The Canadian Horticulturisi. 175 



BEGINNING GARDEXIXG. 



Large profits are often made by the gardener. They have to be large per ajre, 

 because if not, they would not afford a hving for himself and family and some 

 surplus to lay by for future use. Often the owners of near-by land think that 

 what one man has done others can do, and so they begin to imitate as far as 

 possible. They usually forget one most important fact. The successful gardener 

 has been years bringing up his soil to the point where all the labor he puts on it 

 will pay. The beginner may think that by carting on extra loads of manure, 

 covering the ground as deeply as it can be plowed under, he can make the 

 soil rich enough in a single season to secure paying results. What is the conse- 

 quence ? Unless the season be extremely wet the manure fails to rot, and dry- 

 ing the land still more, does little, if any good. 



For many kinds of crops the experienced gardener would not think of apply- 

 ing coarse, unfermented manure from the stable. He uses such manure for the 

 coarser crops, early potatoes, sweet corn and cabbage. The frequent and 

 thorough cultivation such crops require works the manure through the soil and 

 greatly helps in decomposing it. This fills the soil with vegetable matter rich 

 in nitrogen. The second year stable manure is not applied, but a dressing of 

 mineral manure, phosphate and nitrates of soda or potash. These are more 

 immediately available than stable manure, and with the remains of stable manure 

 leftover make a better crop the second year than the first. 



It is a great help in beginning gardening on ordinary farm land, if it can be 

 begun the first year on a clover sod plowed in the fall, and as much fine 

 manure as can be used as top dressing through the winter. Where all these 

 advantages can be had it is possible, with a light dressing of nitrate of soda, to 

 bring ordinary farm land into fair condition for gardening the first year. The 

 chief difficulty will be, not in lack of fertility, but in excess of weeds stimulated 

 to more vigorous growth by such excess of plant food. It is for this reason that 

 the coarser crops, that can be cultivated mainly w'ith horse power, are necessary, 

 however thoroughly the land is fertilized. One year's thorough cultivation of 

 such crops under high manuring will start and kill a large proportion of dor- 

 mant weed seeds in the soil. ^Nlany years of perfectly clean cultivation, never 

 allowing a weed to mature its seeds, will not destroy all. Most weed seeds need 

 to be very close to the surface to germinate. Many years of successive plow- 

 ings will every time bring new seeds to the proper conditions for germinating. — 

 American Cultivator. 



One of the attractive features of the Australian exhibit at the Chicago Fair will be 

 tree ferns from Sidney, New South Wales. These, have always been a popular 

 exhibit at London expositions. Chief Samuels has been assured by Arthur 

 Renwick, Commissioner for New South ^\'ales, that a number of rare specimens 

 will be sent. The ferns vary in height from eight to fourteen feet. At the close 

 of the Exposition many of them will be given to the park commissioners of 

 Chicago. 



