Dec. I, 1885.] 



THE TROPICAL AGRICULTURIST. 



435 



supply bleached leaves to Korae and other places, 

 leaving the whole place with a '• disreputable look," 

 but all this cau be done -'at the expense of the fruit." 

 Moreover the Bordigliera Palms may all happen to be 

 of the kind which does not become soft and sweet, 

 and goi« no further than the red or yellow stage, 

 called '• Kharek." In my opinion, the borders of the 

 Mediterranean basin are eminently »uited to growing 

 first-class Dates. The sea air appears to be an ad- 

 vantage to the choicer varieties. It is not so partial 

 to a desert climate as one would suppo-se. AH it 

 wants for the production of choice fruit is careful 

 cultivation, like any other fruit tree, with irrigation 

 when necessary, manuring and stirriug of the surface 

 earth ; artificial fertilisation when tbe males are not 

 well intormixed with the females. It requires also, 

 like other fruit trees, that half the bunches should 

 be removed to produce fine large Dates. The con- 

 dition which I think is a great advantage to the per- 

 fection of the fruit of the Khoorma kinds is that 

 during softening and ripening time the atmosphere 

 should be dry. Fiually, to obtain choice fruit the 

 Date I'alm should not" be tapped or swathed, or have 

 its leaves blanched and cut off; but that there should 

 be many of them, and the more direct light they 

 get the better, as long as water is suplied to the 

 roots. AN'hether this come from underground wells 

 or from rivers, or springs, or the clouds, I think 

 signifies little. 



I should say Cyprus, Candia, Greece, and its archi- 

 pelago, Sicily, Sardinia, and the south and east coast 

 of Spain, are all eminently suited to the cultivation 

 of the choice kinds of Dates. Offsets from the 

 Persian (!idf coiUd be obtained with the greatest ease, 

 and planted in nurseries, and watered regularly till 

 they root, when they could be put into permanent 

 plaiilations. I think there is no part of the world to 

 which, if the climate and soil were suitable, Date 

 offsets of the proper age and weight could not be 

 taken. They will bear a great deal of exposure before 

 planting without injury. The woody stinup acts like 

 a bidb, and throws oiit roots when jjlanted under 

 propiT conditions. If we do not except the cow to 

 give good and abunJaut milk without proper feeding 

 and careful treatment, it is hardly reasonable to except 

 the Date Palm to give good and abundant fruit with 

 no feeding and '•atrocious" treatment.— E. BoSAVIA, 

 M. D., Etawah. — Ganhne.s' Chronicle. 



FEEDING OF PLANTS. 



As the food of plants existing in soils is subject 

 to distribution, and does not remain in solution for 

 any length of time, it is evident that there cannot 

 be a circulation of such food towards tho growi'ig 

 plant, but the roots of the latter must go in search of 

 nourishment. 



AVhen we consider the vast root surface in the case 

 of a Vine, and that myraids of rootlets and root-hairs 

 unite their action to feed the comparatively narrow 

 stem, we can understand the importance to the gar- 

 dener of studying the ramification of the roots of all 

 the various species of plants he cultivates in order 

 to adapt his system of manuring to the feeding cap- 

 acitie; of these plants. Plant-roots may be considered 

 in three distinct stages of growth, namely, in their 

 primary development, their stage of ramification, .ind 

 their enlargement in receptacles of nutriment. Sup- 

 posing, then, moisture, warmth, and air, to be reaily 

 in their proper measure, the water is absorbed by the 

 substance of the embryo of the seed, dissolving its 

 contents, carrying them into the young plant as 

 rapidly as they are re<iuired ; in fact, the seed may 

 be considered as a miniature laboratory, in which 

 numerous chemical actions are taking place for tho 

 nourishment and development of the young growing 

 plant. 



As the radicle breaks its bonds from the mother 

 seed it will be nourished and fed after a .short time 

 directly from substances existing in the soil, and will 

 profit very indirectly by any mitritive matters which 

 may yet remain in the seed itself. 



