THE CANADIAN HORTICULTURIST. 



161 



laid at the one time, the young appear 

 in successive broods. 



Remedies. — (1) Use plaster and 

 kerosene same as above. (2) Trap 

 by laying shingles about the hills, 

 the bugs, after feeding in the night, 

 may be found collected on the under 

 side of such. Proceeding to the 

 patch early in the morning with a pail 

 containing some kerosene, the shingle 

 should be gently raised and the insects 

 jarred or brushed into the kerosene, re- 

 turning the shingles again for succes- 

 sive catches later. — Popular Gardening. 



FERTILIZERS. 



Use of Gypsum. — Gypsum should 

 never be used on wet land, especially 

 when it contains stagnant water. Its 

 tendency is to make such land wetter 

 and colder than before. Phosphate 

 treated with sulphuric acid is warmth 

 giving. It helps to decompose the 

 soil with which it comes in contact, 

 and thus increases the supply of plant 

 food even beyond what itself furnishes. 

 Gypsum also does the same, though in 

 a different way. It is quite likely that 

 the tendency of gypsum to absorb mois- 

 ture from the air in the form of a dew 

 takes considerable ammonia from the 

 air, and that some of this is retained 

 by the soil for plant food. In many 

 kinds of farm work, especially plowing 

 and cultivating, there is great advantage 

 from getting out eai-ly and working 

 while the dew is on the grass or soil. 

 As soon as it is covered it is safe from 

 loss, but if left till midday most of the 

 dew will be dried off, and whatever 

 ammonia it contains will be restored to 

 the air. There is this sound reason for 

 the old saying that the best time to hoe 

 cabbages is very early in the morning, 

 while the dew is on them and on the 

 loosened soil. Frequent applications 

 of gypsum to inci-ease the dewfall will 

 add to the benefit. — New York Herald. 



Barn manure contains six pounds of 

 2 



phosphoric acid to the ton ; ten pounds 

 of potash and eleven pounds of nitrogen. 

 A ton of hen house manure will con- 

 tain forty-eight pounds of phosphoric 

 acid, forty one pounds of potash and 

 sixty -seven pounds of nitrogen. 



Nitrate of soda is found in large 

 depo.sits in Peru, Chili, and a few other 

 warm countries. It is mined and 

 shipped to this country and England in 

 large quantities. When crystalized it 

 contains 14 to 16 percent, of nitrogen. 

 It comes more or less mixed with com- 

 mon salt {chloride of sodium) like the 

 German potash salts. It acts quicker 

 than any other nitrogenous manui-e. 

 and is specially valuable on clay lands. 

 The value of any of these commercial 

 fertilizers to the farmer must be deter- 

 mined by himself by actual experiment. 

 On some soils, potash manures are 

 greatly needed, and are therefore valu- 

 able J on others, though apparently 

 needed, they make no return, while 

 perhaps nitrogenous manures might be 

 specially useful on these. In try in',' 

 anything of the sort, get it in small 

 quantity at first, always of a reliable 

 dealer, and you can soon tell whether 

 it will be profitable to you to use it. — 

 Ohio Farmer. 



©pen fetters. 



The Cherry. — Sir : I received the 

 Russian cherry O. K. I waited to see 

 it in leaf before sending receipt of same. 

 It is doing well, and many thanks to 

 the Association for the present. Wish- 

 ing you every success, 



I remain, yours truly, 



P. B. C. 

 Midnapore, N. W. T. 



Water-Lily. — Sir : A lily quite as 

 large a N. tuberosa, but of a rich cream 

 colour, is offered for sale in great abund- 

 ance at the various stations on the 



