THE GARDEN.

(BX HORTT/s),

Calendar of Operations. February 23.

tfIORTUs is willing to answer any Queries. Cor respondents must give their full names and addressee, though not for publication.]

TO CORRESPONDENTS.

COL.EUS (11. A.)— From yonrduscript ion you have allowed your plains to get too muchdrawn—i pinch back the shoots somo distance; give, more light. Some prefer to grow '.ho plants in the form of a compact ball, others in pyramidal form, which I think the most natural and handsome when well grown.

Celkrv (A. B.)—Celery must be planted in ti»nchcs. As it grows it must be earthed up so as to blanch it. Celery is grown for the long-blanched stalks, and to produce these it is best to dig a trench about a foot deep, and as the plant grows fill in the trench, drawing the sou about the plants. This blanches it. Make a trench and transplant your plants into it. It is time to do the work now. Your crop will bo late.

Caterpillars (Amateur, Mount Eden).—lt is a difficult matter to keep down flies and cater pillars on some vegetables at present, espe cially turnips, cabbage, cauliflower, broccoli, &c. Some districts seem to suffer more than others. Give the plants plenty of water in the evening, nnd in the morning dnst dry soot, lime, wood ashes, or even dry dust, over the leaves while the dew is still upon them. TUis will greatly assist in keeping down this pest.

Oranges, Lemons (E.M.C.H., Devonport).—lt would not do to root prune and pinch back the above in the same manner as apples, pears, plums. Sec; at least, I have never seen it successful. Let the trce3 attain some age and size. If they do not fruit then, root prune slightly. It will help, but recolleot that the citrous family are too sensitivo to stand much interference with the root. In pruning the upper branches only thin out,not fore-shorten. Rivers' 3 method of summer pinching, I believe, is the best method for pruning which can be adopted in the colonies. I have tried it with entire successon apples. It seems to me that you are allowing every shoot to grow, instead of keeping superfluous shoots spurred back. Only allow the number of shoots to grow which will make the permanent branches of the tree. Spur the rest oack while the trees are growing. If the branches are too strong root prune so as to reduce their power. I have had trees two feet ten inches high producing forty-two apples. I have never seen the pamtmlet you refer to, but would like to read it. Could you oblige me with the loan of it? If left at the Star office it will be forwarded, and I shall return it to your address. I think you ought to consult "Brett's Colonists Guide" re fruit tree growing and pruning. You will obtain many valuable hints from it.

Kitchen Garden.

Greenhouse.

Plant out cabbage, cnuliflower, etc. Earth up those thivt are growing ; dust with lime, soot, or wood ashes, so as to keep down caterpillar or fly. Give heavy waterings to teep them growing rapidly; make fresh sowings for late autumn "planting. Sow Btnall rancewional drills of turnips; dust and water the .same as cabbage to keep fly down. Attend to the fortnightly sowings of mustard, cress, radishes, &c., for small salading3. Give plenty of water to make them grow lapidly, nndconseauently tender in growth. Celery : Plant out the late crop ■now as soon as possible, earthing up and ■watering the earlier planted crops a? they advance. Tomatoes : Attend to last week's instructions ; pick fruit as it ripens. Beans (French): Earth up running beans and atike : pick fruit when ready : don"t allow it to ripen : the more that is plucked while green will give a better opportunity for the later portion of the crops to mature. Con tinue the digging, trenching, and manuring of all vacant pieces of ground. Onion? and 3hallots : Lift as they ripen, dry in the sun for sometime, tie in bunches, a;id hang up in some dry airy place.

Flower Garden.

AU early-sown annuals, as they get past flowering,clearaway. Gladiolusthatare past flowering cut the flower stalks off, so that the bulb may ripen off better. Stake and water the late-planted ones. Lift those which have ripened off. Attend to the staking, tying, and pinching of all autumn flowering plants ; give plenty of water to the succu lent-growing ones ; hoe, rake, and keep the border neat and clean. Bedding plants pe<* down, pinch back, regulate growth : give frequent heavy waterings. Pick off all dead blooms. Evergreen hedges clip. They will yet have plenty of time to grow suffi ciently bofore winter, so as to take off all stitf, formal appe.-irance which late-clipped fences .sometimes assume. Grass : Cut, roll, and give frequent heavy waterings. Walk : Hoe, rake, and roll.

