28 



JOUBNAL OF HORTICULTUKE AND COTTAGE GAEDENEE. 



[ Jaunary 11, 1872. 



light sandy nature, in a dose herbage that has accumulated so 

 as to form a thickly-woven fibry sui-face of turf, taken off 

 1 to IJ inch thick, and laid up for three months to decompose. 

 The diiffercuce is not vci-y great, and the only objection that 

 can be urged against a soil of this description is the excess of 

 lime and iron, in which there can really be no serious draw- 

 back, as the excess of iron is probably decomposed by the 

 lime. There is also a slight excess of clay that may be over- 

 come by the addition of sand, and the deficiency of vegetable 

 matter may be compensated for by adding some old cow dung 

 or leaf soil, with a large amount of sand. This soU should be 

 laid up a few days or weeks, according to the period of the 

 year, less time being needed in summer than winter, and finely 

 chopped-up for small plants, and moderately so for large ones. 

 If used rather rough, let there be a good proportion of finer 

 particles, so as to fill up the interstices and allow of firm pot- 

 ting, adding to it one-sixth of silver sand, and a twelfth part 

 each of charcoal in lumps from the size of a pea to that of a 

 liazel nut, and broken pots that will pass a half-inch sieve ; 

 max this thoroughly, and what is the plant that will not grow 

 in it ? I am not prepared to say that it wUl suit the most 

 delicate of plants which require heath soil, but it will grow 

 such subjects as Azaleas and Ehododendrons much better than 

 any peat, and is especially suited to Camellias. So-called 

 American plants require vegetable matter and plenty of sand ; 

 indeed, most, if not all, Cape, New Holland, and American 

 plants need decomposing vegetable matter in the proportion of 

 one to two of sand, a small proportion of clay, and very little 

 lime or iron. In such a soU they will thrive, and by the de- 

 composition of organic material and their own decaying pai'ts, 

 will give origin to the soil we term peat. 



I have been so often disappointed by peat, that I have no 

 hesitation in giviug preference to the top inch of an old com- 

 mon, the soU of which is stony, rocky, or sandy underneath, 

 and the old tm-f at the surface very tough, sandy, and partially 

 decomposed. I use it for the pui'poses of peat in the culture of 

 pot plants, but for American plants out of doors I do not 

 consider peat needed. For plants in beds I prefer compost 

 formed of the first 2 or 3 inches of an old pasture, chopped-up 

 rather roughly and enriched with leaf soU from a wood, or from 

 where Bracken and Foxglove grow, and the whole top-dressed 

 with cow dung and plenty of sharp sand, to make the soU 

 Hght and porous. This soD will grow Ehododendrons, Azaleas, 

 Kahuias, Andromedas, and hardy Heaths much better than the 

 majority of jjeats. 



It should be stated that some peats are so ferruginous as to 

 be wholly unsuitable, and some contain iron in such quantity 

 as to be actuaDy poisonous to plants, and yet the soU beai-s a 

 very good gi'owth of Heath. On examination, however, it will 

 be found that the layer of peat is very thin, the ferruginous 

 substance being immediately under it, but none of the fibres 

 of the Heath entering it. Those ferruginous peats are also 

 vei7 deficient of sUica, though the subsoil is frequently a com- 

 pound of 150 sand, 120 silica, with as much as 50 of alumina, 

 oxide of iron 35, water not entering but running off by the 

 surface. If the ground has not a sharp LncUne, the Heath is 

 often covered with hchen and sphagnum. Even the surface 

 of these soils is of no use, as they are so largely impregnated 

 with iron and so deficient of sand. 



There are peats, again, that overhe limestone, and are so 

 impregnated with it as to be wholly unsuitable, especially those 

 on the maguesian formations. It'is remarkable, however, that 

 even those formations on which there is but a thin deposit of 

 vegetable matter, will grow plants which need peat well if un- 

 distm-bed, but this, if removed, is destructive to plants in pots 

 or in a cultivated state. 



It is also necessary to make some remai-ks on the kinds of 

 sand used for mixing with loam intended to be employed in- 

 stead of peat. There is the sand rock, which is a compound of 

 lime, and when burned forms the finest silver sand. In its 

 natm-al condition it is simply poisonous to plants, and when 

 washed it renders the water milky. There are also pit sands 

 veiy full of iron, and nearly useless. All sands should be 

 washed m a very fine sieve, skimming off the top. This frees 

 them of loam or aluminous matters, and also of what those 

 persons who use sand for cement or Ume term " blacks." 

 These spoil the work, and if not removed will also destrov the 

 roots of plants. 



