Commercial Gardening 



Heavy cold clays should also be shunned. All kinds of fruit prefer warm 

 light land and good drainage, though not too much of the latter or the 

 trees may be punished in times of drought. 



Two feet of sandy loam on a chalk subsoil has been described as the 

 ideal land for fruit culture. It must be kept in mind that two results are 

 sought in the planting of a fruit tree, viz. the growth of the tree and the 

 production of fruit. It is possible to have the conditions so much in favour 

 of the first that handsome trees only are the result; while if, on the other 

 hand, the fruit-bearing qualities are encouraged too quickly, a fully 

 developed plantation cannot be obtained. 



The advancement of the science of agricultural chemistry now enables 

 the grower, by means of analysis, to ascertain definitely what are the con- 

 stituents, and in what proportions they exist, in any soil. Such an analysis 

 should be obtained before deciding upon any site. The following analysis 

 was given by Mr. C. W. Wise, in a paper read by him before the Royal 

 Horticultural Society in 1895, as that of a soil (presumably at Toddington 

 in Gloucestershire) in which he says: "Plums, Apples, Pears, Strawberries, 

 Black and Red Currants, Raspberries and Gooseberries, all grow exceedingly 

 well". 



ANALYSIS 



Silica or silicates insoluble in acids ... 74'20 per cent. 



Oxide of iron and alumina ... ... 15'90 



Lime ... ... ... ... ... '51 



Magnesia -92 



Potash -60 



Soda -40 



Carbonic acid ... ... ... ... -04 



Phosphoric acid... ... ... ... - 14 



Sulphuric acid -06 



Organic matter and water of hydration 7*23 



Nitrogen -185 



Including phosphoric acid, soluble in 1 



per cent solution of citric acid (i.e. 



readily available phosphoric acid) '004 



It is interesting to compare with the above the following analysis of 

 soil, which is typical of a good deal of market-garden land in Middlesex, on 

 a gravel subsoil, in which fruit of all kinds does well. 



ANALYSIS 

 Soil dried at 212 F. 



Loss on ignition ... ... ... 5*68 per cent. 



Silicates 86*10 



Phosphoric acid -06 



Oxides 6*54 



Lime (oxide) -92 



Magnesia ... ... ... ... - 26 



Potash -25 



Nitrogen -28 



Pxjual to ammonia ... ... - 33 