Continue giving plenty of air during the day, also leave a little on during the night. Ro-pot such plants as coleus, &c, whenever the pot.- have got filled with roots ; give shade during the day. Give plenty of water at night. When watering always give sufficient to thoroughly saturate the soil in the pots.

As- An'CIEKT Hr.KiiAPJUM.—Garlands of dried flowers have been found on the breasts of mummies at Deir el Bah are which must be 8,500 years old. The flowers were .so veil preserved that the colour.- of the petals and the green of the leaves were almost perfect, and every species could be easily identified. Chief among them were the Eg3'ptian willow, acacias, the hlue water lily of the Kile, larkspurs, -water-melons, palm leaves, etc. Dr. Sohweinfurth pre served the leaves and flowers by moistening them in alcohol, and he afterward.-, drie3 their, in his herbarium. Two of the garlands were found on the breast of King Ames I Sdi-rux GoMip,

IV, ins Wnx Pay.—There is nothing better established than the fact that it pays to take pains in the preparation of all kind* of produce intended tor market. The neat, clean, tidy package attracts the eye and helps to sell the com modity. The care in putting up, as seen in the package, guarantees that pains have been taken in the preparation. In market ing apples, the small indifferent, affected ones should be rejected, as they are worth something for family use or for feed for atock. If left with good and sound apples they will diminish the price and render the whole less saleable, so that the producer loses in both directions. The same is true in regard to potatoes. Small ones that are not large enough to cook, mixed with de eirable ones, actually detract more in price from the lot than their weight increases the bulk. Surely the3e small potatoes, if separated from the good ones, are wortk to the grower as feed more than the trouble of selecting them. In digging potatoes, have a basket, into which throw all that are worthless to the consumer, for as city people hare no animals to feed, small potatoes are an absolute loss, and if not entirely lost only benefit the swill-gatherer. In the preparing of vegetables for sale from house to house, ticing them up in nice tidy bundles.and thoroughly washing them, giving them a nice clean appearance, will greatly enhance the sale of such vegetables. I have often heard the question discussed whether or not the China market gardeners beat the European gardeners in growing vegetables. I have always heard that the European is the best market gardener, but in the cleansing and preparing of vegetables fov sale the Chinamen far excel the Euro pean growers. Therein mostly lies the reison that housewives prefer the supply from John. Grow well, thoroughly clean, and nicely pluck the vegetables, fruit, etc., and a good market can always be found.

London Parks.—From the report of the London Metropolitan Board of Works we learn that the various Metropolitan parks and recreation grounds under the Board's

control comprise altogether an area of 1,C97 I acres, or a little over 2J square miles ; and when it is remembered that what is known as the Metropolitan Area, defined by the Metropolitan Local Management Act, 1555, and under the jurisdiction of the Board, extends over 122 square miles, and has with in its limits a population of more than three millions and a-half, it will be acknowledged that the aggregate of these pleasure grounds is, after all, but small, and if it were not for the Boyal parks, which happily may be regarded as assured public possessions, and for a few commons in and near the outskirts of the metropolis, which are not under the control of the Board, London would, in proportion to its size and population, be hardly so well provided with places of open • air resort as some other cities or towns. The places of recreation maintained by the Board are: — Finsbury Park, 115 acres ; Southwark Park, 63 acres ; gar dens on the Victoria, Albeit, and Chelsea Embankments, and in Leicester Square, 14 acres ; Blackheath, 167 acres ; Hampstead Heath, 240 acres ; Shepherd's Bush Common, S acres ; London Fields, 27 acres ; Hackney Downs, 5,0 . acres: Well-street Common, 5i acres; North Mill Field, 29 acres ; South Mill Field, 28 acres ; Clapton Common, 94, acres; Stoke Newingtown Common, 5A acres ; waste land at Dalston Lane and Grove-street (Hackney), 1 acre ; Tooting Beck Common, 144 acres ; Tooting Greveney Common, 63 acres; Clapham Common, 220 acres ; Bostall Heath, 55 acres; Plumstead Common, 110 acres; Shoulder of Mutton Green, 4 acres ; Worm wood Scrub, 194 acres ; Eel Brook Common, Parsons Common, 14 acres ; Brook Green, 7 acres. I Forming New Gardens. Continued.

