THE GARDENERS' CHRONICLE OF AMERICA. 



307 



400 s(niaie iiiilcs. capablu of yicliliiig aiimuiUy, eitlioi- as diifd 

 kelp or as pure potassiiiiii c-liloride, over six times tlie present 

 consumption of soluble potash salts in the United States, or some- 

 thing more than the world's present total production. The de- 

 velopment of a great American industry, based on the conserva- 

 tion and utilization of this important national resource, of funda- 

 mental ini])ortai](e to the natioruil agricult\Hal interests, seems 

 now to be a matter of time only. 



]f all the coal that is now coked in the United States were 

 treated in modern liy-product ovens and tlie ammonia thereby 

 saved, the nitrogen tonnage would be about that now consumed 

 in the fertilizer trade of the country. While the transition from 

 the old ■'beehive" to the modern furnace method is steadily 

 progressing, the greater dependence for nitrogen carriers yet re- 

 mains in cottonseed meal, slaughterhouse b.y-proilucts. fish scrap 

 and some other less important materials. The growing and in- 

 sistent demand for more nitrogenous feeds to su]ii)ort the meat 

 production demanded by the dietary customs of the .American 

 people is gradually but steadily withdrawing these "organic" 

 ■carriers from the command of the fertilizer manufacturers, while 

 the demand for nitrogen carriers is steadily increasing. 'Ihe 

 necessity for artificial methods of fixation of atnuisphcric nitro- 

 gen in the United States is not immediately jiresent. but is ap- 

 proaching ra])idly. Tt would he premature to announce the re- 

 sults of the departmenfs investigations as yet. but the types of 

 material which are of commercial promise for American condi- 

 tions have been jiretty well worked out and substantial progress 

 has been made in the investigation of the fundamental technical 

 factors which must control the production of these particular 

 types. At the same time investigation is being made of other 

 possible sources of nitrogen. 



Although improvements are being made, the wastage of phos- 

 phate rock at the mines is still disconcertingly large. Tn Florida, 

 where the most actively-worked fields are situated, investigations 

 of the Bureau of Soils have shown that practically 2 pounds of 

 phosphorus goes to waste for every pound produced in merchant- 

 able rock. Studies are now being made looking to the recovery 

 ■or prevention of some of this wastage by mechanical methods, 

 while several chemical methods have been carefully investigated. 



STUDY OF PLANT ODORS. 



A rose b.v au.v other name would smell as sweet and onions and 

 garlics would be the malodorous delusions and snares that the.v 

 are even were they called violets and narcissus. What, then, is it 

 which causes the odors of flowers and the noxious nasal annoy- 

 ances of molds and other lowly plants? M. Eugene Charabot, the 

 able chemist, now rushes into the lircach in an attempt to explain 

 all this. 



What is a plant odor? Where does it come from? How is it 

 <listributed? Why arc some of them fragrant anil uthei's mal- 

 odorous? After a tiMi-ycar research independently and alnnu with 

 Al. liebert, M. Charabot now attemjits to answer scmie of these 

 queries. 



'I'liere arc two great .groups of oilorif(>rous vesctation. In the 

 imi' division the fraurance cnianati-s and is found in the flower of 

 the plants ; in the other the odors spring from the green parts 

 or bulbs. The perfuna' of the flowers usually surpasses that found 

 in the rest of the plant. The rankest compound of villainous smell 

 that ever offended a no.stril is found in the latter, whereas the 

 balmiest, most ambrosial bompiet of redolent scents is to lie ob- 

 tained from flowers. 



The odors usuall.v, he says, make their i'arli<'st .aiipcaraui r in the 

 youna:, green .shoots. Thence they lontinue to accunuilalc until 

 the plant flowers. Then the odonnis compound migrates from the 

 leaf into the stem, and thence into the inflorescence .'uid otie\s the 

 well-known laws of dilt'usion. 



WliiMi fertilization of the lilant t.ikes place souje of these oils 

 are used up by the flowers, while at the same time the green ijarls 

 are called on to make more of these fragment oils. 



The practical oiitcome of this is that to harvest the iierfunie oils 

 yicdded by tile plant it should be most profitably eanied oul ,iust 

 before fertilization occurs. For after tliis the odoiMus ])rinciples 

 appear to descend again into the stem and generally into the or 

 gans other ihan the flower, 'j'his migration is prnhnbly the with- 

 ering and drying up of the inflorescences. 



If Ihe two learned gentlemen wish to know of the "rankest r oni- 

 pound of villainous smell that ever offended a nostril" we ilireet 

 their attention to the flowers of the black Calla, or its near rela- 

 tive, Amorplirn-hallus Uivieri. If a whiff of these two malodorous 

 flowers are not sufficient to convince them that "the balmiest, most 

 amhi'osial liou(|uet of redolent scents" are not found in .some flow- 

 ers we commend to their investigation those of the Slaphelia and 

 •of the trojiical pipe vines. ,\gain some of the rierodendi'ons bear 

 flowers of the most delightful fragrance, while the I'oliaLie has a 

 .fetid cdor. — I'm i fir Garden 



A ONE-TREE FARM. 



