Sele 
Set 
THE GARDENERS’ CHRONICLE. 33 
may be seen in use at Worton Corracn, Isun- 
‘WouTH, upon application to the Gardener—Sunduys excepted, 
he Gardeners’ Chronicie, 
SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 11, 1848, 
MEETINGS FOR THE TWO FOLLOWING WEEKS. 
Tuesday, Feb. 14. . 
Wednesday, Feb.15 
Friday, Feb.17 . . . 
ical, é 
UBotanical 6. ff 
Tuesday, Feb.21 . . « 
Wednesday, Feb. 22. 
Country Snows. Feb. 23. Ipswich Cucumber. 
In some observations we lately made upon the 
Preparation of Roses for growth in pots, we men- 
tioned, upon the authority of a correspondent, that 
the Boursault Rose was employed successfully as a 
Stock for such a purpose. If this variety is selected, 
choice should be made of the common semi-double 
Sort, with deep red flowers, on which, as is well 
known, Roses take very freely by buds. It has, how- 
ever, been suggested to us that Rose de Lisle would 
be still better for a stock, because, not only do buds 
take very readily upon it, but it is less disposed 
to throw up suckers. Those who are interested in 
this matter would do well to try both these stocks, 
Possibly each may have its advantages, 
ALruoucu we are convinced that the nuisances 
which every where exist in consequence of the accumu- 
lation of stagnant filth will never be effectually abated 
till some such Drainage Act as-we have already recom- 
Mended shall have passed, yet we entertain no doubt 
that in some districts much might be done by a little 
Uhexpensive contrivance. Cottagers, in particular, 
Should have their attention called to the simple means 
Y which their personal comfort and the productive- 
Ness of their gardens may be so reailily increased. 
t is the usual plan with these persons to throw 
€verything, ashes, sweepings, peelings, slops, &c., 
Upon a heap, close to their back door, without the 
slightest regard to cleanliness or health. Now such 
accumulations cannot but engender pestilent diseases, 
which are just as dangerous to their neighbours as 
to themselves. Nevertheless in a great many places 
there would be neither trouble nor difficulty, and a 
Very little expense, in entirely stopping this sort of 
Duisance. What we would propose is, that the 
Cottager should be furnished with the means of 
Urying all sorts of household refuse as goon as it is 
_ 70tmed ; and that the same amount of trouble which 
_ 3S Tequired to go to the back door and to throw down 
the refuse, should be sufficient to bury it. It is 
obvious that this can only be done by means of tanks 
with a movable cover. 
| Ifyou put a cottager to unusual trouble, he will 
| Possibly consider the advantage of cleanliness and the 
8ain for his garden less than the additional trouble 
_ to which he is exposed ; or if he does not think so, his 
Wife will, and that will practically amount to the saine 
| mts: If you ask him to ineur present expense for 
© sake of future gain, you, in the first place, propose 
© him that which he has not the means of doing, or, 
ch, if he had the means, would not be so evidently 
useful as he knows the money to be which it would 
fost. To furnish a cottager with the means of avoid- 
ae the ‘creation of nuisances must generally be a 
andlord’s business. We believe, however, that the 
Cottager himself might be induced to bear a part of 
8 ost, if his. part was nothing more than labour, 
€ best kind of receptacle that could be formed 
as 
= 
|) wor 
would be an underground tank, constructed of brick. 
| mene lined with roman cement, the mouth of 
Rak level should be carried two feet above the ground- 
Sanna furnished with a hinged lid. But such a 
i en Ivance would probably be, in almost all cases, 
4 the fol too expensive. We would therefore suggest 
| hearts sowing plan, Suppose a cylindrical receptacle, 
i suflici ep, and 4 feet in diameter, were considered 
‘duc €nt, we should construct it thus : Let a hole be 
8) 8 feet deep, and 8 feet in diameter; let the 
en“ puddled” firmly with clay, or clay 
Ae a chalk county, to the depth of 2 feet, 
| «done a that place one layer of bricks on edge, as is 
bottom Making stable floors: this would make the 
| acirculge ict tight. Then upon this foundation raise 
only fo wall, in the same way as in building a well, 
and in th, a layer of “ puddle” 2 feet thick all round, 
the ground is face of this, bed the bricks. ; From 
eet, and , vel run up a 9-inch wall to the height, of 
‘that a ] on that fix the wooden lid. We conceive 
i Of this sort would be sufficiently water- 
‘it Would the Purpose to which it would be applied. 
