308 
THE COTTAGE GARDENER. 
beginning with one which has often been tried and approved 
of in our own family:— 
Take two dozen large floury potatoes and roast them well, 
as if for eating. Scoop out the insides, and with a rolling-pin 
roll them until they are quite fine and pulverized. To this 
add a quarter of a pound of coarse brown sugar, and as much 
water as will make it of the consistency of batter. Then 
add a pint of yeast, and let it work together. A pint of this 
yeast should always be kept to make a fresh stock, unless 
beer yeast can be obtained, which is the best to set the com¬ 
position working. 
Another recipe for yeast, which I believe to be a good 
one, but of which I cannot speak from actual experience, is 
the following:—Roil three quarts of water, put it into a 
stone jar, and let it stand until the steam is gone oft’. Then 
put in half a gallon of ground malt, and when well mixed 
and mashed, cover it close, and let it stand one hour; then 
add three quarts of boiling water, and let it stand five hours. 
Strain it, and work it with yeast. When worked, it should 
be kept in stone jars, and stopped very close. A pint of this 
yeast is sufficient for a bushel of flour. 
Another way to make a gallon of yeast, which is said to be 
excellent, is to boil one ounce of hops in four quarts of water 
until they are reduced to three. A quarter of a pound of dry 
malt must then be put into a stone pan, the boiled hops 
strained into the malt, and the mixture covered up close. 
This must be left to stand until cool; then a pint of old yeast 
must be added, a quarter of an ounce of cream of tartar, and 
a good handful of flour. These must be all well mixed toge¬ 
ther, and set to work for six or eight hours. One teacupful 
of this yeast will be sufficient for half a stone of flour. 
The writer from whom I quoted in my last paper upon 
the subject of bread, has given directions for making “ yeast 
cakes,” which he says will keep a whole year, and make very 
excellent bread. I extract the passage, as it is well worth 
attention :—“ The materials for a good batch of cakes are as 
follows—3 ounces of good fresh hops, 3 J lbs. of rye flour, 
7 lbs. of Indian corn-meal, and 1 gallon of water. Rub the 
hops so as to separate them. Put them into the water, 
which is to be boiling at the time; let them boil half an 
hour, then strain the liquor through a fine sieve into an 
earthen vessel. While the liquor is hot put in tire rye-flour, 
stirring the liquor well and quickly as the floiu’ goes into it. 
The day after, when it is working, put in the meal, stirring 
it well as it goes in. Before the meal is all in, the mess 
■will be very stiff; and it will, in fact, be dough, very much of 
the consistence of the dough that bread is made of. Take 
this dough, knead it well as you would for pie-crust. Roll 
it out with a rolling-pin, as you roll out pie-crust, to the 
thickness of about a third of an inch. When you have it 
(or a part of it at a time) rolled out, cut it up into cakes 
with a tumbler glass turned upside down, or with something 
else that will answer the purpose. Take a clean board (a 
tin may be better), and put the cakes to dry in the sun. 
Turn them every day, let them receive no wet, and they 
will become as hard as ship biscuit. Put them in a bag or 
box, and keep them in a place perfectly free from damp. 
When you bake, take two cakes, of the thickness above men¬ 
tioned, and about three inches in diameter, put them in hot 
water over night, having cracked them first. Let the vessel 
containing them stand near the fire-place all night; they 
will dissolve by the morning ; and these you use in setting 
your sponge (as it is called) precisely as you would use the 
yeast of beer. Indian-meal is used merely because it is less 
adhesive than that of wheat. White pea-meal, or even bar¬ 
ley-meal, would do just as well. The cakes when put in 
the sun may have a glass-sash or a hand-light put over them. 
This would make their berth hotter than that of the hottest 
open air situation in America. In short, to a farmer's wife, 
or any good housewife, all the little, difficulties to the attain¬ 
ment of such an object would be as nothing. The will only 
is required; and if there be not that, it is useless to think of 
the attempt.” The yeast cakes must not bo dried by the 
fire, and they must be dried as hal'd as ship biscuit, and as 
quickly as possible. 
I hope I may not be considered tedious in my remarks 
and directions about yeast. Good bread is of so much con¬ 
sequence, both in the light of economy, wholesomeness, and 
individual comfort, that it is desirable to glean all possible 
information on the subject. 
[August 15. 
If beer yeast is bitter, the most effectual way to manage is 
that often practised by the poor:—Take the outer skin from 
a middling-sized onion, and put the onion into the yeast, 
when it is first added to the flour. Then let it remain until 
it is time to make up the dough, when the onion must be 
drawn out with whatever may adhere to it. Not the slightest 
flavour is imparted to the bread. Many persons mix a 
double handful of bran in the yeast, and strain it through a 
cloth or bag into the flour. A red-hot cinder or two is some¬ 
times put into the yeast and strained out in a similar way, 
and for a similar purpose; but the use of the onion will pre¬ 
vent any further trouble. Some persons may object to the 
idea of an onion, but if it is used exactly in the way above- 
mentioned, it is perfectly unobjectionable, and the most 
prejudiced or fastidious person mil be unable to detect the 
slightest evidence of its haring been present. 