When undertaking anything in the way of a new building, or almost any other work,the first operation is making a design so that the work can be carried out systematically. The same must be observed in laying o it a garden. A plan must be drawn out show ing all the house levels, walks, Ac, con sidering each detail so as to give a harmoni ous effect to the whole. I will try and des cribe -what ought to be done. Take a rough sketch of the ground to be dealt with, and if the surface is slopey or irregular, have the levels accurately taken. Furnished thus with sketch and levels, work out at your leisure, whatever designs may appear desirable, always making the front of where the house will stand, or" stands, the base of your operations. The front of the house is the standpoint from which the most strik ing views of the grounds should be ob tained, trying also to bring in the iinest prospects of the' surrounding district. After having the plan finished, peg off the ground accordingly, nx levels, &c. When the ground is pegged, the next question will be the thorough drainage of the whole place.. No garden can succeed unless it is properly drained (of course, light volcanic and sandy soil excepted). The most im portant of the drainage will be the house. This drain should, at the least, be done with a pipe six inches in diameter, hikins the nearest route to the output. Thil should be laid first, and, if possible, it should be constructed in such a manner as to act as tiie main pipe of the place. Next will come the draining of the garden and grounds. The tiles for this ought to be 2i or 3-inch tiles. The trench to receive these should be dug to the depth of three feet, running, if possible, diagonally across the proper fall of the ground—that U to say, if sucli ground will allow a good fall for the drains. The distance apart at which these drains ought to be placed will vary according to the nature of the soil. For free open soil, with a moderately porous bottom, twenty-four feet apart will be near enough. As the soil fets stiffer, the drains will need to be rought closer, and in very stiff retentive soils, with clay bottoms, they ought to be twelve feet apart. Where" rough scoria gravel can easily be obtained, a few inches of this placed on the top of the tiles would greatly assist the effectiveness of the drains. I may as well state here that to open drains during dry weather will slightly increase the cost of draining the ground", but the slight extra co.-t will be more than repaid by the extra efficiency of the drains. With drains opened in dry weather, and left fora short period, the sides of the trench will open in future, which will not afterwards entirely close, thus giving a more easy access of the water to the drains during very wet weather. After the drainage the laying-out of the place can be proceeded

(To he Continued.)

An Eccentric Gambler.

Monte Caklo has had another victim. As a matter of fact, the usual winding up of a gambler's career there is the pistol or poison. Of the two methods of shuttling off this mortal coil the director-: of the establishment prefer the latter, as it does not make such a mess in the place and causes much less fuss. A Frenchman, however, made a de parture from the ordinary method and struck out a new line for himself in flying from ruin and despair, which is thus de scribed by an Italian paper: "A few days ago the guards of a railway train, soon after passing the frontier, had their attention called to a disturbance in one of the carriages. On going to the .scene of the disturbance, they found a Frenchman who had evi dently taken leave of his senses. He had on not the slightest particle of clothing, and was jumping about the compartment. In quiries elicted the fact that the man had lost all he possessed—9o,ooo francs—at the gaming-table;; that he had then entered a train and had pitched his garments out of the window one after another, and these were found upon the line. The station master rigged up the luckless individual with a suit of clothes, and in this way the broken-down speculator was conveyed to a lunatic asylum—a badly-singed moth in the fatal flame which has lured so many to destruction."

Tax Collecting in Germany.

