47 



LIQUID MANURE FOR PLANTS UNDER GLASS. 



In the growth of plants in green houses and in the sitting-room, the 

 plant food in the limited amount of soils that can be used, often be- 

 comes exhausted or rendered unavailable to the plant, and to overcome 

 the difficulty the application of liquid manures is resorted to as the best 

 means of giving the plants a rapid and vigorous growth. 



The use of some liquid food is also necessitated by the small pots 

 that must be used to insure an abundance of bloom. 



To test a liquid plant food under the name of " Flora Vita " sent for 

 comparison with other liquids, twenty-eight Bon Silence rose bushes 

 were selected. Fourteen of tliese were potted in soil made very light 

 with sand, and the remainder were put in a good rose soil, made of 

 rotted turf and manure. 



These plants were divided into four lots of seven each. Two of these 

 lots, seven in sandy soil and seven in good soil, were watered with a 

 liquid manure made by placing stable manure in a tub and filling up 

 with water, and the other two lots were watered with '' Flora Vita." 

 The first liquid was diluted to the color of weak tea. 



RESULTS. 



The results of this experiment show : — 



First. That the liquid called " Flora Vita " gave as good growth as 

 the ordinary liquid manure. 



Second. That the roses potted in a soil composed largely of sand 

 made as good growth and gave more buds than those in soil with little 

 or no sand in it. 



In regard to the above liquid sent for trial we know nothing of its 

 composition ; but its liquid form and perfect solubility make it espec- 

 ially easy of application and free from the objections to other plant 

 foods for the sitting-room, since it is odorless and free from dust. 



We hope to give an analysis of " Flora Vita " in our next Bulletin. 



PROTECTING YOUNG TREES FROM MICE. 



In our last Bulletin we reported experiments made for the purpose 

 of finding some simple and harmless mixture which could be used to 

 hold Paris Green to the bark of young trees during the winter. It will 

 be seen by referring to this report that the simple mixture of lime, and 

 lime and glue were ver}' soon washed off. 



The condition of the various mixtures applied in April, 1888, the 

 results of which were also reported in this same Bulletin, have been 

 carefully observed during the summer, the result of which we give 

 on next page. 



