Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1882-04-05

asparagus-o0r only two, eatable greenstuffs-
naturally raises once more the perennial ques-
ton. Why have we in England no vegetables?
10 doubt the fact il impossible-at least to any
body who knows what real vegetables are Hike.
Sir said an American stranger at restau-
rant In the Strand one day. "Sir this is the one
thing you can raise in your country and we can t
Praise In ours-a mutton chop; but then you
never tasted green peas In all your life" That
ant.thesis puts the great vegetable question in a
nutshell. It is impossible in the same country
to have good meat and good vegetables For
the best beef and mutton are product Of the
| soft, tender English greensward, which only
exists in few countries along the Atlantic sea-
board of Europe, and owes its origin to the con-
slant rainfall.
The same causes which give us good meat.
however, deny US In England the possibility of
good fruit and vegetables. For while the herb
age requires copious ran the fruits seeds pods.
flowers, buds and other miscellaneous objects
which We class from the culinary point of view
as vegetables ali require copious sunlight. That
Is why we have none of them. Our only good
vegetables are such as very young rhubarb sea-
kale, asparagus and celery, which are the
blanched sprOutfng shoots Of perennial plants
| These mostly come in spring time. and as they
are none the worse, or even all the better for
| little wholesome soaking, they manage to sur
vive our climate well enough in the long run
But most other vegetables are more or less
fruty in their nature and really to taste these
one must go to America or Italy-for choice the
| nrst- Of thoroughgoing fruity vegetables-such
| as the tomato-we in England know nothing.
we never have sun enough to ripen them prop
erly; and even with all the appliances of mod
ern gardeners, they never get thoroughly red
ana soft throughout in our gardens as they do in
the open cir under Canadian or Italian sky
They always have q half-green taste, and
are wholly lacking In the true rich tomato
flavor. Indeed, the timed American specimens
though tasting Of the solder of course are
better savored after all than our poor starved
sunless English things. As to purple egg-fruit
and green chow-chows, we know them not at
all; while the profuson Of rich red-feshed
watermelons primrose-skinned squashes and
golden pumpkins in Massachusetts, market
would astOnIsh Covent Garden, and set some
hascent Turner to work with all the pigments
On his palette to try his hand at a new and
many -coiored subject. These things require the
sun to ripen them, and we see his face here as
rule for some two and a-half hours weekly, as
duly registered at Gynde Place, Lewes. Then.
again, there are the winter cherries, the sweet
potatoes, and, best of all earthly vegetables.
green Indian corn. eaten Off the cob with fresh
butter, and likest.to nectar of all mortal deli
cacies. As for pulse generally our beans are all
stringy; We have neither the variety nor the
tenderness of the American beam Our peas
nave some good points-for English peas; but
they are not half SO large or luscious, melt
ing, as American peas. They take too long
growing, and have got old and hard before they
are big enough to pick. The delicious crinkly
eatable-pod pea would be impossible here; it
would have got tough and sinewy month be-
fore it was ready for cooking. We grow buck
wheat to feed our pheasants, but it never ripens
as 1t ought. and buckwheat pancakes at break
fast will doubtless be an unknown luxury with
US forever.
In the matter of leafy vegetables we can do
little better, but not enough to boast about. We
are strong in salads; our climate provides us
with plenty of fresh green lettuce and plenty of
slugs, too, to hide in its recesses But endive
does not flourish; it is scrubby-looking plant in
England; though we make up for it in crosses
and the lesser salad stuffs. Our roots. too, are
good; who will deny the British farmer the
glory of his turnips, his beets. and his mangold-
wurZel? When it comes to edible flowers, how
ever, we are hopeIessly left in the lurch Our
top artichOkes are the hardest and poorest in
the world; they contain maximum of fibrous.
UNBEATABLE, bract and minimum of soft,
-starchy pulp. In the south Of France. Italy and
America you can often eat the whole fower-head,
choke and all; iD England you can only extract
pltltul pittance of soft mouthful Off the base Of
each great leathery scale. ItwouId be imposs-
ole to dress English artchokes in fried butter,
as they do SO deliciously at Florence; one
might as well eat fried boots Our caulifowers
and broccoli are not nearly as good as the Am
ercan they are neither so white nor so delicate
In flavor We can grow cucumbers, (under
glass; because cucumbers are eaten green but
what miserable farce are our vegetable mar
rows! What is true Of vegetables is even more
true Of fruits. To be sure our English hot
house grapes are the best in the world but for
strawberries, raspberries, currants, gooseberries
plums and cherries we must go to America. Our
peaches are success; our apples are national
failure; and our pears are a standing insult to
thebuman intelligence. But we may at least
congratulate ourselves that with the aid of glass
and stoves we can obtain heat and light enough
to grow the best pineapples in the world at the
moderate price of one guinea apiece. In Jamaica
they usually sell at two for three halfpence.
Escaping Massacre to Die of Thirst ON
an Island.
From the Manchester Courier. March 81.
The fate of Mrs. Watson and her child has at
last been definitely ascertained. The description
was given few weeks ago of the attack Of the
North Queensland blacks upon the Lizard Island
fishing station, the brave defence made by Mrs
Watson and her Cinnamon against Overwhelm-
ing odds. and the suspicion Of the police that
the survivors had been drowned while making, in
leaky little punt for the main land The finale of
the sad tragedy is told by the last mail delivery
Mrs. Watson and her child had escaped murder
and outrage from the savages. but were fated
to lingering death on distant desert Island
The master of trading schooner found three
skeletons on No. island of the Norwich group
and these are proved to be the remains of Mrs
Watson, her baby, and the faithful Chinaman.
All Sam. revolver, full cooked and loaded
was lying by the mother and child. The dead
Chinaman was found under tree few yards
off, with loaded rifle at his side. There was
no water on the island and the unfortunate
castaways had no doubt died from the most ter
rible affection Of thirst. All Sam had been
speared in seven places, and the bandages
showed that Mrs. Watson, in the midst of her
woes had not neglected to dress the wounds
The presence of mind and heroism displayed by
the courageous woman are now seen to be even
greater than was at first supposed. The flight
from Lizard island was made, not in boat but
in half of an iron tank used for boiling down
beche-de-mer. The woman, child and China
man set forth on their perllous voyage on Octo-
Der 3, landed next day on a reef, and remained
there till the 9th. Then they went from islet to
islet in search of water, of which they could not
have had . drop for at least five days
During this horrible period of suffering and
suspense Mrs. Watson kept her diary, and never
lost sight of her husbands papers and account
books. The extracts from the heroine's diary
tell as much of the touching end of the harrow
ing story as will ever be known, but fmagina-
ton will but too wildly indicate the closing
scenes of this brave woman's life. The supply
of water on hand had evidently lasted the fugi-
tives during their earlier wanderings, but prior
Tn the date of the first onfrv IL had off har