6oo 



THE TROPICAL AGRICULTURIST. [March i, iS86. 



entire desertion of the old ball, the loose soil being 

 speedily coverted into o kind of mud. 



I have before alluded to the use of very fibrous 

 soil as one of the chief improvements in modern 

 potting; let me here caution the young beginner 

 against potting with wet soil. If .soil in a wet state 

 must be used, then all my advice about firm potting 

 falls to the ground. Jly practice is this :— Turfy or 

 fibrous loam, having lain about six months in the 

 compost yard, is clioppcd down when very dry wilh 

 a sharp spade, leaving lumps the size of a large 

 potato in it. This being well handled a considerable 

 proportion of the more loose soil falls away, and this 

 is put aside for ordinary purposes. The tuify material 

 is now housed, no riddle being used ; and this will 

 for months iu the potting-shed if in a body, and 

 prove always in excellent order for potting. Heath 

 soil, peat, &e., are served in a similar way; and such 

 materials in such a condition are qualified, either 

 singly or in composts, to provide for every need in 

 the plant way. 



I must now recur to drainage matters. Here, again, 

 practical men make a difference. Annuals, and many 

 softwooded plants which soon come to perfection, 

 require a very moderate amount of ceremony of this 

 kind. A crock carefully placed over the hole, and 

 over that a layer of the coar.ser materials of the 

 compost, will generally suffice, although I usually throw 

 a little charred material over the crock, or a piece 

 of moss. When, however, we take the more delicate 

 of the liardwooded class, specimens which have to 

 remain a long time in their pots, and, indeed, plants 

 of various kinds which are known to be somewhat 

 shy rooters, the case is very different. Even in 

 Camellia potting, for my part, I deem it expedient 

 to be very particular; strange it is that some of our 

 continental r.eighbours think and act so differently, 

 for I have lately read that they are in the habit of 

 simply thrusting a lump of turfy peat iu the bottom 

 of the pot, and also pot their Oamellias almost en- 

 tirely iu peat. ]3ut it must be remembered that to 

 grow young stock into a smart, saleable appearance, 

 and to sustain large specimens in high blooming con- 

 dition for many years, are two very ditfereiit affairs. 

 There can be little doubt that much of the failure 

 so frequently complained of i i Camellias, when in the 

 hands of amateurs and small cultivators, arises in no 

 small degree from the mode of potting them. Razors 

 made to sell and razors made to cut are two very 

 different things. I find also that where lii]uid manure 

 is frequently used there is the greater need of sound 

 drainage, as, under the best of circumstances, it has 

 a tendency to close the interstices of the soil, especially 

 if fine soil be u.sed. I, however, bid utter defiance 

 to this tendecy by the use of very turfy and lumpy 

 •soil. 



After all the care we can use m potting processes 

 we may remember that it lies iu the power of an 

 ignorant and heedless waterer to nulUfy all our efforts 

 in a very few weeks. This is a most serious consider- 

 ation. The worst of it is that we scarcely know how 

 to offer a rule to those who are careless or ignorant. 

 A thoughtless person can never be relied on for 

 watering; but the term "thoughtless" will scarcely 

 express" what I mean, for we have no eases of 

 thorough mental inanition in those who labour with 

 their hands. What I really mean is this— that no 

 person can water plants well unless he actually cares 

 for their Welfare. Absence of mind is. therefore, here 

 an unfortunate affair. One piece of advice may here 

 be given to the uninformed. AVhen plants are es- 

 tablished in their pots, and require water, let them 

 have a thorough watering, unless some special reason 

 exists for dealing otherwise with them. I'lants growing 

 fast or blossoming heavily generally require mori> 

 water than at other times; and plants sinking into a 

 state of comparative rest, po.s.'-ibly shedding a portion 

 of their foliage, bulbs, &c., re(|Uire a very moilerute 

 amount of moisture ; indeed, in many eases, none at 



all 



One other great feature in modern plant culture 

 it tho constant war that is sustained against the in- 



sect enemies of plants. On this, however, it is no 

 part of my present purpose to dwell ; I merely point 

 to it as dividing the honours attached to the high 

 success of these times with good potting and watering. 

