2 GO 
THE COTTAGE GARDENER. 
August 
then slice them up into very thin slices. If you have 200 lbs. weight 
of these, and much less will not ferment, then you will require a 
mixture of 3 lbs. of salt, -1 oz. of pounded carraway seeds, and 2 oz. of 
pounded juniper berries. Into a clean 12 gallon cask, sprinkling first 
the bottom with a little of the mixture, put a layer of sliced cabbage, 
about 3 inches thick, then a thick sprinkling of the mixture, and so 
on alternately, until all is stowed in the cask, pressing down each 
layer very tightly as you proceed. Put a layer of cabbage leaves on 
the top, and then a clean cloth, upon which place the lid of the cask 
cut so small as to fit easily within it. Upon this lid place a heavy 
weight. A 28 lb. weight will not be too heavy. Let it remain in the 
kitchen, or other warm place, fermenting for a month. Then pour 
out all the liquor which has formed, and fill up the cask with a brine 
made with a similar mixture of salt, Ike., dissolved in water, taking 
care always to fill up, from time to time, to keep the cabbage covered 
with brine. In cooking sour krout, take the quantity required for 
dinner, put it into a stew-pan with water just enough to cover it. 
Let it stew gently for three hours, stirring it as necessary to keep it 
from burning. An hour before serving it up, put in a few sausages, 
or a piece of pork, and serve up together. 
Efts (Ibid). —These, both the land and the water efts, are perfectly 
harmless. They are not poisonous ; and live upon insects. The 
great water eft attacks and devours even the tadpoles. 
Stove foe. a Greenhouse (lRntsus ).—This should be outside, 
unless made on the Arnott system, adopted so successfully by Mr. 
Rivers, the well-known florist and nurseryman of Sawbridgeworth. 
A description of this stove is given at page 280 of our first volume. 
Plants under a frame require the same treatment as in a greenhouse. 
Vine Borders (Hose). —You will find very ample directions as to 
these at pp; 283—4 of our first volume. The directions are equally 
applicable to wall and greenhouse vines. 
British Queen Strawberry (Ibid).—' This has failed in many 
places during this year. It does not require any cultivation differing 
from that necessary for other varieties. The extreme dryness of the 
present summer, and the inclement seasons of last year, are the 
causes of failure, we think. Next year the produce ought to be very 
superior, if the season is propitious. 
Joining Swarms of Bees (H. T .).—You will find full directions 
for so doing at page 104 of this volume. Your other query shall be 
answered next week. 
Forced Hyacinths and Narcissi (II. Savage). —These, which 
were forced last winter, look smaller than they did when turned into 
the border from the pots in which they had been forced, and their 
offsets arc very small. These circumstances always occur to these 
bulbs after forcing. They will not do to pot again this season, nor 
will they recover in less than two years. Plant the narcissi imme¬ 
diately in a spare border, covering them three inches deep, and cut oft' 
their flower-stems next spring as soon as they appear. The forced 
hyacinths ought to be planted a month sooner than the usual time, 
say about the middle of September ; and they also ought not to be 
allowed to flower next season. Do not remove the offsets from either 
of them. 
Winter Carnation (Ibid). —We do not know the flower by this 
name. Is it not the Tree carnation ? At any rate, as it seems stunted, 
you cannot err by turning it out of the pot into a good border ; and 
when it is strong, you can cither take slips from it for a stock or 
layer some of the bottom shoots. 
Japan Lilies (Ibid). —These you have potted into 32-sized pots, 
which are far too small for flowering bulbs of the Japan lilies. Keep 
them moist as long as they are green, and when at rest put them into 
pots two sizes larger, taking off a little from the top and bottom of 
the ball, and keep them as cool as possible through the winter, giving 
them no water till they sprout well above the soil. 
Botanical Terms (Ibid). —We endeavour to interpret all these 
as we go along, but some are so familiar to us that we sometimes pass 
them by without thinking. You will find, on reference, that we have 
frequently explained the terms “ stamens, anthers, and pistils.” 
