40 THE COTTAGE GARDENER. April 21. 
seedling from tbe British Queen Strawberry. There 
was also a dish of the Black Prince Strawberry, as fine 
as ever, and as highly spoken of in the lecture as it 
deserves, hut, like the British Queen, I know it refuses 
to do well on some land. 
The bottled fruit was a new feature at these meetings, 
hut a very useful one, nevertheless. It was only the 
other day that I tasted Scotch Marmalade, from a 
receipt in The Cottage Gardener, the very best 
and richest I ever tasted. Some of the fruit in these 
bottles looked as well as could be, and I have no 
doubt tbe receipts for bottling will be found useful.* 
The next move must he for the best cooked vegetables; 
but who shall be the judges, and where are the dishes 
to be exhibited ? for I protest against their being 
sent to our rooms without hot joints. There w r as a 
dish of foreign Peas, from Mr. Solomons, of Covent 
Garden, to show the state of that article at present in 
the market, and some large heads of white Brocoli, 
from Mr. Bates, Manor House, Molesey, Surrey, finer 
and better than any that were in Covent Garden for 
months past. 
The skeleton flowers, fruit, and leaves, were sent by a 
lady who did not wish her name to be mentioned. They 
were much admired, and a specimen of the best skeleton 
leaves done in India were shown at the same time, but 
not so well executed as those now exhibited; the won¬ 
derful structure of the network of a flower was never 
better seen before, all the soft parts were entirely gone, 
and the veins or ribs were blanched, and holding the 
forms together as perfectly as when the frame was 
united by the vegetable matter. D. Beaton. 
NEGLECTED GREENHOUSE. 
“Such a house has as well as been made over to me. 
I am to have anything done that does not involve much 
expense. I have cleaned it out, potted the plants afresh, 
which are very small, consisting of Geraniums, Calceo¬ 
larias, Verbenas, a few Fuchsias, and several sickly 
Cactuses; there is nothing in flower, and Papa will not 
allow me to purchase any thing in bud: but says I should 
sow some seeds that would look nice during the summer. 
What am I to do to make a show? You will perceive 
that I cannot yet profit by the details given of many 
greenhouse plants. I want to know all about the simple 
and the economical to begin with.” The above is part 
of a nice letter into which I was privileged to have a 
peep last week. I thoroughly sympathise with the go- 
ahead, stick-not-at-difficulties spirit which it evinces. It 
seems to require a more detailed notice than can be 
supplied in a correspondent’s column, just because there 
are numbers of young ladies in a similar position. One 
source of pure pleasure to me, was the ability at times 
to assist such inquirers by something more than words. 
Far from damping our friend’s wish to have the green¬ 
house showy in summer, we would urge the propriety of 
making it especially attractive in winter and spring. 
To do this, besides sowing a few seeds, she must con¬ 
trive to get a few plants,—not in bud, but young, such 
as may be grown on,—and a few bulbs, if possible; and 
failing one or both of these, to try and get a few slips of 
different things from her neighbours. Let her only show 
she is interested in the matter, and there will be no 
* The best collection of fruit preserved without sugar or vinegar was 
from Mr. Lovejov, butler to J. Thorne, Esq., South Lambeth. They 
were Damsons, Greengages, Gooseberries, Rhubarb, Cherries, Black and 
Red Currants, Raspberries, end Mulberries. The process of preserving 
was this:—“When the stalks were removed they were bottled, and 
boiling water added, having alum in it in the proportion of one drachm 
to four gallons. They were then allow'ed to become cold, and then the 
bottles were filled and bunged down tight. They were then placed in a 
copper of cold water and heated to 176°. After that a piece of bladder 
was tied over the mouth of each bottle, and they were securely sealed,” 
— Gardeners’ Chronicle. 
difficulty. All real lovers of gardening are united by a 
sympathetic, philanthropic tie, which draws them more 
closely together than the mysteries of any other brother¬ 
hood or craft. I have known gardeners entering upon 
situations where not a flowering plant in a pot was to 
be seen, and if they had waited until they could have 
given an order to a nurseryman, not a flower, in all 
probability, would have been there to this day. But a 
slip was got here, and a cutting there, and some rather 
common things were grown in such a superior manner, 
that a new taste was created in the minds of employers 
that must be gratified, and pits were reared, and conser¬ 
vatories built, and grounds laid out for ornament, and 
money cheerfully spent in their keeping, the very 
thought of which, at one time, would have been as 
alarming as a night-mare vision, and all, in general, 
thus resulting in the pleasure and benefit alike of pro¬ 
prietor, gardener, and nurseryman. 
Let our young friend imitate such examples; never 
be deterred by difficulties; never lose patience, atten¬ 
tion, perseverance, and hope; but make tbe most of 
circumstances, and, although not a betting man, I would 
pledge one of my best plants, that before a second 
Christmas, Papa, notwithstanding the demands upon 
his resources at that season, would have set aside a small 
sum for the ornamenting of the greenhouse, as a token 
of his approval of past exertions, and an encouragement 
to progression in the future. 
To ensure tins success, allow me to give a few prac¬ 
tical hints. Full details in most cases will be found 
by examining the index of the volumes you possess. 
Banish from your mind the idea, that the statements 
made which you consider applicable to gardeners are 
not equally suitable for you. Every tribe of plants you 
mention has been treated in great detail, and if you 
would excel, you must attend to the very minutice. It 
does seem irksome at first to be so very particular with 
everything, but if you begin systematically, you will 
find you will easily be able to arrange plants requiring 
similar treatment into groups. Order and system will 
thus soon become more natural than unmeaning con¬ 
fusion. One sound idea thus not only reasoned upon, 
but developed in action, will give you more knowledge 
of a subject than reading volumes of practical direc¬ 
tions, without inciting the mind to enquire as to the 
why and the how. For instance, in such a house as 
yours, about this time last year, I saw Epacris, Cal¬ 
ceolaria, Cineraria, all mingled together. The Epacris 
had been pruned-in after blooming, and the owner had 
been told, quite correctly, that they should be kept 
rather close until they broke afresh; but this closenesss 
covered the Calceolarias with fat giant fellows of green 
fly, while the simple precaution of placing the plants 
he wished to grow freely at one end of the house, and 
keeping them closer and warmer, and the Calceolarias 
where air could play freely among them, at the other 
end, would have suited the plants, and, besides securing 
health, saved some expense for tobacco. 
Another general hint, as you have a vine, is to make 
up your mind whether the vine or the plants is to be the 
chief consideration. With the exception of the Cactus, 
many people would plant the most of the things you 
mention out-of-doors, and thus you might grow line 
grapes by using your house chiefly for preserving 
plants in winter. We shall shortly show how both first- 
! rate vines and plants, too, can be grown in the same 
house by selecting the plants. But if you wish the 
! house to be gay all the year round from kindred plants 
to those you mention, you may get fair grapes, but you 
cannot make them an especial consideration, because 
hardy greenhouse plants will require more air than 
would suit the vine. In fact, in an ordinary cool green¬ 
house, the vine, south of London, would scarcely be so 
well off as against a south wall out-of-doors. 