80 important to the future welfare of the plant is 

 tho addition of elements which can be obtained from 

 tho soil only, even in the earliest stages of growth, 

 that before any secondary rootlet is produced the young 

 radicle in many cases pushes out from its superficial 

 cells a mass of delicate fibrils, every one of which is 

 employed in active food-absorption ; therefore, while 

 the first wants of the young plant depend directly 

 upon seed nutrition, it must never be forgotten by 

 the gardener that this supply lasts for a short time 

 only, and that the ultimate vigour and productive- 

 ness of the plant must depend upon the fertility of 

 the soil; consequently, for the successful rai.sing of 

 any plant from vei'y minute seeds, it is absolutely 

 necessary that suitable food should be within easy 

 reach of the delicate and small roots, and also in an 

 extremely soluble condition. Thus we find pounded 

 rape-cake, soot, or a moderate dressing (10 to 20 lb. 

 pur st-iuare yard) of superphosphate among the very 

 best materials for applications to soils when it is required 

 to raise a crop of healthy young plants in a short 

 period of time. 



It is, however, a great mistake to suppose that be- 

 cause plants are often grown without a direct supply 

 of nitrogen in manures they are not dependent upon 

 this substance for their very life and sustenance. 

 Those gardeners who do not apply manorial dressings 

 with their seed depend naturally upon the store of 

 nitrogenous plant-food in the soil. IMany a plant 

 which looks vigorous enough on its first appearance 

 abov. 'ground ?oon wears a sorry aspect when the food- 

 supply is deficient or of the wrong kind. 



Nowhere is this fact better exemplified than in the 

 extensive experimeuts at Kothamsted where the con- 

 ditions as to source of nutriment and disentegration 

 of the soil hy root development are so various. In 

 early spring each description of plant experimented 

 with, whatever may he its character or its manurial 

 supply, starts much alike ; there is but little difference 

 to be discerned between one plot and another ; \'ery 

 soon, however, those without any manure at all begin 

 to show signs of weakness, then the imperfectly man- 

 ured plots lag behind, while those receiving a full 

 supply of all the necessary ingredients of plant-life — 

 potash, phosphoric acid, lime, and nitrogen — advance 

 steadily on to perfection. 



This is furthia- illustrated by the following table 

 which shows the average annual produce of various 

 crops, and the increase obtained by different manures. 

 The quantities arc in pounds per acre:— • 



Description of 

 Crop. 



lb. lb. lb. lb. lb. 



Potato f Produce. 5,208 S,24G 7,l(i8 lG,4-50 lO.lSG 



tubers (Increase. ... 3,038 l,!)(iO 11,242 5,278 



Swede (Produce. 1,232 5,82,1 2,128 11,424 13,888 



bulbs I Increase. ... 4,592 H'M 10,192 12.(i5G 



Mangel ( Produce. 9,G32 11,312 29,792 43,450 31,584 

 bulbs (Increase. ... 1,G80 20,100 33,824 21,9.52 

 Meadow ) Produce. 2,380 2,492 3,962 C,384 4,602 

 hay (Increase. ... 112 1,-582 4,004 2,282 



AVe gather from these results that while a certain 

 amomit of increase of crop is obtained when super- 

 phosphate, which sujiplies to tho plant phosphoric 

 acid and lime, or wluui uitr.ate of soda, which fur- 

 nishes soda and idtrogen, it is not until the com- 

 plete fertiliser (minerals and nitrate soda), which 

 supplies phosphoric acid, potash, lime, soda and nit- 

 rogen combined, is given that a full crop is harvested. 

 This is further illustrated by the fact that farmyard 

 dung, which is supposed to furnish all the essential 

 elements of plant food — but the ett'ects of which are 

 spread over a considerable nundjer of years — rarely 

 yields so much produce as the minerals and nitrate 

 soda together, the latter being so nmch more easily 

 assimilated hy the gi-owing plants, The next question 



