215 
THE COTTAGE GARDENER AND COUNTRY GENTLEMAN, January 8, 1861. 
others in the county of Wilts; but the worst mildewed house 
of Grapes that I have ever met with was at a small village 
nursery, in 1859, at Sutton, then and now in the occupation of 
Mr. Bullock. It is situated about four miles north-east of the 
town of Chippenham. I was invited to go to pass my opinion 
on them there. They were just beginning, .although fine 
bunches, to be encircled with that November-like-fog-coloured- 
pest—mildew. A few minutes before I entered the house they 
had been syringed. “ Discontinue that practice,” was my order at 
once. (A rather bold order to make the first time of entering 
the nursery.) It was discontinued, and the whole of the fruit, 
and foliage as well, as soon as conveniently dry, were carefully 
brushed with a soft brush very like an aphis brush. The brush 
was occasionally sprinkled with flowers of sulphur. This stopped 
the mildew’s ravages, but not until it had left such marks on 
both foliage and fruit as fire does on a burnt child and its clothes. 
It was about the same time that I had to do the best I could 
with two other houses of mildewed Gi'apes, one belonging to 
H. Spencer, Esq., the other to J. Darley, Esq., both m the town 
of Chippenham. These houses, as well as the former one men¬ 
tioned, bred their mildew from excessive moisture. From each 
of these houses the pest was eradicated, although in its most 
malignant form, and that in the first-named gentleman’s house 
without the use of sulphur at all. 
Erom the day I first entered each of these houses I deter¬ 
mined, as soon as the opportunity offered itself, to try the ex¬ 
periment which has now called forth these remarks, and which 
this year (1860) gave me eight bunches of mildewed Grapes 
(about 10 lbs.) out of about 250 lbs. This was the cost of the 
experiment; and so perfectly satisfied was 1 that mildew pro¬ 
ceeded from excess of moisture, that I left some of my best 
bunches hanging within a hand’s span to the last without their 
being infected with, or having the least signs of, the malady. 
One was treated in accordance with the dictates of Nature, 
while the others, as I have before observed, were quite the con¬ 
trary. Was this attended to more, I can safely vouch that there 
would be a far less number of houses mildewed than at present.— 
A. J. Ashman. 
VARIETIES. 
How to Cook a Beefsteak. —The following were the rules 
adopted by the celebrated “ Beefsteak Club,” started in England 
in 1734: 
“ Pound well your meat until tlie fibres break ; 
Be sure that next you have, to broil the steak, 
Good coal in plenty; not a moment leave, 
But turn it over this way and then that. 
The lean should be quite rare—not so the fat. 
The platter now and then the juice receive, 
Put on your butter, place it on your meat. 
Salt, pepper, turn it over, serve and eat.” 
This is all very just (except that we like the lean better done,) 
but there is only one apparatus that will broil delicately, and that 
is the “ Gauze Gridiron.” To such as are fond of broils it is an 
important article for the cooking department. It is made upon the 
principle of Sir Humphry Davy’s Safety-lamp, which is a com¬ 
mon lamp surrounded with fine wire gauze. A lamp thus protected 
may be introduced into an inflammable mixture of air and gas, 
and will burn, but the flames cannot pass through the wire gauze 
and ignite the surrounding mixture, because of the cooling effect 
of the gauze. The heat of the gridiron is insufficient to inflame 
the fat; as it drops from the meat it falls from the bars through 
the gauze and upon the coals where it burns. In the old way, it 
sets fire to that covering the bars of the gridiron, thus smoking 
and scorching the meat. The wire gauze prevents the flame 
from either the fuel or fat burning on the coals setting fire 
to that on the gridiron. In this way the unpleasant smoke of 
burning fat is avoided, the meat remains free from bitterness and 
is not burned, and thus made unpalatable. We would suggest a 
gauze bread-toaster, in order to prevent the scorching of the 
bread while toasting, and thus improve the quality of toast, 
whether dry, cream or buttered .—(Boston Cultivator.) 
TO CORRESPONDENTS. 
Books (R. O. C .).—There are descriptive pocket volumes to be obtained 
at the Crystal Palace, varying; in price from Is. There is one giving a 
short general description of it, and there are otters giving full descriptions 
of the several Courts. There is no such book on the Vine, and if there 
were it would not be reliable. You can have the Cottage Gardeners’ 
Dictionary free by post from our office for 9s. 
