18 



THE CANADIAN HORTICULTURIST, 



50 cents per pound, 20 cents more than 

 he received for bhick caps diied. He 

 was oflfered, this year, 10 cents a quart 

 for his Shaffer's for canning. So it 

 would appear that no difficulty need be 

 feared in disposing of the fruit. It 

 loses considerable more in drying than 

 Ohio or the juciest black cap. 



We believe that it will yield as much 

 or more than any other variety and as 

 it is perfectly hardy and a wonderful 

 grower, it will readily be seen that it 

 has strong claims. We have seen no 

 other red raspberry which equals it for 

 canning purposes. 



COAL ASHES. 



A correspondent of the Country 

 Gentleman tliinks that coal ashes are in 

 some as yet unexplained way beneficial 

 to garden vegetables. This is what he 

 says : 



It has been long known that coal 

 ashes have the effect of mellowing the 

 soil, particularly clay. A rigid clay 

 may thus be greatly improved in its 

 texture. It has been held that the 

 fertilizing properties of coal ashes are 

 small ; repeated analyses have shown 

 this. Yet, used as they have been here 

 in gardens, without other manure, the 

 effect has been such as to lead irresist- 

 ibly to the conclusion that they de- 

 velop in some way a considerable 

 amount of fertility. All cannot be 

 accounted for by the mechanical im- 

 provement, as in oases where this is not 

 lacking the eftect is still present, and 

 apparently undiminished, if not some- 

 times increased — in this case acting 

 seemingly as wood ashes do, requiring 

 other (organic) fertility to aid, if full 

 results would be obtained. 



I was suT'prised, early in the spring, 

 on seeing unusually thrifty tomatoes 

 and beans, to learn that the only manure 

 used was coal ashes, scattered in the 

 garden to get them out of the way. 



This was practiced for several years, 

 and no manure other than this had 

 been used. I was shown another 

 garden to-day which was treated exactly 

 in the same way the only dressing 

 being coal ashes. Here the growth 

 seemed all that it could be. I was 

 shown a potato grown here that 

 weighed one pound eleven ounces and 

 a half. It was the early Vermont, a 

 variety not noted, I believe, for its 

 large specimens. But they were all 

 large, averaging from half a pound to a 

 pound ; no small ones among them, and 

 many exceeding a pound. They were 

 planted fifteen inches apart in the 

 rows, a small potato dropped in each 

 hill. The owner of this garden lays the 

 success to the coal ashes, and says there 

 can hardly be any mistake about it. 

 This is the opinion of others also. My 

 own experience is confirmatory. But 

 the efiect I find is not immediate. It 

 is more tardy than with wood ashes, 

 whose potash and soda act promptly. 



I would advise by all means, that 

 coal ashes, instead of being thrown 

 away, be used in our gardens, removing 

 the coarser parts; also on potato ground, 

 always mixing well with the soil, and 

 as early as the ground will admit, and 

 so be repeated yearly, giving thus time 

 for effect upon the soil. I find the best 

 success where the ashes have been ap- 

 plied for several years. The second 

 year is sui'e to tell, even when thrown 

 upon the ground and left to lie there un- 

 disturbed, as I have abundant evidence. 

 But the place for full action is in the 

 soil. 



I should have stated that in the 

 second garden mentioned, where the 

 ashes were omitted, as was the case with 

 a small space, there was a uniform lack 

 in the growth, being seen in the size of 

 the vines and tubers. About a quarter 

 of the soil of this garden was composed 

 of ashes. In places where the proportion 

 of ashes was the greatest, the largest 



