371 
THE COTTAGE GARDENER AND COUNTRY GENTLEMAN, March 16, 1858. 
When the graceful Fern trembled before the keen blast, 
The Moss guarded her roots till the storm wind had pass’d. 
So no longer the wind parch’d the roots of the one, 
And the other was safe from the rays of the sun. 
“ And thus, and for ever, where’er the Ferns grow, 
There surely the Mosses lie sparkling below ; 
And thus they both flourish where nought grew before, 
And both deck the woodland, the mountain, and moor.” 
—E. A. Copland, Belief eld t Chelmsford . 
THE HOUSEHOLD. 
Eggs for Burns. —The white of an egg has proved of late 
the most efficacious remedy for burns. Seven or eight suc¬ 
cessive applications of this substance soothes the pain, and effec¬ 
tually excludes the burned parts from the air. This simple 
remedy seems to us far preferable to collodion, or even cotton. 
To Make Yellow Pickles. —To a three gallon jar, put 
in two ozs. turmeric.; one lump of alum; one oz. of mace ; 
one oz. of long pepper ; one oz. cloves; two ozs. white ginger; 
half a teacup full of spice ; do. black pepper ; do. white 
mustard ; a plate of horse-radish that has been scraped and 
dried ; cut two or three firm small heads of cabbage, put them 
in cold water and let them come to a boil, take out, spread 
them on a folded cloth in the sun to dry ; sprinkle them thick 
with salt; slice cucumbers that have been in brine, lengthways, 
and sprinkle with salt, and all the articles you wish in the 
pickle, such as radish pods, corn, &c. When all are dry or 
bleached, pour boding water on them, wash off, salt, and put 
in the cold spiced vinegar. They will keep for years. 
Golden Cake. —This and the following cake are named 
from gold and sdver, on account of their colour, as well as 
their excellence. They should be made together, so as to use 
both portions of the eggs. To make “ Golden Cake,” take 
one pound of flour, dried and sifted, one pound of sugar, 
three quarters of a pound of butter, the yolks of fourteen 
eggs, the yellow of two lemons grated, and the juice also. 
Beat the sugar and butter to a cream, and add the yolks, well 
beaten and strained. Then add the lemon peel and flour, and 
a tea-spoonful of sal volatile, dissolved in a little hot water. 
Beat it well, and just before putting it into the oven, add the 
lemon juice, beating it in very thoroughly. Bake in square 
flat pans, ice it thickly, and cut it in square pieces. It looks 
finely on a dish with the silver cake. 
Silver Cake. —One pound of sugar, three quarters of a 
pound of dried and sifted flour, six ounces of butter, mace, 
and citron, the whites of fourteen eggs. Beat the sugar and 
butter to a cream, add the whites, cut to a stiff froth, and 
then add the flour. 
TO CORRESPONDENTS. 
To many Correspondents. —We have to request your patience for a 
few weeks, until the pressure of advertisements, always great at this 
season, has somewhat subsided. “ T. IV., Woodlands ,” is among the 
number we thus address. 
Leaves smoked as Tobacco at Lucknow [A Young Gardener ).—The 
leaves smoked by the soldiers as tobacco, during the late terrible siege, 
were from a tree called by the natives Neem, and by botanists Melia 
azadirachta, or Bead Tree. A picture of Melia azedarach is in the 
“ Botanical Magazine,” t. 10G6 ; and one of Melia sempervirens in the 
“ Botanical Register,” t. G43. These vei-y closely resemble the Neem. 
In Mr. Hogg’s “ History of the Vegetable Kingdom,” it is mentioned 
as Azadirachta indica. He says, “ It is the Neem Tree and the Mar¬ 
go sa Tree of India, and is employed as a febrifuge. It yields, when 
tapped, a kind of ‘ toddy,’ which is regarded by the Hindoos as 
stomachic. The oil, which is obtained from the fruit, is said to be anti- 
spasmodic ; and the fruit itself is oily, acrid, and bitter, as well as the 
bark. The wood is hard, heavy, and beautifully mottled, but when old 
is difficult to work.” In reference to your second question, the bead¬ 
like, ovate berry, is borne by a species of grass, Coix lachryma, called 
also Job’s Tears. It is a native of the East Indies, and was cultivated by 
Gerarde, in this country, as long since as 159G. Buy our No. 4G6; you 
will there find full particulars relative to shrubs and flowers for Town 
gardens, 
Various (An Inquirer).—1. We never give directions for beds, or for 
laying out gardens. 2. Do not put potted bulbs into a frame; but 
potting hardy bulbs for flower-beds is the second best plan. 3. We are 
not certain that Clematis lanuginosa pallida would do well out of 
doors. Most of our nurserymen have it under glass, but we think it 
ought to do out against a south wall, in a good dry border ; any good 
nursery can supply it, but you must find out the price yourself. 4. Si- 
lene Schafta blooms the year it is sown, but late in the autumn, if well 
managed, though too late for your purpose; therefore, your best plan will 
be to sow it about the end of April, and nurse it for next year. 5. No¬ 
thing is more easy than to raise Ipomceas, Thunbergias, and all tender 
annuals, in a hotbed kept at from 60° to 80° of heat; but do not try 
many of them until you are more up to culture. The middle of April 
is the best time for you, and all beginners, to sow tender annuals, as 
then there is not one half the bother with them; the great thing is to 
sow them thinly, and to give them an early pricking off into small 
pots ; three plants of all climbers in one pot, and if two of them die, 
still there is enough left. 