“ Monopetalous” (one-petalled) means that the corolla or flower-leaf 
is in one leaf, or of several petals united together. 
Diseased Cucumbers (Rev. J. Pratt ).—Your cucumbers are 
affected exactly the same as those of our correspondent S, to whom 
we replied at p. 248, and we believe that in your case the origin of 
the disease is similar—too much moisture and too little warmth to 
the roots compared with the dryness and heat of the air in which the 
leaves have grown. We are confirmed in this opinion by the fact, 
that your “ first crop of fruit in the frames,” whilst the bed was in 
good heat, “was abundant and perfect,” and it was only since cut¬ 
ting back the plants, and “ they threw out. vigorous shoots,” that 
the disease appeared. Your ridge cucumbers being similarly affected, 
though not to such an extent, still further confirms our opinion. 
Excess of cold water to the roots of the plants in such a hot dry sum¬ 
mer as we have had would produce the disease. As soon as roots 
cease to supply the requisite amount of sap to a highly stimulated 
leaf or fruit, so soon does disease commence in them. 
Pine Apple Crowns (F.G .).—These, which you have obtained 
from pine apples imported from the West Indies, will not grow at all 
unless in much better condition than any we have yet seen. In a 
dung-bed covered with a frame, under the best of circumstances, it 
is very difficult to grow pines. We will mention the subject again 
next week. 
Myrtle Cuttings (T. Morgan). —You will find some directions 
in answer to another correspondent. Your large myrtle, dividing into 
two stems a few inches under the soil, may be split into two about the 
middle of next March, but certainly not now. 
Erodium moschatum (Ibid). —This is a mere annual weed grow¬ 
ing in many parts of England, as near Bristol, Oxford, Craven in 
Yorkshire, and Bedfordshire. Such plants being only of interest to 
botanists do not come within our province. 
Night Soil (P. IF.).—The disagreeables attendant upon the use 
of this are quite as objectionable as you mention, but the smell may 
be overcome by mixing it with gypsum powder and charred weeds, 
or other carbonized matters. Mixed with this and a little of your 
coal ashes it would become a crumbly mass easily manageable. In 
our first volume there is more than one plan given for separating the 
liquid from the solid portions of the house sewage. As your soil is 
light, the bulk of your coal-ashes had better be sold : you could only 
use them advantageously to make paths in your kitchen-garden. 
Artificial manures are very good for certain purposes and to a certain 
extent, but. there arc none that will ever supersede nature’s manure 
manufactory—the dung-heap. It contains the principal ingredients 
of all plants, and no artificial compound can do more. 
Peach (E. R. IF.).—Your peach, with the sharp point, ripening 
in October, is the Catherine, if it has roundly-notched leaves, kidney- 
shaped glands on their stalks, and the flesh of the fruit is yellowish- 
white, very red near the stone when ripe, and the skin yellowish-green, 
sprinkled with red dots next the wall. Your other questions shall be 
answered next week. 
IIimalayaii Pumpkin (W. Claye and others ).—We have not a 
seed of this left, and have lost the stock. We only kept four seeds 
for ourselves, and not one of these vegetated. If any one to whom 
we sent seed can send us one or two in return, we shall be much 
obliged. 
Huisii’s Hives (E. G .).—We advise you to apply for these to 
Messrs. Neighbour and Son, Holborn. 
Caterpillar on Filbeut-i.f.af (Enquirer ).—The colony, forty 
or more in number, of small yellowish-green caterpillars, with black 
heads, dotted with the same colour, and hairy, arc the larvte of the 
Buff-tip moth (Hammatophora bacephala). 
Vine-leaf Blotched Bhown (T. IF.).—The vine-leaf was con¬ 
siderably shrivelled and dried up when received. No insects were 
discovered. Slight traces were observable, such as thrips leave behind 
them. Whatever the ultimate, the proximate, cause of the brown, 
dried-up, blotches was burning by the sun’s rays. This sometimes 
results from allowing the accumulation and condensation of vapour 
into drops to take place, from not giving air sufficiently early in the 
morning, more especially when bright sunny weather succeeds that 
which is cloudy, as then the leaves are more than usually tender and 
deficient in firmness. At present all houses should have air at night. 
