Pot-pourri from a Surrey garden

November 2nd. — I recommend housekeepers to take down about the end of October all muslin curtains, silk blinds, &c., which shade the windows, only keeping such curtains as are drawn at night for warmth. The differ- ence it makes in the appearance of the room is very pleasant. In all manner of ways possible — in our house and gardens, in our cooking and dress — the adapting our- selves as well as we can to the changing seasons is sensible and desirable; it gives point and variety to existence, especially for those who live most of the year in one place. In the case of the south windows in our sitting-rooms the pouring-in of the low winter sun is delightful — ' le soleil de Saint Martin,' as the French play had it, comparing it to the love of an old man, 'qui 6chauffe et ne brule pas.' It is only just now we enjoy this very low sun. It is a great delight to watch the changing year, and how differently the sun affects the house and garden. In summer he shines high above our heads, beating and burning on the roof ; and in winter he bows and smiles at us just above the tree-tops. November 8th. — To-day we have had our first dish of preserved French Beans out of the salt pan, before NOVEMBER 203 -described ; and they are really delicious, just as if they had been freshly picked in August. I suppose everybody knows that Jerusalem Artichokes -are much better if left in the ground and only dug up as they are wanted, though before hard frost they must be dug up and housed. This vegetable is amongst the most useful ones we have in the winter, as it can be cooked in such a great number of ways. It is one of the things much improved by growing from fresh seed, and not planting the old tubers over and over again. The Artichokes can be made into soup, can be pureVd like Turnips, or fried in thin slices like Potato chips. ' Dainty Dishes ' has one receipt for cooking them. The only way in which they are not very good is the ordinary English way — plain boiled, with a floury butter sauce. The best way of all is au gratin, like the Maccaroni-cheese in' Dainty Dishes ' ; only they require more sauce. Everything au gratin is very much improved by using half Parmesan, half Gruyere, and a very small piece of shallot. I used to think this plant, from its name ' Jerusalem ' being derived from the Italian Girasole, with its curious English amplification into ' Palestine Soup,' was perhaps the only Sunflower (Helianthus) that had not come from America, and might have been brought here by the Crusaders ; but all this is not the fact. It does come from America ; and a curious confirmation of the same is that the French name is Topinambour, a corruption of Topinambout, a native tribe in the Brazils, whence the plant comes. November 6th. — The last few days there has been quite a hard frost, and last night our garden thermometer registered ten degrees. This means, of course, death to everything not quite hardy ; and even the hardiest hang their heads, and flop their leaves and look dying, though we know it is only affectation, and that a steady rain, bearing in every drop heat from the tropics, will revive 204 POT-POURRI FROM A SURREY GARDEN