The Weekly Florists* Review^ 



623 



A GOOD WHEEL HOE. 

 We jjiesciil heiewitli an engtaviiij; of 

 ii wlicel lioe of a very simple but ellccl- 

 ivi; paUciii that proved so satisfactory to 

 Mr. W. K. Hall, the florist of Clyde, 

 Ohio, that he is ofTeriiig it to the trade 

 and others. He says it beats any sim- 

 ilar tool he has ever had. Its simplic- 

 ity is certainly in its favor, and it 

 would seem to he just the tiling for ciil- 

 tivatin" carnations in the lir'ld. 



A Good Wheel Hoe. 



these are splendid, both for the appear- 

 ance they will make and their sheltered 

 location. Henry A. Dreer, of Philadel- 

 phia, is making at great exp'ense the en- 

 tire exhibit of aquatic plants. 



The space devoted to horticultural ex- 

 hibits, and covering some twenty acres, 

 contains 200 beds of every size and de- 

 sign. A large part of it is known as the 

 Music Garden, and there is no prettier 

 or more pleasing spot in all the grounds. 

 The absence largely of straight lines and 

 the liberal planting of trees, with Its al- 

 ready beautiful lawn, gives this part of 

 the grounds a natural and park-like 

 beauty. The demand for space in this 

 garden for exhibits by the leading 

 nurserymen and florists of the country 

 has far exceeded the space available, but 

 nearly all well-known firms are repre- 

 sented. Every familiar flower as well as 

 the new and choice introductions will 

 here be seen, and from groups of our na- 

 tive trees, evergi'eens and mountain 

 plants to the humble but admired pansy. 



All these beds, as well as those in the 

 landscape department and in the courts 

 and surrounding the buildings, are now 

 filled with hyacinths. tiili|,^ jii.l narcis- 

 sus and other spring IIciwiiiiil' bulbs, 

 which insures a hrilli^ml .h-.|il:iy during 

 the month of May, to he tnllnu..! hiter by 

 the permanent summer blooming plants. 

 In August last there were planted on the 

 margins of the shrubbery borders 200,000 

 hardy perennials which will flower 

 during the summer, giving not only 

 color but naturalness to these bor- 

 ders. To those seeing the grounds 



now with the great diversity ot 

 levels, its sloping banks and ter- 

 races, its wooded mounds and leafy 

 glades, its canals and lakes and lagoons, 

 it seems almost incredible that less than 

 one year ago today it was a fiat plain 

 with scarcely a rise of two feet in its 

 mile of length and breadth. 



The spacious and magnificent Horti- 

 culture Building will be devoted entire- 

 ly to fruit. Kn.iv m.li i- already as- 

 signed to the -.x.iii! -1.1 1,-, nie two 

 large conservalni u - Irnimj from this 

 building to the I liai.hi. \,t- I'.iiil.lin.i on 

 one side and to the .Mum - r.uiMniL' ■>» 

 the other, will be const .mi l,\ lm i \Mtli 

 flowering and fine fuliau'- |ilaiii- 1't 

 ginning with tln' m|m'iiiiiu wirl, m May 

 and continuing nimuLilMiin tli'- -iMnnici- 

 will be held sprrKil ll-ur, -lH.^^- .,t all 

 the most popular Ih.wns, Idi whidi med- 

 als and diplomas will be ofi'ered. Tlie 

 prominent specialists of the state are 

 taking the liveliest interest in these ex- 

 hibitions and will all exhibit. Par- 

 ticularly is this so in the case of carna- 

 tions, roses, peonies, sweet peas, glad- 

 iolus, asters and chrysanthemums. 



It is impossible to give in a few hun- 

 dred words more than the merest outline 

 of the work and beauty oi horticulture 

 at the Pan-Anicri<an Kvpnsition. It is 

 not in one spnl ni .m,. rxliiliit that the 

 visitors will l>r .liainird. hut in the 

 beauty and coiiiplctc ncss .it the whole. 

 W'lLUAM Scott. 

 Assistant Supt. of Horticulture in 



charge of Floriculture. 



NITRATE OF SODA vs. SULPHATE 

 OF AMMONIA. 



Of the several fertilizers that are 

 used in the production of garden and 

 farm crops none are better known 

 than the two important sources of 

 nitrogen— nitrate of soda and sulphate 

 of ammonia— and judiciously applied 

 none are of greater value for several 

 of the principal crops. It may be as- 

 .sumed that with a fuller appreciation 

 of the aid they are in certain cases 

 able to render there will be a material 

 increase in their use, and it is there- 

 fore desirable the cultivator should be 

 acquainted with the comparative re- 

 turns which may be expscted from 

 these manures, and with the condi- 

 tions under which they may be the 

 most profitably employed. Hence the 

 exhaustive paper contributed by Pro- 

 fessor Warrington to the current issue 

 of the Royal Agricultural Society's 

 Journal on the comparative value of 

 these two fertilizers is of much inter- 

 est, and fully deserve the careful con- 

 sideration of both gardeners and 

 farmers. As the author points out in 

 his opening remarks, sulphate of am- 

 monia and nitrate of soda have long 

 been competitors for the cultivator's 

 favor, and the competition is likely to 

 continue, as the market price of each 

 influences the market price of the 

 other. It is consequently desirable 

 the cultivator should be acquainted 

 with the conditions under which each 

 attains its maximum efficiency, as 

 without this knowledge he is not in 

 a position to employ them to the 

 greatest profit, or to take advantage 

 of the variations in their market 

 prices. As the paper occupies nearly 

 fifty pages, it is not possible to do 

 more than very briefly refer to a few 

 of the conclusions at which Professor 

 Warrington has arrived as the result 

 of his investigations. 



Although sulphate of lime and sul- 

 phate of ammonia are chemically dis- 

 tinct substances, not one of the proxi- 

 mate constituents of one salt is found 

 in the other. In their use as manures 

 they become, however, far more alike. 

 While the nitrate of soda undergoes 

 but little change in the soil the sul- 

 phate ot ammonia is profoundly al- 

 tered. By contact under favorable 

 conditions with a moist soil contain- 

 ing carbonate of lime the sulphate of 

 ammonia is finally resolved into two 

 salts, the sulphate and nitrate ot cal- 

 cium; and the mention of this fact 

 will show that the presence of lime 

 in the soil is essential to its eflJciency. 

 According to the results of the inves- 

 tigation made by Professor Warring- 

 ton, sulphate of ammonia cannot be 

 profitably used as a manure on land 

 destitute of lime, and in its use on 

 soils containing a large percentage of 