‘Osta very small sum, chiefly for the bricks 
g 
Ss 
Wik Coden lid; half-vitrified bricks, unfit for bui 
iB ild- 
2 | 398 Purposes, might be employed; in many places 
Fepwarp BECK invites the attention of Horticul- 
the earth excavated would be stiff enough to conyert 
into puddle ; and at all events the chief expense of 
clay, if it has to be procured, would be the cartage. 
The labour the cottager should himself execute. 
When in possession of a tank of tl sort, he should 
be taught to throw into it refuse of all kinds, old rags, 
cinder ashes, bones, soapsuds, pot-boilings, Potato- 
parings, especially if boiled (as always ought to be the 
case in a cottage, in order to avoid the waste of 
Potatoes), straw, weeds, leaves, refuse vegetables, and 
soon. In addition, a drain should run into the tank, 
So as to carry into it ad/ other fluid refuse. If this 
were done, no water would have to be added, but the 
whole mass would by degrees decay and putrefy, 
forming a material of the richest fertilising description. 
Its smell would no doubt be offensive, but infinitely less 
so than if exposed to the air; and one pound of 
bleaching powder, worth 6d. now, but capable of being 
sold far cheaper if the demand were larger, would purify 
the whole contents of such a tank. In the absence of 
bleaching powder, the mere throwing intoit from time 
to time a few shovels of dry earth, some peat where 
that abounds, sawdust, old tan, or any such material, 
would take off’ the smell toa considerable extent, and 
improve the quality of the mixture. The contents of 
sucha tank, when putrid, may be taken out in buckets ; 
if fluid, or if solid, may be dug out and applied to the 
garden, or be mixed with more earth, and allowed to 
remain in a heap till it is wanted. In those cases 
where a cottager has no garden, it might be sold to 
the neighbouring farmers, who, if they understand 
their interest, will readily buy it. If sold at the price 
of common farm-yard dung, it would well repay the 
cottager for the little trouble it cost him to prepare ; 
but, in reality, it would, if prepared with skill, be worth 
four or five times as much. 
‘The reason why we recommend no water to be 
added, is, that the slops and soapsuds will of them- 
selves supply as much or more liquid than is requisite 
to enable the mass to putrefy properly. 
Long before attempts were made to analyse organic 
substauces, and to discover their ultimate elements, ex- 
perience had shown that animal and vegetable matter 
ina state of decomposition greatly increased the pro- 
duce of the soil to which it was added. It is only 
surprising that the exact state of decomposition, 
which produced the greatest and most lasting effect, 
should not have been accurately ascertained for every 
variety of soil; and that, at this moment, the ques- 
tion, whether fresh, half-rotten, or entirely decom- 
posed organic matter is the most useful and econo- 
mical manure is not yet satisfactorily answered. The 
reason of this uncertainty is the little attention which 
the cultivators of thesoil are in the habit of paying 
to many of their own’ operations, and the contempt 
with which learned and scientific men at one time 
looked upon all the mechanical arts, and more espe- 
cially the tillage of the land, generally left to servile 
hands. But a new era has sprung up: men of 
science now perceive the vast field open to their re- 
searches ; and agriculture obtains the rank which its 
importance/deserves. We may therefore hope to see 
new light thrown upon every subject connected with 
the cultivation of the soil. 
It may perhaps appear superfluous to lay before 
practical farmers the importance of great attention to 
the management of the manure. collected in their 
stables and farm-yards. It would seem impossible that 
aman should have farmed many years without know- 
ing what is most efficacious and economical. Is it to 
be supposed that the scientific man will from his closet 
point out facts which the practical farmer has 
overlooked? Can his minute experiments, and 
the theories founded upon them, throw a new 
light on the subject? One would think not; yet 
when we examine the yards, dunghills, sheds, and 
stables of the generality of farms, we find very few 
in which the grossest errors and the most profligate 
waste cannot be pointed out. In some, the straw and 
dung are allowed to accumulate during all the time 
the cattle are fed in the yards. In many, the surround- 
ing buildings with every shower pour down a flood of 
water, which slowly percolates the mass, and often 
runs off by drains into ponds and ditches, and thence 
into rivers, carrying off the very esser.ce of the dung, 
as may be seen by the brown colour of the water, 
or else stagnates dn some hollow parts, chilling 
the dung, and impeding its decomposition. In 
the stables there is a constant pungent smell, 
which is produced by an accumulation of the fluids 
formed there, unless it be allowed to escape by 
ample ventilation. Its presence is an evil, and its 
dispersion a loss : few farmers know the cause, 
and still fewer the remedy. Chemical science at once 
explains the cause and suggests means of removing 
the evil, By a minute atiention to all the circum- 
stances attending the decomposition of animal and 
vegetable matter, it discovers the spontaneous changes 
which take place, and finds means to regulate them, 
checking or promoting decomposition as is most con- 
venient and advantageous to the farmer. Thus the 
oldest farmer may obtain useful hints for the con? 
