February  11,  1897. 
JOURNAL  OF  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER . 
115 
Dr. 
ANNUAL  REVENUE  AND  EXPENDITURE  ACCOUNT  FOR  THE  TEAR  ENDING  31st  DECEMBER,  1896. 
To  ESTABLISHMENT  EXPENSES— 
Salaries  and  Wages  . 
Rent  of  Office  . 
Printing  and  Stationery . 
Journal — Printing  and  Postage 
Postage  . 
•  Coal  and  Gas  . 
Donation  to  Auricula  and  Primula 
Miscellaneous  . 
Commission  on  Advertisements 
Lindley  Library . 
„  SHOWS  AND  MEETINGS— 
Rent  of  Drill  Hall  and  Cleaning 
Temple  Show  . 
Crystal  Palace  Fruit  Show 
Prizes  and  Medals — 
Rose  Show  ...  . 
Committees’  Awards,  &c.  .,. 
Printing,  &c . 
Labour  . 
CHISWICK  GARDENS— 
■  Rent,  Rates,  Taxes,  and  Insurance 
"Superintendent’s  Salary,  &c.  ... 
cPension,  late  Superintendent  ... 
Labour  . 
Implements,  Manure,  Soil,  Packing 
Coal  and  Coke  . 
Repairs,  Ordinary  . 
Repairs,  Extraordinary . 
W ater  and  Gas . 
Miscellaneous  . 
Balance  to  General  Revenue  Account 
'To  SUNDRY  CREDITORS . 
„  Subscriptions,  1897,  paid  in  advance 
„  Advertisements,  1897,  paid  in  advance 
„  Life  Compositions,  31st  December,  1895 
Ditto  ditto  1896 
„  Veitch  Special  Prize.,. 
„  GENERAL  REVENUE  ACCOUNT— 
Balance,  1st  January,  1896  ... 
Less  Bad  Debts  . 
Balance  for  the  year  1896,  as  per  Revenue 
Expenditure  Account  . 
£ 
677 
s 
1 
d 
0 
•  •• 
... 
173 
H 
0 
•  •• 
226 
7 
1 
... 
553 
0 
6 
•  •• 
96 
14 
6 
Society 
4 
19 
10 
10 
0 
0 
,  .. 
119 
11 
1 
... 
24 
6 
7 
... 
... 
20 
0 
0 
102 
12 
0 
•  •• 
... 
602 
3 
3 
... 
... 
279 
0 
5 
... 
50 
10 
0 
... 
... 
387 
9 
10 
... 
... 
10 
4 
6 
... 
... 
75 
6 
6 
283 
0 
10 
... 
218 
0 
0 
... 
180 
0 
0 
.  ,  . 
742 
19 
5 
&e. 
... 
141 
13 
9 
•  •• 
169 
15 
0 
... 
(36 
14 
11 
.... 
... 
506 
10 
0 
... 
22 
5 
1 
... 
... 
45 
8 
5 
s.  d. 
1905  3  7 
1507  6  6 
2376  7  5 
£ 
S. 
d, 
!"  246 
15 
0 
...  123 
9 
0 
...  3613 
4 
7 
13 
12 
0 
£3599 
12 
7 
and 
...  155 
8 
2 
5788 
17 
6 
155 
8 
2 
£5944 
5 
8 
:e-sheet 
,  3 
l.  £ 
8. 
d. 
172 
3 
9 
85 
11 
6 
6 
10 
0 
370 
4 
0 
30 
0 
0 
Cr. 
By  ANNUAL  SUBSCRIPTIONS  . 
„  DONATION . 
„  SHOWS  AND  MEETINGS— 
Temple  Show  . . 
Crystal  Palace  Fruit  Show  . 
Drill  Hall  Meetings  . 
Prizes  and  Medals  . 
„  ADVERTISEMENTS  IN  JOURNAL,  &c. 
„  SALE  OF  JOURNAL  . 
„  MISCELLANEOUS  RECEIPTS . 
„  DIVIDENDS,  &c. — 
Davis  Bequest  and  Parry’s  Legacy 
Consols,  £1750  . 
Local  Loans,  £500  . 
Interest  on  Deposits  . 
„  CHISWICK  GARDENS- 
Produce  sold  . 
Admissions  . 
Miscellaneous  . 
s.  d. 
£ 
3562 
1 
s.  d. 
5  6 
1  0 
1138 
238 
30  19 
51  15 
1458  19  11 
324  7  7 
53  15  7 
75  8  7 
56  18 
46  0 
14  10 
6  19 
124  8  4 
318  19 
5  4 
19  15 
343  19  2 
£5944  5  8 
We  have  examined  the  above  Accounts,  and  find  the  same  correct. 
Auditors. 
7th  January,  1897. 
Signed  A.  H.  PEARSON, 
HARRY  TURNER, 
JAMES  H.  VEITCH, 
HARPER  BROS.,  Chartered  Accountants, 
10,  Trinity  Square,  E.C. 
CH,  J 
3755  0  9 
£4419  10  0 
We  have  examined  the'above  Accounts,  and  find  the  same  correct. 
'Signed  A.  H.  PEARSON,  j 
HARRY  TURNER,  >  Auditors. 