Photography ( L.M.N. ).—Your paper is rather too coarse, but that 
has nothing to do with the blotchiness of which you complain. This is 
evidently caused by an unequal absorption of nitrate of silver. You 
must pour a larger quantity on your preparing glass; and let the 
salted paper remain on the N. S. solution for a longer period. You 
will then obtain a thoroughly even surface ; which, when exposed, will 
colour far more deeply than the darkest parts of the specimen for¬ 
warded. Purchase an ounce of ammonio citrate of iron, bichromate of 
potash, and ferro prussiate of potash. The two latter must be pounded. 
Take three 2 oz. phials; and, having labelled, nearly fill them with dis¬ 
tilled water. Then drop each powder into its proper bottle till the 
water will dissolve no more. Be careful not to mix the chemicals. 
The A. C. solution should be of a deep Port-wine colour, the B. P. 
brilliant orange, and the F. P. a greenish yellow.—E. A. Copland. 
Name of Plant (H.B.).— Your plant is the Cerastium, incanwm, 
or Hoary-leaved Mouse-ear, a plant only fit for the Botanical Collection. 
Cerastium tomentosum is a very much whiter looking^ plant than this, 
and is considered ornamental on this account. Love-lies-bleeding and 
Prince’s Feather, for the ribbon borders, should be from sixteen to 
eighteen inches apart each way, from plant to plant, in a pretty good 
soil that has been well prepared for them. 
POULTRY SHOWS. 
April 7th and 8th. Newcastle and Northumberland. Sec., Mr. 
W. Trotter, South Acomb, near Newcastle. 
June 2nd, 3rd, and 4th. Bath and West of England. Sed., Mr. 
John Kingsbury, Hammet Street, Taunton. 
June 28th, 29th, and 30th, and July 1. Sheffield. Sec., Wm. Henry 
Dawson, Sheffield. 
August 30th and 31st, and September 1st. North Hants. Sec., Mr. 
T. Moore, Fareham, Hants. 
V.B.—Secretaries will oblige us by sending early copies of their lists. 
QUICK RETURNS, AND MANY OF THEM. 
There were two men living in tlie same street, almost next 
door to each, other. Both followed the same trade—they 
were picture-dealers. One was an undoubted judge, and a 
man of singular talent; the other knew little about the article 
in which he dealt. If an amateur went to the first, and 
asked for ordinary pictures at moderate prices, the dealer, on 
some occasions, pointed contemptuously to a lot. When he 
was asked the price, he scarcely deigned to answer by naming 
one; or, perhaps, he said, they are worth very little. Give 
what you like. Sometimes he even patronised his customer, 
and advised him not to purchase. He was another man to 
the connoisseur, who came to ask if he could show him a chef 
d'oeuvre. The glasses were produced ; the merits of the three 
or four pictures were scanned, and discussed; the value was 
fixed ; they were placed in different lights, and every idea but 
that of his good fortune in possessing such treasures was for¬ 
gotten. After a long and critical meeting, the connoisseur 
was escorted to the door, and asked to repeat his visits. 
While he had been there, several customers had called, and 
waited; but meeting with no attention, they had passed to the 
other shop. 
The other man bought, imported, or, as the phrase is, 
« picked up ” as many good pictures as his neighbour; but not 
caring to pass for a judge, and intent only on making his 
trade profitable, he sold whenever he had the opportunity. 
He had no inner room sacred to the elite among connoisseurs; 
he had but one line of conduct to all customers—but one 
desire, and that was to turn his pictures into money. His 
neighbour would often buy of him, and afterwards tell him, 
with almost pity in his voice, that he had sold a masterpiece 
for a trifle, and that it would pay him hundreds of pounds, 
i He smilingly hoped it would. It went to the inner room, 
was admired, a great price was asked for it, hut it remained 
there. No one doubted the ability, judgment, or probity of 
the clever judge; but no moderate price would tempt him to 
sell his pictures. The truth was, lie was too much of a con¬ 
noisseur and judge, and he liked it to be known that he had 
the best pictures; he liked it to be talked of. A remune¬ 
rating price would not tempt him to sell. He wanted to 