This burning also results from waves and knots in the glass, which 
act as so many foci for concentrating the sun’s rays. For a remedy, 
remove the glass, or, what would be more economical, daub the 
parts, either outside or inside, with a thinnish solution of glue and 
water, containing the smallest, quantity of whiting just to slightly 
colour it. It will remain on during the season, and can easily be 
removed by damping and rubbing, thus ensuring for the summer the 
advantages of ground glass, without its disadvantages in winter. 
When the thrips attack the vine, the parts which they have chiefly 
injured are easily burned into blotches, as there is no sap to supply 
the transpiration. We presume the vine-leaf sent was a small one : if 
of the general size, then we should say the roots w’ere deficient in 
nourishing power, and then the sun would more easily burn them. 
Red Spider on Cherry (Ibid), —Give your tree so bad with the 
red spider a copious deluging with clear soot, lime water, and soap¬ 
suds, and paint with sulphur on the wall in a bright day. 
Thrips on Cucumbers (Ibid). —The cucumbers in the stove, so 
bad with the thrip, will be hard to cure. They may be kept down with 
clear lime and soot water thrown forcibly over the foliage; clear 
laurel water is more effectual still, but must be used weak, and with 
caution. You had better get some nice cuttings from a neighbour, 
or, if not convenient, clear, by washing in weak tobacco w ater, the 
points of some of your own plants, plare them under a glass in small 
pots, in a gentle sweet bottom heat—they will be nicely rooted in a 
week : give larger shifts as wanted. Clear out then the w hole of 
your present plants, and in about a month or five weeks you may 
have nice healthy plants producing fruit, which will continue to do 
so during the autumn, and, if you choose, the early part ot winter. 
We ground this advice upon the fact that the young parts of a plant 
are generally the least affected with the thrip, and also because we 
have several times practised the same method with advantage. 
Names of Plants (M. S.). — It is quite impossible to tell with 
certainty the name of your rose from a faded single flower, haltered 
by the post-office stamps. There arc hundreds closely resembling it, 
all differently named, and only distinguishable by minute peculiari¬ 
ties. It seems to be very like Mrs. Elliot, but the seed-vessel rather 
differs from those we cultivate. ( X. Y. Z.)—No. 1. A species of Cnm- 
melina, but cannot say which without a better specimen. 2. Crus¬ 
sula ubliqua, a shrubby greenhouse plant. 3. Send a specimen of 
this with a flower on it. 4. Cytisus rhododaplme, a greenhouse or 
conservatory plant. 5. Sedum acre, a common English plant, good 
for rockwork. 6. An Epiphyllum, and we think E. phyllanthos, but 
the specimen is too imperfect for us to be certain. I. Mesembryan- 
themum cordifolium, a greenhouse trailer. (Clericus.) —Beware of 
the fruit of the plant of which you sent us a leaf. It is the Colo- 
cyntli or Bitter Cucumber, Cucumis culocynthis, a most violent pur¬ 
gative, although the seeds alone are nutritious and used extensively 
as food in Africa. (Rose.)- —Your rose is, we think. Village Maid; it 
differs from the old York and Lancaster in being smaller, more double, 
and the red stripings inclining more to purple. (E. B. IF.)—Your 
fleshy-leaved plant is Crassula cocrinea. See what Mr. Beaton says 
to-day and next week relative to their culture. 
London : Printed by Harry Wooldridge, 147 Strand, in the 
Parish of Saint Mary-le-Strand ; and Winchester, High-street, in 
the Parish of St. Mary Kalendar; and Published by William 
Somerville Orr, at the Office, 147, Strand, in the Parish of 
Saiut Mary-le-Strand, London.—August Ifitb, 1849. 
