414 
THE COTTAGE GARDENER. 
September 4. 
group have long ago been introduced into the country; these 
are the common Silver Fir, Picea pectinata, and the Balm 
of Gilead, P. Balsamen. Besides the first-named species, 
three other kinds are indigenous to Europe; these are P. 
Pinsapo, from the south of Spain; P. Cephalotiicu, from the 
“ Isles of Greece,” and P. Nordmanniana, from that nowtoo- 
well known locality, the Crimea. Two species have been 
introduced from the Himalayas— P. Pindrow and P. Webbi- 
ana; and four fi’om California — P. nobilis, P. amabilis, 
P. grandis, and P. bracteata. Of these eleven, the two 
Himalayan kinds have the finest foliage, but they are, un- 
fortuately, spring-tender, and therefore should be planted 
in situations unfavourable for early spring growth. The 
four Californian kinds, with Nordmanniana, will, doubtless, 
take the highest place in general estimation, distinguished 
as they are both for hardiness of constitution and noble ap¬ 
pearance. Pinsapo and Cephalunica are not of such lofty 
growth as the common Silver Fir, but their foliage is dis¬ 
tinct and beautiful, the leaves being ranged not in two row's, 
as in the other kinds, but all round the stem, in a chevaux- 
de-frize form. 
A short summary may here be acceptable of returns 
made to the Gardeners’ Chronicle respecting the hardiness 
of this group of Firs. These relate to the trying season of 
last winter and spring twelve-month. P. nobilis, in eight 
returns, had not suffered in a single instance ; amabilis, in 
four returns, and grandis in six, had been only slightly 
touched; Nordmanniana, in eight returns, had not suffered 
in the least; Pinsapo, out of nine, had been only slightly 
injured in two; Cephalonica, out of ten, w r as slightly injured 
in two, much injured in three; Tf r ebbiana and Pindrow in 
some instances entirely escaped; in others were more or 
less injured. 
Flere, I must take my leave, and, in conclusion, recom¬ 
mending to any who wishes to prosecute their inquiries 
further, a little book by the eminent nurserymen, Standish 
and Noble (of Bagshot), entitled “ l’ractical Hints on Plant¬ 
ing Ornamental Trees.”—J. ,T. M. 
THE HOUSEHOLD. 
• 
(We shall be much obliged by any of our readers 
sending us approved receipts in cookery, hints for house¬ 
hold management, or any other domestic utilities, for 
insertion in this department of our columns.) 
Now that the Tomato, or Love Apple, as it is sometimes 
called, is in season, and as it is more generally cultivated in 
this country now than it used to be, we think it a favourable 
opportunity for informing our readers how they may make 
use of the fruit of this excellent plant. 
Tomato Sauce. —Take twelve or fifteen well-ripened 
Tomatoes, remove the stalks, and cut them in half; squeeze 
the water and the seeds from them, and put them into a 
saucepan with six sliced Onions, a little Thyme, Bay leaf, 
salt, half-a-dozen allspice, half-a-dozen cloves, and three 
table-spoonfuls of beef gravy. Set them on the fire for 
tkree-quarters-of-an-hour, stirring frequently to prevent 
them sticking, and when the whole are melted to a proper 
consistency, rub them through a tamis into a clean stewpan, 
and after adding a little cayenne pepper just sufficient to 
flavour it, let it simmer for a few minutes, and then put it 
into bottles, or earthenware jars, covered with bladder. 
Tomato Catsup. —Take Tomatoes when fully ripe, and 
bake them in ajar till tender; then strain the water from 
them, and rub the pulp through a sieve. To every pound 
of the pulp add a pint of Chili vinegar, an ounce of 
shalots, half-an-ounce of garlic cut in slices, a quarter-of-an- 
ounce of salt, and a quarter-of-an-ounce of finely-powdered 
white pepper. Boil the whole till it is quite soft, and rub it 
again through a sieve. To every pound add the juice of 
three lemons; boil it again to the consistency of cream, and, 
when cold, bottle it and keep it in a dry place. 