struction of his dung-heaps from men who never 
handled a dung-fork. It does not follow from. this 
that he is to adopt every Suggestion, of which some 
may be fanciful, others uncertain: but let Bing 
attend to common sense; let him put faith in the 
facts which science has clearly established, and apply 
them according to his own judgment and experience, 
he will soon see the advantage of some refornis jin his 
Operations, and his eyes will gradually be open to 
his real interest. One or two experiments will not 
suffice to establish an improved practice, because so 
many circumstances interfere with the result. The 
effects of temperature, moisture. and evaporation have 
a great share in producing different, and sometimes 
contrary, effects, in similar experiments : perseveranee: 
and patience will, however, settle many points which 
may still be involved in doubt. Farmers are pro- 
verbially slow in adopting improvements: it is well 
that they are so; for if they were to adopt every thing 
which is new, they would most likely suffer many 
disappointments. “We only wich to remove ai 
obstinate adherence to old practices which can be 
clearly shown to be erroneous, and a ready adoption 
of every improvement which is clearly proved, by 
experience as well as theory.to be advantageous, On 
this principle we will avail ourselves of our own 
experience, as well as of the facts discovered by 
science, to diffuse a knowledge of the most profiable 
mode of increasing the quantity of enriching manure 
on a farm, and of the means by which its efficacy 
may be promoted.— M. 
In the late Number of the Journai of the Royal Agri+ 
cultural Society, Mr. Pusey mentions incidentally unat 
gypsum, or sulphate of lime, has not been found to 
answer as an agent. for destroying the volatility of 
ammonia, or, in other words, for fixing it in manure. 
This does not correspond with such information as we 
possess, or with such experience as we have had on 
the subject, and we cannot but think that there must 
be some mistake in the statement: for assuredly if 
sulphate of lime is brought into contact with ammonia, 
under favourable circumstances, the lime will be 
separated, and sulphate of ammonia, which is not vola- 
tile, will be formed. Nevertheless, since a doubt on the 
subject has been expressed: by such deservedly high, 
authority, we would strongly recommend those of our 
readers, who have the opportunity, to determine the 
question experimentally; for it is of very great im- 
portance, and cannot be too soon settled one way or 
the other. 
Professor Henslow, in a letter fall of good sense, 
addressed to the Editor of the Bury Post, recommends 
the following mode of trying the experiment :— 
“ Two dunghill8 are to be prepared, as nearly alikein all 
respects as it is possible to make them; one with, and 
the other without, the addition of gypsum. Two separate 
and equal portions of the same field are to be manured 
with these. J shall say nothing about the respective 
quantities of the materials, or the time they are to be 
allowed to rot. A little variety, umong the numerous 
trials which 1 expect to hear of, will be useful, and indeed 
necessary, to the speedy determination of the important 
problem to be solved. Let the gypsum be sified over the 
several layers as they are deposited in one of the heaps. 
I would suggest there should be about enough to just cover 
the surface, without placing it on very thick. The returns 
skould give precise information of the following particulars, 
and any others that may suggest themselves. 
J. The quantity of straw used in each heap. 
2. The quantity of animal excrement. 
3. On what day each was begun. i 
4. On what day each was completed. oats 
5. On what day they were carried and deposited in the 
soil. 
6. The number of loads, and wala of each. 
7. The extent of land manured by each. e 
8. The quantity of gypsum used to one of the SouBhy: 
N.B.—A comparatively small quantity is all that 
can be required. 
9. Any difference in the coming up and appearance of 
the crops on each piece of land. 
10. When each arrived Ue 
i: mount of procuce. 
Be pare ens gallons to reply to this question by 
guess or estimate. It must be answered by the 
scales. ‘ at, 
12. Any peculiarity in the qualities of each produce.” 
Another method where favourable opportunities 
exist would be to use the Mowings of a law n, 
moistened with gas-water, and thrown in a heap. If 
this is done, the mass ferments Violently, putrelaction 
rapidly comes on, and a great qu ntity of ammonia 
and sulphuretted hydrogen are given off. We would 
allow one heap to decay in the ordinary manner; to 
the other we would add gypsum, as above recom- 
mended ; and we would afterwards try the heaps one 
against the other, 5 
it Although,” says Professor Henslow, “these parti- 
culars may require nothing morethanan ordinary degree 
of intelligence, and alittle industry to note them, yet, if 
they are correctly stated by about 50 experimentes, 
without any attempt to coax the results into accord- 
