THE COTTAGE GARDENER AND COENTRY GENTLEMAN, July 17, 1860. 
251 
rokmr is move brown tlwn Mack; and the flavour, instead of resembling 
llic /thick Hamburgh, has a richness even beyond the other muscats. 
•1. If \ our house is so open, you may easily contrive to make it closer, so 
as to enclose sun heat. 
5. Growing line fruit will not injure the constitution of the Vine; taking 
extra heavy crops, and especially when Vines are young, will do so. 
(>, In a late number Mr. Fish described under what circumstances the 
long rod and spur system may he used, just according to the fancy of the 
grower, and under what circumstances the one was preferable to the other. 
The rules hold especially with in-door Vines. In many cases roddinu is 
best for out-door Vines, but any system rightly followed out will do. The 
thoroughly carrying out of a system is the great thing. 
7. We would try the roots of the Vine in the barn. If iron air-bricks 
were let into the wall no vermin could get in, and heat and air would get 
to the soil: or fine iron gratings, fifteen inches by nine, might be let in 
every three feet. Your mode of preparing the ground is all right enough. 
Under such circumstances you could assist the roots by giving them warm 
water in spring, and they would not complain of being a little dry in 
winter. 
8. The Grove End is a very prolific, rather small Strawberry', esteemed 
by many for preserving. For earliness and preserving we rather prefer 
Guthill’s Black Prince ; hut that may be merely our fancy, as some of our 
friends prefer the Grove End, and even the old Scarlet —the flavour of 
which is so exquisite, but the crop is generally thin and scanty. Admiral 
Itundas is a good large Strawberry', and a good bearer in general; but for 
filling baskets where many are wanted, ami for general usefulness, we find 
nothing better yet than Keens' Seedling. Ingram's Prince of Wales is also 
very good and prolific. 
Name or Strawberry (Q. Q.). —The fruit is very much like Sir Harry, 
but it was so damaged and mouldy we could not form a correct judgment. 
Name or Seeps (A. I?.).—They are those of the common annual Sun¬ 
flower, Helianlhus annuus. 
Names op Plants (J . Viner — Oban). —It is Spergula saginoides. The 
pilifei a is not a British plant. (Rose). —The plant, the seed of which came 
to you from Melbourne, and is known there as “ Stewart’s Desert Pea,” 
from being discovered there by a Captain Stewart, is known in botany as 
Sioainsonia Greyana. “ It was sent to the Horticultural Society by His 
Excellency Captain Grey, from the banks of the Murray in New Holland, 
where it had been previously found by Sir Thomas Mitchell.” It is figured 
and described in the ‘‘Botanical Register ” for 184C. 
POULTRY AND BEE-KEEPER’S CHRONICLE. 
POULTRY SHOWS. 
July 18th and 19th. Mertuyii Tydvil. Sec., Mr. W. H. Harris, 142, 
High Street, Merthyr. 
July 19th. Prescot. Sec., Mr. J. Becsley. Entries close July 7. 
July Slst. New'milleruam. 
August 22nd and 23rd. Settle (Yorkshire). Hon. Sees., Revs. J. R. 
Blakiston and J. Robinson, Settle. Entries close August 1st. 
August 25th, 27th, 28th, and 29th. Crystal Palace. Summer Show of 
Poultry, Pigeons, and Rabbits. Sec., Mr. William Houghton. Entries 
close July 28th. 
September 5th. Keighley Agricultural Show. Sec., R. Fawcett. 
Entries close August 29th. 
September 19th, 20th, and 21st. Portsmouth. Hon. Sec., Mr. E. Clarke, 
2(1, Wish Street, Southsea, Hants. Entries close August 11 
September 25th. Bridgnorth. Sec., Mr. Richard Taylor, Bridgnorth. 
October 9th, 10th, and 11th. Worcester. Hon. Sec., Mr. G. Griffiths. 
December 3rd, 4tli, 5th, and Oth. Birmingham. Sec., Mr. John B. Lythall, 
Offices, Unity Buildings, Temple Street, Birmingham. Entries close 
November 1. 
N.B .—Secretaries will oblige its by sending early copies of their lists. 
THE EGG TRADE. 
{Continued from page 219.) 
