three hours in cold water; by so 
doing you save time and trouble, as when soaked it requires 
much less boiling, and as a saucepan must be watched this 
is an advantage. One pound of rice is sufficient for two 
gallons of broth,—you can buy rice quite good enough at 
lfd. a pound (sometimes even cheaper) ; you will, there¬ 
fore, soon find out how much cheaper it is than always 
eating bread. 
The following receipts will vary your cookery and lower 
your bills :— 
Rice Stirabout. —Take half a pound of rice, and half a 
pound of Scotch barley; soak them for two hours in suffi¬ 
cient water to cover them. Put them into a saucepan with 
one gallon of water, three tablespoonfuls of treacle, and a 
pinch of salt. Let it all boil together till the rice is quite 
soft, and you will find on turning it out an excellent break¬ 
fast for your little ones. 
A nice cheap supper dish is made in the following way :— 
Soak one pound of rice for two hours. Put it into a sauce¬ 
pan with three pints of water; when it has become a thick 
paste add one pint of skim milk, four tablespoonfuls of 
grated cheese, a little pepper and salt; stir it well together, 
and when it has boiled up it is ready for the table. 
If skim milk is easily procured, you will find rice plainly 
boiled in it, with the addition of a little treacle, a very 
excellent substitute for bread. Bread is, certainly, “ the 
staff of life,” but still I do not think it either profitable or 
wholesome to banish other food from the table. I know 
many of the poor living near me feed their children almost 
entirely on bread. A slice of bread certainly satisfies 
hunger, with very little trouble ; but that consideration 
ought not to enter the head of any one to whom God has 
given the management of a family. Nothing can be done 
without exertion and trouble. And surely a clean, com¬ 
fortable, well-ordered cottage is worth some trouble,—surely 
a happy family party is worth some exertion! No home 
can be comfortalile unless the wife strives all she can to 
make it so. When once the determination is made to 
struggle against the love of ease, the results which follow 
will fully compensate for the extra trouble which has to be 
taken; and the cottage at whose head is a managing, tidy 
wife, becomes the admiration—nay, even the envy—of the 
parish.—A Friend. 
TRANSPLANTING LARGE TREES. 
I have read with pleasure what Mr. Beaton has written 
on various matters in The Cottage Gardener, particularly 
as to the making of walks and transplanting of trees, and 
so far my observations enable me to form an opinion, I quite 
agree with what he says; but as to transplanting, I fear 
Mr. Beaton’s method of introducing a truck under the tree 
would not, from the character of some ground, be found 
practicable; and if that be shown, then a difficulty must 
arise in carrying out the course he advises. 
My garden is about an acre, on the north-east border of 
Charnwood Forest, and eleven years ago the greater part of 
it was used as a stone-quarry. In some parts only the sur¬ 
face stone was got, and in others it was got two yards deep; 
but in those parts there was not much rock, the ground 
being composed of five-sixths of stone. The surface is very 
unequal. I got in much soil, and roses, rhododendrons, 
laurels, pinuses, and, indeed, almost anything grows remark¬ 
ably well. Trees which were planted nine years ago I have 
removed, and found that the roots had got amongst the 
stones, and close down upon a rock, which was so near the 
tree-root as to render it impossible to get an opening under 
the centre of the tree, one foot wide and three inches deep, 
or, indeed, any opening whatever. 
I commenced breaking the ground at the extremities of 
the roots, and carefully worked a way under them until the 
soil left round the stem was about three or four feet in 
diameter; then the roots turned back obliquely, protected 
by straw, which was surrounded by a waggon-rope; the tree 
was next heaved to loosen it, and then drawn forward on a 
strong plank, under which were two poles, then raised by 
legs and pulley, placed on a stonemason's truck, moved to 
its destination, and lowered by the pulley. This was my 
own contrivance, never having seen any tree other than my 
own removed, nor any machinery for the purpose ; and, being 
only an amateur, I shall be glad if Mr. Beaton, taking into 
account the stony character of the ground, can suggest any¬ 
thing more simple and better for the purpose. The tree 
was too heavy to be lifted by men, or carried by them when 
raised. J. G. 
PROFITS OFF SIX AND A HALF ACRES. 
At page 221 of our 4th volume, we gave a statement 
furnished us by the proprietor, showing that he had realized 
from the above-named space a profit of ,£00 in the year 
1849. As an evidence of his impartiality, we now publish 
his balance-sheet for 1850, showing a profit from the same 
plot of barely £‘14. The average profit of the two years is 
sufficiently satisfactory, and we should observe that the oats 
were severely injured by the 'Wire-worm. 
EXPENSES. 
RETURNS 
£ 
s. 
d. 
£ 
s. 
d. 
To twice ploughing 6 £ 
14 acres of rye, cut green 9 
0 
0 
acres at 12 s. per acre 
7 
l 6 
0 
To 20 tons of wurtzel 
.. 20 
0 
0 
To 16 sacks of potatoes 
44 tons of potatoes, 
at 
for planting, at 10 s. per 
£3 10s. 
15 
0 
sack. 
8 
0 
0 
3 tons of chats. 
0 
0 
To planting 2 acres .... 
15 
0 
27 qrs. 6 bush, oats, at £\ 27 
15 
0 
To cutting plants. 
5 
0 
8 $ loads of straw .... 
.. 8 
15 
0 
To hoeing and moulding 
1 
5 
0 
Cabbage plants sold 
on 
To 6 bushels of oats, at 
the ground. 
2 
2 
6 
2 s. fid. 
15 
0 
To drilling and harrow- 
^86 
7 
b 
ing 24 acres . 
15 
0 
To 4 bushels of seed rye 
1 
0 
0 
To sowing and harrowing 
14 acres . 
5 
0 
To 12 loads of manure.. 
6 
0 
0 
To planting G acres of 
wurtzel, part on rye 
ground. 
5 
0 
To thinning and hoeing 
15 
0 
To cutting 24 acres of 
oats. 
1 
5 
0 
To carting home . 
15 
0 
To taking up 2 acres of 
potatoes . 
3 
0 
0 
To taking up wurtzel .. 
1 
0 
0 
To threshing 27 qrs. 6 
bush, of oats, at 2 s. 6 d. 
3 
9 
44 
To rent of 64 acres at ^6*4 26 
0 
0 
Tithe and taxes. 
6 
10 
0 
To trimming hedges .. 
6 
0 
To small seeds . 
7 
6 
To planting cabbage .. 
1 
10 
0 
To twice sowing turnips 
and harrowing the 
ground. 
10 
0 
£72 
7 104 
£72 
7 
104 
Profit on the whole 
£13 
19 
7& 
i 
