January  8,  1903. 
JOURNAL  OF  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDE'NE'R. 
43 
Trade  Catalogaes  Received. 
(leo,  Bunyard  and  Co.,  Ltd.,  Boyal  Nurseries,  Maidstone.  -.Src(f.s. 
W.  Froinow  and  Sons,  Sutton  Court  Nurseries.  Chiswick.  -  S'efds. 
W.  .J.  (Godfrey,  Exinouth.  Devon. — New  and  Select  Chri/santJicmnnis. 
Little  and  Ballantyne,  The  Royal  Seed  and  Nursery  Establisinneut, 
Carlisle.— Shreds. 
Sir  -James  W.  Mackey,  Ltd.,  22,.  Upper  Sackville  Street.  Dublin.- - 
Seeds. 
W.  Paul  and  Son,  Waltham  Cross,  Herts. — Seeds  and  Garden  Sundries. 
John  Peed  and  Son,  "West  Norwood,  S.E. —  Seeds. 
Stuart  and  Mein,  Kelso,  Scotland. — Gardening  Guide. 
Robert  Veitch  and  Son,  54,  High  Street,  Exeter. — Seeds. 
Covent  Garden  Market.— Jannary  7th, 
Average  Wholesale  Prices.— Fruit. 
s.  d.  s.  d  s.  d.  s.  d 
Apples,  Blenheims,  Grapes,  Alicantes  ...  1  6  to  2  6 
bush.  7  0  to  0  0  ,,  Colman  .  16  2  6 
,,  culinary,  bush.  3  0  4  0  Lemons,  Messina,  case  10  0  15  0 
,,  King  Pippins,  Oranges,  case  .  10  0  20  0 
^-sieve  3  0  0  0  Pears,  dessert,  ^-sieve  3  0  6  0 
Bananas .  10  0  15  0  ,,  stewing,  |-sieve  2  6  3  6 
Cobs  and  Filberts,  lb.  0  5  0  0  Pines,  St.  Michael’s, 
Grapes,  Muscat  .  3  0  5  0  each .  2  6  5  0 
Average  Wholesale  Prices.— Vegetables. 
Artichokes,  green,  doz. 
,,  Jerusalem,  sieve 
Batavia,  doz . 
Beet,  red,  doz . 
Brussels  Sprouts, 
sieve . 
Cabbages,  tally  . 
Carrots,  new,  bun.  ... 
Cauliflowers,  doz. 
Corn  Salad,  strike 
Cucumbers  doz . 
Endive,  doz . 
Herbs,  bunch  ...  ... 
s.  d.  s.  d  I  s.  d.  s.  d 
2  0to3  0  Horseradish,  bunch  ...  2  0  to  2  6 
1  6  0  0  Leeks,  bunch  .  0  1^  0  2 
2  0  0  0  Lettuce,  Cabbage,  doz.  13  0  0 
0  6  0  0  Mushrooms,  forced,  lb.  0  8  10 
I  Mustard  &  Cress,  pnnt.  0  2  0  0 
1  6  0  0  Onions,  bushel  .  3  0  4  0 
3  0  0  0  Parsley,  doz.  bnchs.  ...  2  0  0  0 
0  2  0  0  Potatoes,  cwt .  5  0  6  0 
2  0  2  6  Radishes,  doz .  10  0  0 
10  13  Spinach,  bush .  2  0  2  6 
10  0  12  0  Tomatoes,  Canary  Isles, 
1  6  0  0  per  case  .  4  0  4  6 
0  2  0  0  Turnips,  bnch .  0  0  0  2 
Average  Wholesale  Prices.— Plants  in  Pots. 
Most  of  the  undermentioned  plants  are  sold  in  48  and  32-sized  pots 
s. 
d. 
s. 
d 
s. 
d. 
s. 
d 
Aralias,  doz . 
5 
0tol2 
0 
Foliage  plants,  var,  each 
1 
0to5 
0 
Araucaria,  doz . 
12 
0 
30 
0 
Grevilleas,  48’s,  doz.  ... 
5 
0 
0 
0 
Aspidistra,  doz . 
18 
0 
36 
0 
Lycopodiums,  doz.  ... 
Marguerite  Daisy,  doz. 
3 
0 
0  0 
Crotons,  doz . 
18 
0 
30  0 
8 
0 
Id  0 
Cyperus  alternifolius 
Myrtles,  doz.  . 
6 
0 
9 
6 
doz . 
4 
0 
5  0 
Palms,  in  var.,  doz.  ... 
15 
0 
30  0 
Draciena,  var.,  doz.  ... 