Between the flourish, of trumpets that speak of this and that 
show, we will bide our time, and creep in with our unpretending 
say about eggs. Eggs are not yet sufficiently cultivated as a matter 
of trade, nor appreciated as an article of food. Now and then 
one speaks to the other with bated breath, and says, “ Do you 
know, my housemaid who lived witli the Scrymgeours says it is 
not an uncommon thing for them to have no dinner; but to 
have an early tea, with bread and butter, eggs and fruit.” Truly, 
the egg is a resource. Does a friend drop in, what so nice or so 
quickly made as the savoury omelet ? Does the housewife run 
short of meat, as she may do in these extravagant times, the 
eggs again supply the meal. Bather a deep frying-pan is put 
on filled with small, thin pieces of bacon. While this hisses and 
sputters, becomes transparent and fills the pan with liquid oil, the 
requisite number of eggs is broken. They are thrown into the 
vessel, and then beaten till they are all yoke. “ Stand aside,” says 
the good crimson-faced woman to lmlf-a-score of hungry children 
waiting their meal. “ Stand aside,” and the golden stream is 
poured into the pan. Now a skilful shake amalgamates the eggs and 
bacon. The edges arc turned up all round; then the omelet 
itself is turned ; then the dish receives it. Its golden-brown 
coat is broken here and there, and allows the rich cooked yolk of 
the egg to be seen. Believe us, such an omelet as this, with 
some good potatoes, is a capital meal. 
We might discourse willingly on the use of an egg or two in 
thickening and flavouring a good cottager’s soup ; but, sorry are 
we to say it, we despair of getting cookery into the cottage. The 
rectory, the curacy, the surgery, the office, all will gladly adopt 
it, but not the cottage. 
There are, however, families of labouring men where some of 
the children are naturally delicate : we have seen one of thirteen 
who seldom saw anything but bread, turn sick at the sight of the 
fat of a mutton chop. To such an egg is a great boon. We 
beg all to cultivate egg-producing. We have seen the huge 
stewpan full of new-laid eggs that have furnished a grand dinner 
for a large family, and which was the prelude to many more. It 
was in hot weather, and the joint— 
“ One solid joint the week-day meal affords ”— 
soon gave unmistukeable proof it was unfit for food. No butcher 
at hand to run to. “ What is to be done ?” says Paterfamilias. 
“Let us have some eggs.” Such a dishful! and piles of bread 
and butter! and then fruit with it, and all declared they had 
never made a better dinner. It lias sometimes since been asked 
for as a treat by the younger branches. 
We stated at the outset we should creep in between the greater 
events, and we therefore offer no apology for our cross-breed 
paper. We can only hope for distinction in the “ various class,” 
and are rather confident we shall be thought to be really “ a new 
and distinct variety,” partly poultry, partly eggs, and now partly 
cottage economy. Wo should not dare to think of cookery in a 
large house; but there is something approachable in the idea of 
a cottage, and its inhabitants are often among those who visit 
the dwellers in others that are cottagers only in name. The idea 
of our cottage is a rather extensive rambling building, spread 
over the earth—not thrust into the air. Windows opening to 
the ground, or rather into a verandah, admitting every odour that 
is pleasing and fragrant; rooms comfortably furnished ; garden 
tastefully laid out. We confess we like to see the smallest and 
choicest Sebright Bantams strutting on the lawn ; and we have 
known the worthy gardener, who seriously contemplated leaving 
when they were put in the garden, express his sorrow when they 
were claimed afterwards after gaining a first prize. 
There is, however, another sort of cottage: it is an unhappy 
and uncomfortable place. The poor mistress married young; 
she knew nothing of the duties of a married life, and her time 
had been spent principally in the fields. She is by no means a 
vicious person, and while she and her husband constituted the 
whole of the family, they worked together, and rubbed on com¬ 
fortably enough. But there were now four children, and they 
live only a few days in the week. She cannot cook, and the 
food will not last. True, she gets a little skim-milk, but it don’t 
amount to much. She is not unmindful of what her children 
undergo, and wishes she could make things last longer; but 
then in the hot weather, if she had them, things keep so badly ; 
and she don’t know how it is, but things seem to go against them. 
Teach such a one to save every crumb and scrap of bread. 
However hard and ugly the crust, however dry the piece of out¬ 
side, cut it in thin slices and toast it. Take the skim-milk and 
let it simmer by the fire, break two or three eggs (you must give 
them to her), and beat them up with some milk, add all together, 
stirring it well. Then put the pieces of bread in, and failing 
other food, this poor creature will be able within half an hour to 
give a nourishing and palateable meal to her family. The eggs 
give flavour, we had almost said richness, to the soup, and 
the odd pieces of bread become saturated with the simmering 
milk, and swell out till their browned sides burst. Eor the 
labouring man and the expecting children a meal is required, and 
that only is one that is put on the table and to which all sit 
down. A sit-down to potatoes is better than a bread and cheese 
run-about. The eggs are not only useful as nourishment, but 
they give an introduction. If you go to teach, it is useless to go 
empty handed. 
DISEASED GAME FOWLS. 
I have some Black Bed Game fowls, hatched this spring; 
they are kept in confinement. I feed three times a-day on 
gurgeons (P), oatmeal, and barley, besides a good supply of 
lettuce, and they have free access to ashes aud water; yet they 
have a habit of sneezing, gape sometimes, and some havo one eye 
weak ; there seems like a skin growing over the eye ; their heads 