The ingenuity of the Berlin Tax Com missioners is remarkable. A large firm doing business on 'Change, and having thero a table for the facilitation of their work, have been assessed for said table as a "branch office." Of course they protested, and the hundreds of bovrsiers joined in the protest. The vigour with which taxe3 are collected is also noteworthy, and especially in Saxony. Not only arc the- names of re calcitrant taxpayers publicly announcod in restaurants and drinking shops, and the keepers thereof forbidden to sell liquor to these outlaws on penalty of having their license withdrawn, but members of private societies, coming under the like ban, are equally proceeded against. In the little town of Auerbach. the municipality go so far as to refuse permission to glee clubs and private societies to give balls if any of their members are in arrears with their taxes. The committees of these societies have to produce a list of the members, on which the town tax gatherer marks the sum due by each delinquent, enjoining upon the com mittee to bring the offending citizen to the scratch. If this prove of no avail, the society have the alternative left them either to exclude such members or to re nounce tho contemplated social entertain ment. This is paternal government.

SCIENCE NOTES.

A simple method of destroying the incon venient stickiness of varnishes ha.- been de vised by Mr Reinhardt, which consists in placing the article in a closed vessel or chamber where it can be exposed to the action of ozoanised air in motion.

The " Gazette Hebdomadaire " pub lishes the results of a series of investiga tion?, continued for SO years, into the com position of the LV.ris atmosphere. It was found to hold in suspension cotton, hemp, wool, hair, down, pollen, starch, particles of skin, carbon, -rilex, and various salts, iron, dead insects, ova of infusoria, and especi a'ly spares, of cryptograms and bacteria. Aniline colours obtained by means of the electro-chemical process announced some time since by a Sv.i.-s chemist, have, it seems, passed a satisfactory examination, by Paris experts, and the method of production i« believed to present some practical advan tages which may lead to its introduction.

I'ipes of steel plate have come i-ito use in England for conveying water under high pressure. The plates are coated with lead on both tides by immersion or otherwise, then rolled to rorm, rivited, soldered the whole length, and covoied -with pitch. Akctii: Observations. — The scientific parties that were stationed about two years ago around tiie world near the Arctic circle, for the purpose of making simultaneous observations, have nearly all returned home. The English party from Fort Uae, on Great Slave lake, probably arrived in England a day or two ago. Germany has, relieved her party, who trere stationed in Cumberland Sound, in Davis Straits. The Swedish observers in Ice Fiord, Spitzbergen, have gone home, after a successful winter's work. The Austro-Hungarian observers on Jan Maven, three hundred and fifty miles southwest of Spitsbergen, reported upon their return that last winter was a very mild season there. The Norwegians have relieved their party at Bosekoss, in Lap land, and our observers at Point Barrow have returned home. The Dutch party that went out in the Varna, bound for the mouth of the Yenesei, never reached their destination. Nothing has been heard from Lieutenant Greeley or from the Russian stations at Moller Bay, Novaya Zemlia, and at the mouth of the Lena river. Scientists will be greatly interested in reading and comparing the forthcoming reports of these international observers.

Pure Water a Neckshitt.—Pure water ia the great necessity of life. The blood contains about 78 per cent, of water, and a large quantity must be taken to supply the evaporation from the body. Any solid matter it contains, or any other impurity, not only finds its way to the blood very soon but is concentrated there and very quickly causes disturbance. A striking instance of the effect of impure water is given by the fact that the water of the holy well of Mecca, which is frequented by millions of pilgrims who camp around it for the purpose of drinking from it, cotiU-ir.i in each gallon 570 grains, or one and a quarter ounces of organic matter, and is seven times worse than the flow from the sewers of a jxreat city. Tho consequence is that this poisonous tilth produces that fatal disorder known as the Asiatic cholera, which is carried by these pilgrims to their homes, whence it sweeps contagiously over the world.