■Raised Outside Vine-borders (A Youngster.) — In such a raised 
outside border, the Vines ought to have done well if well drained ; and if 
forced early, the roots were excited as well as the stems. For all Grapes, 
and especially all the finer kinds, we would decidedly approve of planting the 
Vines in the part used as a Pine-pit. Such Vines will last almost any time 
by annual top dressings; and for early forcing the pipe heating beneath 
will be an advantage. If you have three arches in the width of the house, 
why collect the three pipes under the central one 1 AVe should prefer one 
under each arch. But for the economy of the thing, we would drain and 
drain the outside border, and plant late Vines there, so that by a longi¬ 
tudinal division behind the greenhouse-stage you might make your house 
into two vineries. The same could be done by dividing across,'and plant¬ 
ing inside as you propose. We do not quite understand the means of 
heating. 
Various (An Inquirer ).—You must have curt answers, as your queries 
are many. Mr. Rivers’ “ Miniature Fruit Garden” gives directions for 
Peach culture in a cold house. Mr. Fish, in his papers on “Forcing,” 
will g.ve directions for their culture in a hothouse. We do not undertake 
to write entire treatises in these columns, but are always ready to answer 
queries on particular points. The roots of Vines planted inside your 
vinery would travel to the north or any other direction where warmth 
and agreeable soil tempted them. Transplanting Cedars, Yews, &c., from 
a good peat soil into a loose limestone soil, without any preparation, was bad 
gardening ; and it is no better, allowing the Grass to grow rank all about 
them. No wonder the trees are stunted. Remove the Grass entirely 
from three feet on each side, and point in some well-decayed leaf mould 
and cowdung every spring. This will revive the trees, anil promote their 
growth, though not at once. 
Seed from Deformed Cucumbers [Cardigan ).—It is not advisable to 
raise plants from such seed. They would, most probably, produce some 
perfect fruit ; but the axiom applies to plants as well as to animals, that 
“like produces like,” or, hi more correct phrase, defects as well as beauties 
are hereditary. 
Riddell’s Stoves. —Many correspondents inquire where these (men¬ 
tioned by “W. T. G.,” in our paper of the 2ith ult.), can be obtained. 
Any one who sells them will find advertising in our columns worth their 
attention. 
Name of Plant (II. S. E—B .).—Your “ Gage d’amour " isSaxifraga 
sarmentosa, or Chinese Saxifrage. It was introduced from China as long 
since as 1771. It will do very well suspended as you propose. 
POULTRY AND BEE-KEEPER’S CHRONICLE. 
POULTRY SHOWS. 
January 16th and 17th. Poulton-le-Fylde. Hon. Sec., Mr. J. S. Butler. 
Entries close January 1st. 
January 25th and 26th. Cumberland and Westmorland. Secs., Mr. 
M. W. Hastwell and Mr. W. T. Armstrong. Entries close January 12. 
January 30th and 31st. Ulverston. Secs., Mr. T. Robinson and Mr. J. 
Kitchen. Entries close January 10th. 
February 6th and 7tli. Liverpool. (Poultry and Pigeons). See., Mr. 
A. Edmondson, 4, Dale Street. Entries close January 19. 
June 4th, 5th, 6th, and 7th. Bath and West of England. 
N. B .—Secretaries will oblige us by sending early copies of their lists. 
MANAGEMENT OF POULTRY IN SEVERE 
WEATHER. 
The changes in the weather have been trying for poultry, but 
there has been nothing that healthy, well-conditioned birds 
cannot well bear. The sudden thaw of the 30th did good by 
getting rid of much, if not all of the snow. This is very 
trying to fowls, in common witli everything else that covers the 
surface of the earth ; but that which kills birds in a severe and 
long-continued frost, is the lack of water, care must, therefore, 
be taken that this want is supplied in all yards. Now, also, 
little indulgences may be granted in the way of food ; scraps of 
meat from the stock-pot, soaked pieces of bread mixed with 
steaming boiled potatoes, or, failing other stimulant, well steeped 
in strong ale. All these will be gratefully received by fowls. 
They will often now be found in their houses or roosting-places 
in the daytime : therefore, let these be well cleaned out as soon 
as the fowls leave in the morning, and have the doors and windows 
open till the afternoon between two and three. Give all possible 
shelter to sitting hens that the eggs may not be chilled. Let your 
voung chickens have plenty of beer to drink, and, above all, let 
them be fed two or three times after dark and before light. 
PRIZE LISTS OF POULTRY SHOWS. 
Seeing it stated in The Cottage Gardener of the 25th ult., 
that it was probable many new Exhibitions of Poidtry and 
Pigeons would be held during 1861, I should like to offer a few 
remarks with regard to the latter, in order to prevent the stereo¬ 
typed plan of the prize list being continued. 
In the poultry classes the first shows of a year are generally 
chickens bred that year, and in the great exhibitions a class for 
both old and young birds is given, why should not the same rule 