On the borderland of Bolixda is a farm, and a rarely prosperous 

 one at that, which consists of a single tree. It is a rubber tree 

 and it supports a family of seven persons in comparative alfluence. 

 This lone tree has been nursed along for generations, uutil it now 

 measures about 27 feet in circumference at the base. The daily 

 yield of caoutchouc is more than twenty-two pounds during the 

 1"J(> days of Ihe year that the tree can be successfully tapjied, or 

 almost a ton and a half of this prci'ious product aimually. On the 

 basis of this yicdd the tree has an estimated valui- of ifliO.OOO. Few 

 growing things are so t(;nderly guarded. 



There is an alligator pear tree in California that is estimated 

 to be worih about .f20.(100 — a tree that is said to employ a press 

 agent and to carry a life insiu-ance policy. It has been widely 

 heralded as the tree of trees, and cuttings from it are sold for al- 

 most their weight in gold. But it must now play second fiddle to 

 this Bolivian marvel, and before long we may hear of some new 

 wonder of Nature that will outrival the South American superla- 

 tive of all single-plant growths, 



.Vs a sublinndy simple farming operation, howe\cr. we must all 

 how for a while to this one-tree ranch of the inl.-iiid r<'pulilic, 

 — Exclianyr. 



QUERIES and ANSWERS 



IVe believe the greatest good can be accomplished for the greatest 

 number, by iyistituting a query column; or an exchange of txpe- 

 riences, on practical propositions, by our readers. 



You are invited to contribute questions, and answer others. 



Each question as received will be given a number, the question- 

 er's name will not be published, but the source of the answer will 

 be given unless otherivise requested. 



IVe all have something we would like to know more about. Here 

 is your opportunity to ascertain somebody's experience in just that 

 matter. 



Nothing will tend to better fellowship than helping each other. 



Take advantage of this "Question Box." 



"I would like to get some information on the culti- 

 vating of the blueberry, which I understand is finely 

 grown on some of the estates in Massachusetts. They 

 grow to perfection in our section in the wild state, but 

 we do not seem to succeed in cultivating them suc- 

 cessfully. Any information you can give me regard- 

 ing their culture will be appreciated." — U. M., Nova 

 Scotia. 



DIRECTIONS FOR CULTIVATING BLUEBERRIES. 



lllueberries are easil.y cultivated after the soil is once prepared. 

 Aftei- ten years' exjierimenting with the swamp blueberry (Vae- 

 cinium Ccu'vmbosum) we have found that a swampy place is not 

 absolutely necessary, as is commonly supposed, in order to suc- 

 cessfully grow these berries; but an ordinary upland place will 

 do as well. We have found the best method is to remove the 

 top soil 1 or I'/j feet deep and fill in with 2/3 peat and \/'i sharp 

 sand well mixed. (If bog peat is used, allow it to be exposed to 

 sun for one season before using.) Plant the bushes when in a 

 dormant state, pressing the soil firmly about the roots. If wild 

 bushe* aie used, be careful to obtain as many roots as possible, 

 anil prune a greater part of the tops oil', as blueberries do not 

 nurke new roots until after they are leaved out. Under this 

 treatment our bushes have improved steadily each year, some 

 bushes yielding from four to seven quarts of large berries, many 

 measuring 9/ltj of on inch in diameter, and a few larger, of 

 excellent flavor and exceptionally fine keeping qualities. Seed- 

 lings are easily grown in sifted soil of one-half peat and one-half 

 sharp sand with good drainage, and kept moist in a |iartially 

 shaded place. We sow our seed in .\ugust and keep inside over 

 winter, planting out in ea,rly spring. Blueberries like an acid soil, 

 moist, but well drained, and lime or other fertilizers should not 

 he used, and no vegctalile matter should be allowed to grow among 

 them. We have a quantity of four-year-old seedlings grown 

 from our best berries that will fruit next season. For permanent 

 planting, the bushes should be set about 8 feet apart, as they will 

 cover this space when matured. Blueljerry bushes are long-lived 

 and should be given plenty of room to develop. 



The blueberry is a useful as well as ornamental shrub, and we 

 expect to see them planted extensively on private and public 

 grounds in the near future. 



The ordinary field blueberries (Vac-cinium Pennsylvanicura) do 

 better in the sand.v ujilands with a coating of upland peat, where 

 they arc more suh.iec I to drouth. — C. //. ChiimhrrUiin, Natick, 

 Mass. 