12 
0 
30  0 
,,  specimens 
Pandanus  Veitebi,  48’s, 
21 
0 
63  0 
,,  viridis,  doz. . 
9 
0 
18 
0 
Erica  melanthera,  doz. 
24 
0 
30  0 
doz . 
24 
0 
30 
0 
,,  hyenialis  . 
10 
0 
12 
0 
Primulas  . 
4 
0 
5  0 
Ferns,  var.,  doz . 
4 
0 
18 
0 
Shrubs,  in  pots  . 
4 
0 
6 
0 
,,  small,  100 . 
10 
0 
16 
0 
Solanums  . 
10 
0 
12 
0 
Ficus  elastica,  doz.  ... 
9 
0 
12  0 
Average  Wholesale  Prices.— Cut  Flowers 
s. 
d. 
s. 
d 
s. 
d. 
s. 
d 
Arums,  doz . 
4 
0to5 
0 
Lily  of  Valley,  12  bnchs 
9  0tol8  0 
Asparagus,  Fern,  bnch. 
1 
0 
2 
0 
Maidenhair  Fern,  doz. 
Bouvardia,  coloured, 
bnchs . 
8  0 
9  0 
doz.  bunches  . 
6 
0 
8 
0 
Marguerites,  white. 
Carnations,  12  blooms 
1 
3 
1 
9 
doz.  bnchs . 
3  0 
4 
0 
Cattleyas,  doz . 
12 
0 
18 
0 
,,  yellow,  doz.  bnchs. 
1 
6 
2 
0 
Chrysanthemums,  doz. 
Myrtle,  English,  per 
bun. 
6 
0 
12  0 
bunch  . 
0  6 
0 
0 
,,  doz.  blooms 
2 
0 
3 
0 
Narcissus,  Sol  d’Or,  doz. 
2 
6 
4 
0 
Croton  foliage,  bun.  ... 
0 
9 
1 
0 
,,  paper  white,  ,, 
1 
6 
2 
0 
Cycas  leaves,  each 
0  9 
1 
6 
Odontoglossums . 
4 
0 
5 
0 
Cypripediums,  doz.  ... 
Daffodils,  single,  doz. 
bnch . 
2 
0 
3 
0 
Orange  blossom,  bunch 
Roses,  Niphetos,  white, 
2 
0 
0 
0 
10 
0 
15 
0 
doz . 
2 
0 
3 
0 
,,  double,  doz. 
,,  pink,  doz . 
2 
0 
5 
0 
bnch . 
12 
0 
15 
0 
,,  yellow,doz.(Perles) 
1 
6 
3 
0 
Eucharis,  doz . 
3 
0 
0 
0 
,,  Liberty,  doz . 
18  0 
0 
0 
Freesia,  white,  doz. 
Smilax,  bunch  . 
2  6 
3 
0 
bnch . 
2  0 
3 
0 
Tuberoses,  dozen . 
0 
9 
1 
0 
Gardenias,  doz . 
6 
0 
9 
0 
Tulips,  pink,  doz. buch. 
10 
0 
1.5 
0 
Geranium,  scarlet,  doz. 
,,  white. 
10 
0 
15 
0 
bnchs . 
6 
0 
8 
0 
,,  yellow. 
10 
0 
15 
0 
Ivy  leaves,  doz.  bun. ... 
1 
6 
0 
0 
,,  terra  cotta  ,, 
10  0 
15 
0 
Lilium  Harris!  . 
4 
0 
5 
0 
,,  scarlet  ,, 
6 
0 
8 
0 
,,  lancifolium  alb. 
2  0 
2 
6 
Violets,  doz.  bun. 
1 
0 
1 
6 
,,  1.  rubrum . 
2  0 
0 
0 
,,  Marie  Louise... 
3 
0 
4 
0 
,,  longiflorum  ... 
4 
0 
5 
0 
The  Careful  Preparation  of  Food. 
Of  course,  all  foods  should  be  carefully  prepared  before 
being  placed  in  manger  or  trough.  We  had  nearly  headed 
this  article  “  Careful  Cooks,”  but  thought  perhaps  the 
Editor  might  think  it  savoured  too  much  of  Mrs.  Beeton  or 
Mrs.  Glasse.  It  would  seem  funny  to  apply  the  term 
“  cook  ”  to  a  worker  on  the  farm,  but  many  of  the  workers 
have  to  become  cooks,  through  stress  of  circumstances  and 
the  increase  of  nice  steaming  apparatus.  There  are  cooks 
and  cooks,  and  some  men  become  most  handy  (and  shall 
we  say  natty  7).  At  any  rate,  they  manage  to  turn  out 
savoury  messes,  with  little  or  no  mess  and  w'aste. 