TO CORRESPONDENTS. 
*** We request that no one will write to the departmental writers t>f 
The Cottage Gardener. It gives them unjustifiable trouble and 
expense. All communications should be addressed “ To the Editor oj 
The Cottage Gardener, 2, Amen Corner, Paternoster Row, London." 
Allamanda Cathartica (T. W. T .).—Yours has very long branches, 
and is producing some young shoots near the bottom. It is now in full 
bloom, but the branches are straggling, and you ask what you are to do 
to make it a more seemly plant next year ? As soon as it has done 
flowering lift the pot so as to bring the plant nearer the light; bring the 
long branches lower down, so as to give the young shoots more light and 
air; the long shoots had better be shortened about the end of September 
to within about one foot from the old wood, leaving on all the foliage 
below the cut; this will encourage the young shoots to push on strongly ; 
give considerably less water after the pruning, but do not allow the plant 
to flag. In February repot the plant into a rich compost of rotten leaf- 
mould, turfy loam, and peat in equal parts ; give it then bottom-heat 
and liberal treatment, with water both at the root and over head ; train 
the shoots, as they advance in growth, on a large balloon-shaped trellis, 
keeping the branches so thin as to allow every leaf a full exposure to the 
light; we have no doubt your plant will then be a complete bush, and 
flower satisfactorily. Allamanda Schottii (Henderson’s variety), is much 
finer than A. Cathartica; the flowers frequently measure more than five 
inches across, and have the throat beautifully striped with rich brown. 
A. grandiflora is a beautiful species, with small foliage, and flowers of a 
paler yellow; but the colour is very pleasing, being clear and bright. 
Make no apology about asking questions ; we are always happy to meet 
the wishes of our correspondents, and assist them with all the informa¬ 
tion they may require. The only thing we ask, is an accurate statement 
of the treatment that has been given to any plant previously to asking 
for our advice. 
Ferns under a Glass Shade (W. H .).— You wish to know what 
species of ferns thrive well under a glass shade, but you do not say what 
kind of shade, nor its size. A stove or a greenhouse is a glass shade on a 
large scale, as a bell-glass, six inches in diameter, is one on a small scale. 
In the first volume of The Cottage Gardener there are ample direc¬ 
tions how to treat ferns in Wardian eases. The kinds we usually plant 
in a moderate sized one are Adiantum pubescens, A. formosum, Asplc- 
nium ebeneum , A. planieaule , Ctenopteriscicutaria, Davallia canariensis, 
Doodia aspera, Litobrockia leptophylla, Lycopodiums —several species, 
Nephrodium decomposition, Polystichum hispidum, Pteris chinensis , P. 
hastuta, and P. pahnata. A pretty fern for a small bell-glass is Adi¬ 
antum setosum, also Doodia rupestris and Adiantum cuneatum. For 
one of a large size the rare Trichomanes speciosum, emphatically called 
the Irish bristly fern, is very suitable. We have seen one growing beau¬ 
tifully under such a glass upon a table in a gentleman’s library, in the 
neighbourhood of Bedford Square, in almost the heart of London. 
Ferns for Greenhouse (Ibid). —Yon ask what ferns are suitable for 
a greenhouse ? Most of our British ferns thrive better in a greenhouse 
than in the open air, at least such as are difficult to cultivate in the 
ordinary way. The following exotic species are also suitable for that 
purpose— Adiantum pedatum, Allantodia australis, Aspidium coriaceum, 
Asplenium falcatum, A. ebeneum, Cheilanthes vestita, Ccenopteris japo- 
nica , Cibotium Barometz, Davallia canariensis, Dicksunia Antarctica, 
Lycopodium denticulatum, L. stoloniferum, Onoclea sensibilis, Polypo¬ 
dium Billiardierii, P. decussiva pinnatu, Pteris chinensis, P. Kingi¬ 
an um, and Woodwurdia radicans. 
CupnEA Strigillosa (Ibid). —Requires the protection of a green¬ 
house during winter. Your question about aloes and yuccas shall be 
answered shortly. 
Musk-Plant Transplanting (IV. R., Chelsea ).—Dig your beds 
before winter, and fork them over in March when the ground is dry. 
Then procure lumps of the old roots of musk plants, separate these 
lumps, and you will see small white roots in abundance, every inch ot 
which will make a plant ; but if you have plenty of roots, take three or 
four little pieces for every patch ; and these patches may stand six inches 
apart each way in your new beds. 