JAMES  H.  VEITCH,  ) 
HARPER  BROS.,  Chartered  Accountants, 
7th  January ,  1897.  10,  Trinity  Square ,  E.C. 
By  SUNDRY  DFBTORS — 
Annual  Subscriptions  Outstanding,  estimated 
at  ...  ...  ...  ...  ...  ... 
Garden  Produce . 
Advertisements . 
Rates  and  Taxes  (Chiswick)  paid  in  advance 
Interest  on  Local  Loans . 
„  INVESTMENTS— 
2f  per  cent.  Consols  £2122  8s.  9d.  ...  cost 
(2022  8s.  9d.  of  this  sum  is  held  by  the 
Society,  subject  to  the  provisions  of  the  will 
of  the  late  J.  D;ivis,  Esq.) 
2f-  per  cent.  Consols  £1750  .  cost 
3  per  cent.  Local  Loans  £500  .  ,, 
„  CASH  AT  LONDON  AND  COUNTY  BANK— 
On  Current  Account  . 
„  CASH  IN  HAND— 
Head  Office  .  ... 
Chiswick . 
£  s.  d 
15 
15 
117 
28 
3 
15  0 
2  5 
12  9 
5  0 
12  6 
1892  11  S 
180  7  8 
1768 
5  0 
11  0 
4218  7  3 
8  4 
7  11 
18  10 
20  15  1 
£4419  10  0 
POTATO  COOKING. 
It  will  be  remembered  by  the  readers  of  the  Journal  of  Horticulture 
that  a  report  appeared  on  the  tercentenary  of  the  Potato  in  Dublin  on 
December  7th,  page  587.  In  it  extracts  from  the  speeches  delivered  by 
His  Excellency  the  Lord  Lieutenant  was  reported,  and  a  paragraph  at 
the  end  of  the  report  struck  me  very  forcibly,  and  appeared  most  appro¬ 
priate  to  the  occasion. 
If  a  small  amount  of  space  can  be  found  for  a  repetition  of  the  para¬ 
graph  alluded  to  it  will  serve  the  purpose  of  my  letter.  His  Excellency  is 
reported  to  have  said,  “  You  may  grow  your  Potato,  and  you  may  bring  it 
in  triumph  into  your  house  ;  but  if  you  don’t  know  how  to  cook  it  it  is 
impossible  to  appreciate  it  at  its  full  value.  I  rather  wish  that  the 
gentlemen  who  have  promoted  this  exhibition  had  one  section  in  which 
to  show  us  how  to  cook  our  Potatoes.  Englishmen  are  absolutely  hope¬ 
less  in  this  line  of  business,  and  I  can  only  say  for  myself — I  say  so  with 
all  due  respect  to  Lady  Cadogan — that  I  never  see  a  Potato  properly 
cooked  in  my  own  house.  Since  I  have  been  in  Ireland  a  large  number 
of  my  friends  have  broken  bread  in  my  house,  but  it  is  not  too  much  to 
say  that  not  one  of  them  could  have  broken  the  Potatoes  there.  Mine  are 
waxy,  hard,  and  thoroughly  indigestible,  and  if  any  lady  would  kindly 
allow  my  cook  to  come  down  and  see  how  Potatoes  are  cooked  in 
Ireland  my  presence  here  will  have  a  result  which  will  be  a  blessing  for 
■the  remainder  of  my  life.” 
After  such  an  exposure  of  incompetency  as  this  I  thought  some  of 
our  sensitive  cooks  would  have  been  stimulated  into  some  sort  of 
defensiveness  on  their  cooking  capabilities  ;  but  to  my  surprise  no 
reference  has  been  made  to  the  subject.  I  am  tempted  to  pen  this  note 
through  the  receipt  of  a  trade  pamphlet,  entitled  “  Allotment  Holders’ 
Guide,  Seed  and  Plant  List.”  In  it  is  much  valuable  information,  but 
when  the  author  gives  his  advice  how  to  treat  Potatoes  before  cooking 
I  beg  to  differ  entirely  from  him.  He  says  : — “  After  Christmas  I 
have  all  my  Potatoes  peeled  overnight  and  laid  in  cold  water  until 
wanted  to  cook.  I  beg  all  to  try  this  ;  they  will  find  it  greatly  improves 
them.”  * 
What  has  our  Irish  friend  to  say  to  such  advice  as  this  ?  Would  not  a 
few  short  notes  in  the  Journal  from  an  Irish  source  be  very  acceptable 
and  probably  of  some  benefit  to  many  of  its  readers  ?  If  our  Potato 
spoilers  were  to  see,  aB  I  have  done,  the  beautiful,  tempting,  floury 
balls  turned  out  by  the  Irish,  strangers  to  the  customs  of  these  people 
would  not  be  so  surprised  when  told  that  many  a  family  in  that  part  of 
Her  Majesty’s  kingdom  make  many  a  meal  on  nothing  else.  A  finer, 
stronger,  and  healthier  race  of  people  are  not  to  be  found  in  the  United 
Kingdom.  But  reverse  it.  Put  before  those  people  and  compel  them 
to  eat  those  indigestible  things  called  by  some  English  cooks  Potatoes. 
I  fear  they  would  soon  become  subjects  of  weakness  and  debility. 
— J.  E. 