Let  us  begin  with  the  Potato  ;  that  is  the  real  test  of  a 
cook.  The  Potatoes  used  for  stock  feeding  are  not  the 
best ;  they  are  small,  damaged  with  fork  or  ploughshare, 
uneven  shape,  and  green  ended.  These  are  all  put  aside  for 
feeding  purposes,  and  with  them  will  be  found  a  large 
proportion  of  mother  earth.  Now,  earth  is  not  food  ; 
neither  can  any  animal  assimilate  it.  A  careful  man  will 
not  mind  fetching  a  few  extra  buckets  of  water,  and  he 
won’t  mind  the  labour  entailed  by  hand-picking  any  very 
vile  specimens,  or  even  cutting  out  pieces  where  the  eaiTh 
is  firmly  embedded.  Washing  “  taties  ”  is  not  as  easy  a.Si  it 
looks,  and  is  a  job  that  is  often  slipped.  .  ,  (,■ 
There  are  mechanical  Potato  washers,  which  on  a  large 
fann  are  almost  a  necessity.  How  shall  we  describe  bneL 
A  skeleton  barrel  revolving  horizontally  in  a  large  tub  of 
water.  But  if  the  w’ater  has  become  a  puddle,  the  Potatoes 
emerge  little  better  than  "when  they  went  in.  Steamed  or 
boiled  Potatoes  are  usually  mashed  and  mixed  with  meal, 
any  house  refuse  or  spare  old  milk,  and  if  they  are  mashed 
when  hot,  they  mix  as  well  again.  The  better  mashed^  the 
better  food.  We  have  seen  cunning  pigs  quietly  “  snout  ” 
out  the  bits  of  Potato,  and  leave  them  on  one  side  ;  but  if 
the  mass  is  properly  blended  they  cannot  manage  this. 
All  cooked  food  is  liable  to  turn  sour  and  ferment,  and  ho-ft"^ 
often  does  the  yardman  ever  think  of  turning  on  a  jet  of 
steam  or  boiling  water  into  his  mash  tubs,  and  scalding 
them  out  thoroughly  7  We  have  seen  steamhouses  as  clean 
as  kitchens,  and  we  have  also  seen  them  like  pigsties. 
We  do  not  hold  with  swill  tubs  at  all;  but  if,  hs  a 
necessary  evil,  they  must  be,  do  let  them  partake  of: a 
thorough  good  cleaning  (scalding)  as  often  as  possible: 
They  are  often  little  better  t  han  seething  masses  of  eorrup-^ 
tion.  Many  a  calf  (hand  fed)  is  lost  entirely  because  either 
the  milk  was  not  absolutely  sweet,  or  the  pail  or  vessel  in 
which  it  was  serv’ed  was  not  clean.  The  nose  is  a 
better  test  than  the  eye,  and  it  does  not  take  much  decayed 
milk  to  render  a  large  quantity  of  food  entirely  unsuited  to 
a  young  stomach  and  weak  digestion. 
Just  a  word  about  swill  tubs  again.  If  you  have  them 
at  all,  see  that  they  are  very  small,  so  that  they  are  soon 
emptiecl.  Use  two,  and  let  two  sweeten;  it  is  much  the 
most  wholesome  way.  We  know  quite  well  that  strong 
pigs  can  practically  digest  almost  anything,  but  this  is  no 
reason  why  they  should  be  made  into  sanitary  dustbins, 
and  to  young  pigs  sour  nasty  food  is  fatal. 
There  is  a  mixture  used  on  farms  which  cooks  itself  ; 
but  it  must  be  properly  blended.  Pulp,  that  is,  cut  barley 
straw,  oat  straw  or  chaff,  and  Swedes  or  Turnips  put 
through  the  cutter,  with  a  layer  of  straw,  a  layer  of  desic- 
catecl  roots,  a  sprinkle  of  salt,  a  few  malt  culms,  or  dried 
grains,  and  so  on.  Let  it  lie  twenty-four  hours,  when  it 
will  have  generated  a  pleasant  heat,  and  it  makes  a  capital 
food.  The  roots  must  be  well  and  carefully  cleaned  or 
trimmed,  so  that  all  possible  earth  is  removed. 
We  were  for  a  long  time  in  close  proximity  to  a  large 
Shire  Horse  Stud,  and  we  picked  up  a  good  many  hints 
respecting  the  bill  of  fare.  The  horses  were  at  first  iinder 
the  immediate  management  of  a  hard-headed  Scot,  and  his 
system  was  dry,  hard  corn,  and  plenty  of  it.  Never  did 