 But I would observe that there is such a thing as 

 predisposition in plants or families of plants to insects, 

 and that one of the most fertile causes of this pre- 

 disposition may be found in abuse of the root-action 

 through bad soils, bad potting, and bad watering. 



I would here beg the earnest attention of all in- 

 experienced plant cultivators to a close consideration 

 of the before-named principles, and suggest to them 

 that the general health of plants is more dependent 

 on the soil, and, in consequence, the root-action, than 

 upon any precise amount of heat, or, indeed, any 

 of those little collateral matters which are, as it were sub- 

 sidiary to high culture, and recommend that a due 

 attention be paid to the potting-shed snd the con- 

 servation of soils. — K. K. — Journal of IhiHUidturf. 

 ♦ 



Fob SrnAYiNo Thees. — There is no doubt whatever 

 but that our citrus trees need occasional spraying to 

 clean them of scale bugs of one kind or another, 

 even if of no more dangerous sort than the soft scale, 

 and a very good whale oil soap can be made for the 

 purpose, of the following ingredients : — 



Concentrated lye 2 pounds 



Whale oil 1 gallon 



Water 5 g.-dlons 



Boil until united, and you will have six gallons of 

 soap, at a total cost of about 65 cents, or IJ cents 

 a pound. The regular price charged tor this soap is 

 from .5 to 10 cents per pound by dealers. The above 

 recipe for making this soap is from Santa (^"lara 

 County, and is largely used there. When applied, add 

 from three to five gallons of water. With only three 

 gallons of w.iter added, the mixture will be too strong 

 for foliage, but with five gallons of water the foliage 

 will not be injured. If coal oil is used it .should bo 

 added to the warm soap before reducing with water. 

 There is very little additional labor to the fruit grower 

 in making his own soap. In any case it must be warme.l 

 before aiiplication, and it is not much more trouble 

 to make it than to warm it. — Itaral Ctiliforniait. 



(iOVERN.MENT OlNCnilXA PI.aStATIOX, MaDKAS. — 



JI. A. Lawson, Esq., Director of (lovernment Cinchona 

 I'lantations, Parks and Uarden.s, Nilgiris, explains to 

 the Secretary to the Madras Oovernment, the causes 

 which have led to the so marked a falliug olf in the 

 receipts. i''iVs/. — In former years when the cinchona 

 industry was in its infancy, and a large number of 

 plantiitions were being opened out by private growers, 

 there was necessarily a very large demand for cinchona 

 seed and cinchona young plants ; and, as the Govern- 

 ment plantations were the oldest and most, noted in 

 the district, the growers naturally applied to (iovern- 

 ment to supply to their needs. This went on for 

 several years, until the new plantations were able to 

 supply their owners, with what Government before had 

 only been able to produce. Again, these new plant- 

 ations are now able to compete with the Government 

 iu the sale of seed aud plants. SecondU.— Owing to 

 the great depreciation whioh has recently occurred in 

 the value of cinchona bark, the public have been deterred 

 from increasing their plantations, or from opening new 

 ones. Tho general result of these two above-mentioned 

 ciroumstinces has been a very small demand for (iov- 

 ernment seed and plants. The following table shows 

 the miscellaneous receipts for the p.ast eight years: — 



Year. Amount. 



ES. A. r. 



During 1877-78 2.821 2 a 



„ 1878-79 8.136 9 2 



I,s7y-S0 I2,3()(1 6 7 



lSSO-81 V.iMo -i a 



1881-82 li,048 1 r. 



1S82-S.3 •l.-'tK) 7 HI 



;, 1883-84 -1,352 C 8 



,! 1881-85 1,527 1 5 



Total ... 52,562 1 