Tin; Pulse of Animals.—ln horses the pulse beats forty time, in an ox from fifty to fifty-five, find in sheep and pig 3 about seventy to eighty beats per minute. It may bo felt wherever a large artery crosses a.bone. It is generally examined in the horse on the cord which crosses over the

bone of the lower jaw and in front of its curved position, or in the bony ridge above the eye ; and in the cattle over the first rib : in sheep, by placing the hand on the left side, where tne beating of the heart may be felt. Any material variation of the pulse from the figures given above may be considered a sign of disease. If rapid, hard and full it is an indication of high fever or intiimmation ; if rapid, small and weak, low fever, loss of blood and weakness. If slow, the probabilities point to brain disease ; and if irregular, to heart trouble. This is one of the principal and sure tests of the health of an animal. Tin: Plasbt Vkxus.— It will be remem bered that one of the most beautiful pheno mena of the transit of Venus was the appearance of the planet's atmosphere, j which surrounded its dark globe like a ring of silver. Unfortunately, this atmosphere lof Venus, or the clouds which float in it, reflect the rays of the sun so dazzingly that very little of the planet's surface can be seen from the earth. There is reason to believe that if we could penetrate with our telescopes the splendid envelope of light surrounding Venus some very in teresting discoveries might be made, for in many particulars the condition" of Venus closely resembles that of the earth, and she is very nearly of the same size as the earth. Reasoning from certain analogies it ap pears that if intelligent beings dwell. npon any of the sun's family of world's besides the earth, Venus is the most likely to be the favoured planet. For this reason the shadowy spots that are dimly seen upon Venus under favourable circumstances of telescopic ob servation possess a singular interest and pique curiosity more than almost any other visible feature of the celestial bodies. But the brilliant veil of reflected light behind which the most beautiful of the planets conceals her face seems to be impenetrable, ahd the half glimpses which astronomers ara occasionally able to obtain must, for a lou^ time at least, conntitute the sum of all our knowledge of the real features of this most charming sister of the earth.

The Scientific Basis of Cookery.

The "Times" reports that Mr Mattieu Williams, F.C.S., gave a lecture at the house of the Society of Arts, on "The Scientific Basis of Cookery." The lecturer began by defining the distinction between technical and technological education, the first, pro perly so called, being the education received by the apprentice in the workshop, the lat ter that which may be taught to the student in a school or college. Technology, includ ing the philosophy or scientific principles which were technically applied in the practical handicraft. These lectures only attempted the technology; technical teach ing must be conducted in the kitclioh or such practical establishments as the .School of Cookery at South Kensington. He then described the wide range of domestic tech nology, and showed how it exceeded that of ordinary trades and professions. Most of theao were conSned to one particular cl»« of articles or operations. The housewife had to deal with all our ordinary everyday requirements. She was truly a " universal provider," and a corresponding breadth of technology was demanded. The tech nology of cookery included organic chemistry, the most obscure and diiiicult part of the science. All the operations of cookery were chemical operations, and therefore the kitchen was a chemical laboratory, ia which the agency of heat was operating to effect certain chemical changes on the organic materials of food. The simple operation of boiling water was explained, and the common domestic fallacy shown up q£