Peaty turf, such as is used for fuel, is of no value for 

 plant-culture, being almost destitute of silica. It consists of 

 sphagnum and allied plants, frequently forming a deposit to a 

 great depth, but it is also often found in only a thin layer. It 



usually occurs in low ground and saturated with water, where 

 the subsoil is very clayey and almost without stones. This is 

 only useful for the growth of bog plants or for fuel. — G. Abbei. 



SMALL FAEMS— HOW THEY CAN BE MADE 

 TO ANSWEE.— Xo. 5. 



By Bev. Willlim Lea, Vicar of St. Peter's, Droitwich, and 

 Hon. Canon of Worcester. 



Vegetables. — I have now exhausted the usual varieties of 

 fruits with the exception of Filberts {Strawberry cultivation 

 comes more nearly under the category of vegetables) , and not- 

 withstanding the very tempting accounts of the profit of 

 Filbert-growing which I have seen in print, I cannot say that 

 I have found it successful. It is stated in a pamphlet which 

 I have before me that Cob FUberts are readily sold at £7 for 

 100 lbs. weight — that is, about 1». id. per lb. My experience 

 was not so fortunate, as the crop produced the odd fourpence 

 without the shilling, so we will tlismiss them from our con- 

 sideration. And the point I now wish to come to is this : 

 When a field is planted with fruit, it will be some 3'ears before 

 the trees fully cover the ground, or there may be parts of it 

 left open for vegetable cultivation — what will be the most 

 profitable vegetables to grow ? I mentioned the Strawben-y 

 above ; and where the ground is weU suited for the growth of 

 this fruit, and sulBciently near to a market, probably few kinds 

 of produce will bring a more profitable return. The difficul- 

 ties are, that it carries very badly, and requires to be netted 

 over where birds are numerous. I have never made an experi- 

 ment as to the market value of Strawberries, but after many 

 years' experience as a grower I may be able to thi'ow some 

 light on the subject to those who may wish to begin. 



First, double-dig your ground and manure it heavily ; then 

 put in your runners, being careful to select first runners — i.e., 

 those nearest to the parent plant ; put them in as eai'ly as you 

 can, and not later than the middle of August, or you will not 

 have much of a crop the first yeai'. Plant them in rows 

 12 inches apart, and 12 inches between the plants. Directly 

 the fruit is gathered hoe up every alternate row, so as to leave 

 for the second year rows 2 feet apart, with the plants 12 inches 

 from each other. Directly the fruit is gathered the second 

 year, hoe up every alternate plant in the rows, so as to leave 

 for the third year rows 2 feet apart, and plants 2 feet from 

 each other. Clean your beds by the end of August ; in No- 

 vember hoe them over, and put on a good surface-dressing of 

 manure, and at the end of May, when the plants are just 

 going out of blossom, give them a good watering with liquid 

 manure — this will materially increase the size of the fruit. 

 Some prefer to let the plants run all together, so that the 

 ground is completely covered. The advantage of this plan is 

 that the bh-ds do not see them so j)lainly ; the disadvantages, 

 that the fruit is smaller, less abundant, and in a wet season 

 worthless. 



The vaiieties of Strawberry to be grown must depend upon 

 your soil. TVliere the British Queen will succeed it should 

 always form a part of the plantation ; but it will not grow on 

 all soils. I have never been able to do any good with it myself. 

 The eai'hest of aU sorts is the Black Prince, but it is hardly 

 a Strawberry, and would not be looked at when once Keens' 

 Seedling has been seen ; stUl, on account of its eai'liness it 

 may be worth a trial. To succeed this I should recommend 

 Keens' Seedling and President, which last, as far as my expe- 

 rience goes, is the hardiest, the longest-hved, and the most pro- 

 Ufic of all StrawbeiTies, and one which will carry well. Then 

 come Sir J. Paxton, where it will grow La Constante, and of 

 later sorts Filbert Pine, Frogmore Late Pine, and Stirling 

 Castle ; but the king of all is Dr. Hogg, unequalled in size and 

 flavour, but I fear a short-Uved variety, and of a tender con- 

 stitution. These are the varieties which I have found to 

 succeed best on a Ught loamy soil, and on such a soil I 

 should say that nothing would beat the President for mai'ket 

 puri:)oses. 



I now come to the questiou of vegetables ; for if a field is 

 planted with fruit (trees such as Plums, Apjiles, or Cherries, 

 in rows 24 feet apart, and bushes, such as Gooseberries or 

 Currants, between them in rows 6 feet apart) for the first six 

 or eight years, there will be room for vegetables between the 

 rows, and also between the bushes. What varieties can be 

 grown to the greatest profit ? 



In the first place I should put Onions, Garlic, or Shallots, 

 because they interfere less with the roots of the trees than any 