Tomato Soup. —Take the red part of three large Carrots 
cut small, three heads of Celery, four large Onions, and two 
large Turnips, and put them into a saucepan with a table¬ 
spoonful of butter, and half-a-pound of lean, new ham. Let 
them stew very gently for an hour; then add three quarts 
of brown gravy soup and some whole black pepper, with 
eight or ten ripe Tomatoes. Let it boil an-liour-and-a-half, 
and strain it through a sieve; serve it with fried bread cut 
as dice. 
Tomato Paste. —Scald and peel as many ripe Tomatoes 
as will fill a large, deep, stone jar, and set them into a 
warm oven for an hour. Then skim off the watery liquid 
that has risen to the top, and squeeze the Tomatoes through 
a sieve. Add salt, cayenne, pounded mace, and powdered 
cloves to your taste, and to every quart of Tomatoes add 
half-a-pint of vinegar. Stew the whole slowly in a porcelain- 
lined saucepan for three hours, frequently stirring it from 
the bottom till it becomes a smooth, thick paste. Then put 
it into small jars, or glasses, and cover it closely with 
bladder. This is an excellent sauce at the season when 
fresh Tomatoes cannot be had, and is very good for 
thickening soups. 
Stewed Tomatoes. —Slice the Tomatoes into a tinned 
stewpan, season them with pepper and salt, and place bits 
of butter over the top. Put on the lid close, and stew 
gently for twenty minutes. After this, stir them frequently, 
letting them stew till they are well done. A spoonful or two 
of vinegar will be considered an improvement by many. 
Excellent with roast beef or mutton. 
Baking Bread with deficient Yeast. —The following 
way of baking bread with a very small quanty of yeast, has 
been given to me by the cottager w'ho tried it; and thinking 
it may be useful to others, I forward it for insertion, with 
two other scraps for the house-keeping department. 
The cottager, named above, not being able to get yeast 
for her baking day, and having only one spoonful left, 
thought it possible it might answer used in the following 
way:—She kneaded it up with the usual proportion of water 
and flour into a piece of dough about the size of a large 
teacake, then left it to rise; and when risen as much as 
usual w r hen put into the bread tins, she put to it as much 
flower again, and water enough to knead it up with. After 
kneading it, she left it as before; and when it had risen 
again, added flour and w r ater in the same proportions, and 
continued to do this till she had kneaded twenty pounds of 
flour. She began after breakfast, and had finished baking 
the whole by supper time. The only difference she made 
in kneading was, in having the w'ater warmer than usual, 
“ as hot as the hand could bear; ” and she imagined this 
would be required, as the fermentation would be weaker 
from the small quantity of barm. The bread w’as as light 
as usual; “never nicer," was her own remark. She has 
tried the plan three or four times, and each time it has 
answered equally well.—S. 
Steaming Potatoes. —Pare the Potatoes, and let them 
be nearly the same size; or, if larger than the middle size, 
cut them in tw r o. Put them into the steamer when the 
water boils in the middle of the pan and not before. If 
full-grown, they will be ready in twenty-three minutes; and 
when older, never require more than twenty-five minutes. 
Take them out directly at the end of the time. The water 
must be kept at the same boiling point till they are done. 
All sorts have been tried this way, and the plan has been 
used, with unvarying success, in the family sending the 
receipt, for more than thirty years. The writer may add, 
that no Potatoes cooked in any other way have ever looked 
better than those done by this method.—S. 
Preserving Rhubarb. —Cut the Rhubarb as for tarts, and 
to every quart give one pound of good moist sugar. Put the 
sugar over the Rhubarb, and leave it twenty-four hours to 
draw out the juice. The sugar sinks, but is not dissolved. 
Boil the juice and sugar together for twenty minutes after 
it begins to boil just at the edge of the pan; then add the 
Rhubarb, and boil slowly twenty minutes longer. There is 
no need to stir the syrup, or preserve, if slowly boiled. The 
Rhubarb and sugar do not require a warm place to draw 
out the juice. By this method the pieces of Rhubarb 
remain separate from each other when the preserve is done. 
It keeps good a year, if kept in jars well dried, and in a dry 
place.—S. 
