COMPOSTS 35 



form being generally preferable. Soot-water is made by placing 

 the soot in a canvas bag, afong with a stone to sink it while dry, in 

 a cask or tub of water: about i bushel of soot to 10 gallons of 

 water is sufficiently strong. As the liquid is taken out, more water 

 is added until the virtues of the soot are exhausted. It is claimed 

 that the application of soot-water to the soil in which pot-plants 

 grow increases the size and deepens the colour of flowers and 

 foliage, and enhances the general vigour of the plants. On cold 

 soils especially it is considered useful, as the dark colour of the 

 soot favours the absorption of heat from the sun, and thus tends 

 to the production of earlier crops. A ton of average chimney soot 

 in England contains about 3 Ib. of nitrogen, 1 5 Ib. of potash, and 

 17 Ib. of phosphoric acid. Apart from its manurial properties, 

 soot is said to materially assist in keeping down the larvae of 

 destructive insects. 



Soap-suds. "These," said DR. LIXDLEY, "have an undoubted 

 value, because of their potash, irrespective of the organic matter 

 they contain." For potted plants, an occasional application of soap- 

 suds is considered very beneficial. FIRMIXGER, in India, said : "I 

 scarcely know of a better and more effective insecticide. By 

 syringing and washing the leaves of potted plants with soap-suds, 

 I have preserved them from the attack of blight, mealy-bug, and 

 other enemies of the gardener. Plants in a sickly condition have 

 often been restored to health by merely washing their leaves with 

 soap-suds. In fact if you wish to keep your plants in a luxuriant 

 growth, wash and syringe them with soap-suds once or twice a 

 week, especially those exposed to dust." PROFESSOR DUXSTAX points 

 out that the above quotation from LIXDLEY refers to so/7-soap, since 

 //</n/-soap contains soda, but no potash. 



COMPOSTS AND MIXTURES 



Any mixture of different soils or manures, made up in varying 

 proportions, either for potting plants or applying to field or garden 

 crops, may be called a compost. Whilst manure mixtures are 

 important in agriculture, soil composts are equally indispensable in 

 horticulture. The combined effects of a suitable mixture are 

 much more marked, and the application more economical, than if 

 the different ingredients were applied separately. Some manures, 

 natural or artificial, of which only small quantities are necessary, 

 are best mixed with other substances in order to ensure their even 

 distribution ; others, again, (e.g., guano) are so powerful that, in an 

 unmixed state, instead of proving beneficial, they would actually be 



