5° 



permeating the soil. Mr. Lodder claimed to sterilize the earth in 

 this box, which contained 480 cu. ft., in four hours when a pressure 

 of steam equal to 40 lbs. was maintained, and in three hours when 

 the pressure was equal to 60 lbs. 



Mr. Galloway' of the Dept. of Vegetable Pathology, Washington, 

 D. C. has given a brief account of a method employed by him for 

 sterilizing soil infested with rose and violet nematodes. He made 

 use of an ordinary porous 2 in. drain tile instead of steam pipes 

 punctured with holes. The drain tiles are placed in the bottom of a 

 box of any convenient size and connected with a steam pipe leading 

 from a boiler having a high pressure. The box used in his experi- 

 ment was 12 ft. long, 12 in. deep and 6 ft. wide, filled with soil, and 

 through this three lengths of tile were placed. This was covered 

 with hot bed sash in order to inclose the steam. Such a box will 

 hold 72 cu. ft. of earth and he claims that this amount of soil can be 

 heated in two hours. From the results of our own experiments 

 along this line we feel quite certain that with six lengths of tile in a 

 box of this size instead of three this soil could have "been heated in 

 one hour. 



Mr. J. N. May,^ an extensive rose grower, has recently described 

 a method of sterilizing soil which he employs on a large scale. He 

 makes use of two bins, each of which is 12 in. deep, 3^- ft. wide, and 

 16 ft. long, and which hold together 112 cu. ft. of soil. These bins 

 are provided with covers rendering them as air tight as possible. 

 They are constructed upon the ground which is slightly graded so 

 as to slope in one direction for the purpose of taking care of the 

 condensation in the pipes. At the bottom of the bins are placed a 

 number of steam pipes i in. in diameter which are provided with 

 manifolds at each end and which virtually make a coil. Every third 

 pipe is bored upon the side with holes about 15 in. apart. When 

 the soil is put in and the steam is turned on, part of it escapes 

 through the holes in the pipes and penetrates the soil above. The 

 condensation is conducted by the manifolds back to the boiler. 

 When one bed is sterilized it is uncovered and taken away while the 

 other bed, which in the meantime has been prepared, is steamed. 

 By this method Mr. May empties five or six bins in a day, but to 



American Gardening:, Vol. XVIII, p. 127, 1S97. 



Sterilizing Soil for Destroying Eel Worms. American Florist, Feb. 5, 