supposing that simmering water is of lower temperature than water which is boiling rapidly. The temperature of 212", it was shown, wa3 reached immediately bubbles of steam wore formed at the bottom of the vessel and these bubbles rose through the water to the top. As nearly a thousand degrees of heat were demanded to do tho work of converting water into vapour, and as the degrees in excess disappeared altogether as tempera ture, or were rendered " latent," the keep ing up of ebullition was very wasteful. In the so-called boiling of meat, the boiling point was not required, the cooking tenv perature being about ICO degrees—that at which albumen coagulated and became a tender solid. At 212 degrees and above, it became tough and leathery. The cook ing of an egg in hot water was described in detail as a typical example showing that, in order to obtain the maximum of tenderness, digestibility, and nutrient value, the egg should not bo raised to the boiling point at all, but kept well below it at about 160 degrees to 180 degrees. The principals in volved in boiling a leg of mutton were similarly described. At first it should be immersed in water at the full boiling point in order to form an outer coating on well coagulated albumen which shall retain the juices of the meat. After this no more boiling should take place, but a gentle tem perature be maintained until it has pene trated to the centre. If meat conducted heat, as many metals did, this would occupy but a'few minutes ; the long time demanded was due to it« bad conduction, and the skill of the "cook was displayed by over coming this difficulty in such wise that the dogrno of cooking should he nearly uniform throughout. Frying, properlyconductcd, Mr Williams said, was an operation of tho same nature as boiling, the heating medium being one that could be raised considerably higher, the surface of the meat or vegetable being partially decomposed er charred, con verted into a earamol or "browned," while tho interior was raised to the cooking point of ISO degrees or thereabouts. It could not, therefore, be applied to large masses, only to comparatively thin pieces. The evils of the popular frying-pan and the necessity for a complete bath of fat were explained, and a proper frying-pot was exhibited. The fat of tho bath, the lecturer pointed out, did not penetrate the meat, provided the meat was fully immersed and the fat was kept well above tho boiling point of water, us in this case the steam formed: between tho flesh fibres prevented its entry but if the frying was done on a merely greased plate, liko a common frying-pan, the fat was iipt to penetrate by the upper surface, which was exposed. Thus, a sole cooked by complete immersion m heated fat absorbed less grease than one which wa» fried in a modicum of fat just covering the surface of a frying-pan.

A Thrifty German.

Somk years ngo a German professor appro priated an American invention for the em ployment of wood pulp in the manufacture of wood paper, and obtained a patent for it. Ho then issued licenses for the use of the patent, and his revenue from tliis source for some time past is calculated to havo been nearly 500,000 marks annually. Not long since, however, a 'paper-maker discovered that the process was an American one, and patented at Washington some time before the German professor obtained hia patent at Berlin, and the facts were laid before the Government. The result was that the patent was annulled and the paper trade, relieved of a serious tax. ' , , .•; * -■

*>4OTA:R.:9SATOB»Sira-d^

4



CONTINUATION OF THE GREAT CLEARING SALE FOR FOURTEEN DAYS LONGER. SAMUEL COOMBES & CO. While thanking their numerous patrons for the liberal support they have, received during their Great Glearing Sale, beg to inform their customers and the public generally that on'account of the, size of their Stock, together with Shipments coming forward, they are compelled to continue the Sale for FOURTEEN DAYS LONGER. The whole of the remaining Stock has been further marked down and will be SOLD REGARDLESS OF COST. This is no sensational sale, but a Genuine Clearing Sale, as the prices will prove if you give us a call. An unusual quantity of Remnants to be almost given away. We give quotations of a few of the leading Bargains:— A Splendid TWILLED SHEETING CALICO, 72 inches wide, at 10UI., usual price, Is. 6d. A Superior lot of TWILLED SHEETING CALICO, SO inches wide, at 12\d., usual price. Is. 9d. A Large Lot of ALL-WOOL REAL WELSH FLANNELS, at 1.2U1., worth Is. (id. We hare still about 200 Pairs of MEN'S PRINTED MOLE TROUSERS at 4s. lid., usual 2>rice Ss. Gd. A Larue Lot of TWEED HATS at 7s. (id., usual price, ss. Gd. 2000 MEN'S TWEED HATS. New Goods just opened, 2s. Gd.. ordinary price, 7s. (id. The IVAN HAT at GUT., usual price. 2s. Gd. BLANKETS at 10s. Gd.pevpair, worth 18s. Gd. We hare aOOO Yards of the new TWILLED SHOT 3IATERIALfor Ladies' Dresses at GUI., worth Is. Gd. We are now opening our A VTU3IN and WINTER MILLINERY, which we are now Selling at Clearing Sale Prices. Bought a .lob, and now Selling at Sale Prices, several Thousand Yards of LACE, from- 2UI. per yard, worth five times the money. We are now Selling several Thousand Yards of RIBBON, Fashionable Shades, at Gd. per yard, worth Is. Gd. Samuel Coombes & Co., CANADA BUILDINGS, QUEEN-STREET.