182 



THE GARDENERS' CHRONICLE. 



[March 23, 1912 



VEGETABLES. 



CAULIFLOWERS. 



It is usual, when sowing seeds of Cauliflowers 

 in boxes, to use a compost in which leaf-mould 

 largely predominates. Although I have used 

 such a compost, I consider it a wrong practice, 

 and from practical experience I have reason to 

 believe that a too free use of this material in the 

 soil for seeds and seedling Cauliflowers encour- 

 ages fungous diseases. 



To obtain clean, healthy plants from sowings 

 made in February and March, the seeds should 

 be sown in well-drained boxes, using a compost 

 composed of three parts chopped turfy loam, 

 passed through a half-inch sieve, and one part 

 rough sand. The compost should be pressed 

 firmly with a flat piece of board before the seeds 

 are sown, thinly covering them with the finer 

 soil of the compost till they are just hidden. 



When the seedlings are large enough to 



handle they may be pricked out into boxes, hav- 

 ing a depth of 6 inches, and filled with the same 

 kind of soil as recommended for the seeds. 

 When planting out permanently, lift the plants 

 out of the boxes with as much of the soil adher- 

 ing to the roots as possible, and plant with a 

 trowel in ground which has been previously well 

 prepared. 



It is the general practice to apply nitrate of 

 soda only when the plants are forming their in- 

 florescences, under the belief that to apply it 

 sooner would favour the development of leaf at 

 the expense of flower. But I have always had the 

 best results when nitrate of soda has been applied 

 the first month after planting out permanently, 

 the fertiliser being sprinkled around the plants 

 thinly once a week, and hoed in the ground im- 

 meJitely afterwards. Thos. Francis, Harrow 

 Road, Warlingham, Surrey. 



LAWN SANDS. 



Under this name, a great variety of proprie- 

 tary and other materials are sold, having for 

 their object such remedial purposes as the re- 

 moval of worms, the killing of insects and grubs 

 (to use popular names), deterrent actions on cer- 

 tain common weeds, and, finally, the general im- 

 provement of the grass of the lawn. All these 

 actions are often modified in practice, but the 

 materials are still of sufficient practical use t<; 

 warrant a few brief notes on some of the most 

 important and easily used and made. 



The removal of worms can hardly be con- 

 sidered advantageous to the lawn, apart from 

 the suppression of the unsightly worm casts. In 

 fact, Darwin very clearly demonstrated that 

 worms were not only splendid natural drainers 

 and aerators of the soil, but that, in their casts, 

 they brought to the surface enough fine earth 

 every five years to give a coating 1 inch in thick- 

 ness. What is, perhaps, of more importance 

 is that the earth so brought to the sur- 



face 



through 



their bodies, and so 



Certain 



is passed 

 exposed to their processes of digestion, 

 of the digestive fluids being acid in character, 

 the inorganic particles of the soil are ren- 

 dered more available to the plant. As regards 

 the nitrogen in the organic matter, this is ren- 

 dered more susceptible to the processes of putre- 

 faction and nitrification. Worms are, however, 

 credited with increasing the rate at which the 

 lime is exhausted. Of the materials used for 

 the removal of worms, quicklime and corrosive 

 sublimate are most common. The former is 

 usually slacked, and then treated with soft 

 water in a tub, so as to dissolve as much as pos- 

 sible. Solution is aided by a little sugar. After 

 being allowed to settle, the clear lime water 

 contains about one-tenth per cent, of calcium 

 hydroxide. This, watered on the lawn, will 

 cause the worms to come to the surface, when 

 they can be swept off. Corrosive sublimate 



(mercuric chloride) is sold dissolved in water, 

 to which some salt has been added, and also vari- 

 ous colouring materials. This solution is diluted 

 according to the instructions, and watered on the 

 lawn, where it acts as a poison on the worms. 

 Users must be very careful, as the solution is 

 highly poisonous ; it also corrodes buckets, 

 water cans, and nearly all metals not very tho- 

 roughly protected by paint. A useful solution 

 for home use can be made by dissolving 1 ounce 

 corrosive sublimate and 2 ounces salt in 10 to 15 

 gallons of soft water. This should be applied 

 sparingly to the lawn with a can. Care should 

 be taken to keep all domestic animals off the 

 area, while fowls and game should not be allowed 

 to pick up the worms or eat the grass. 



To kill insects and grubs (using these terms in 

 their popular sense) many volatile materials are 

 used. One of the most common and effective is 

 crude naphthaline. This is mixed with sand in 

 varying proportions, a sample recently examined 

 having over 50 per cent, of naphthaline. For 

 sand a common substitute is flue dust or grit, 



very favourable results. The treatment was re- 

 peated every four to six weeks throughout ihe 

 season, and by the end all Dandelions had dis- 

 appeared. On the other hand, similar trials 

 carried out at the New York Agricultural Ex- 

 perimental Station during the past two seasons 

 have failed. In fact, before the conclusion of 

 the second season, spraying had to be discon- 

 tinued, as the grass, chiefly Poa pratensis, was 

 being killed. The treatment certainly killed the 

 leaves, but fresh ones grew again lower down 

 the root, and though eight to ten sprayings 

 certainly weakened the plant, it was by no means 

 killed. In some parts, Thistles are troublesome, 

 perhaps more in the field than on lawns, and a 

 remedy which has proved successful in many 

 cases is kainit. This crude potash manure 

 should be applied in the spring, when the Thistle 

 begins to grow, a pinch being placed in the heart 

 of each plant. From the experiments so far re- 

 ported, such treatment killed the plant within 

 a week, and none of its roots came up the next 

 season. With large areas* the method is some- 



Fig. 8o. — ST. fagan's castle : VIEW on the terrace 



(See p. 181.) 



obtained from the back of gas retorts, and at 

 the bottom of smoke shafts. The flue dust ob- 

 tained from slow-combustion furnaces often con- 

 tains coal products, which are in themselves 

 inimical to insect life. 



Regarding the destruction of weeds, we ?an 

 only now deal with a few of the most persistent 

 and disfiguring ones. Thus Plantains of all 

 kinds are very much weakened, if not entirely 

 killed, by applications of sulphate of ammonia. 

 This nitrogenous manure, at the same time, 

 stimulates the grass, so that it will overrun the 

 Plantain. Sands containing 10 to 50 per cent, of 

 this material are on the market for this pur- 

 pose. To these is often added 2 to 5 per cent, of 

 sulphate of iron, to kill Dandelions. Its effect 

 varies greatly with the soil, rainfall, and amount 

 of sunshine, and, as yet, its action is not under- 

 stood. The leaves are killed, but this does not 

 appear sufficient to rid the lawn of Dandelions. 

 In America, spraying with sulphate of iron has 

 been tried with very varying results. Thus, in 

 the North Dakota, Iowa, Ohio, and Colorado ex- 

 periments, a solution containing 1^ to 1£ lb. 

 per gallon, applied at the rate of 50 to 60 gallons 

 per acre, by means of a knapsack sprayer, gave much loss of water is prevented. 



what tedious; but it has been found more effec- 

 tive than a general broadcast dressing, which, 

 for manurial purposes, is best applied in tne- 

 autumn, at the rate of 4 cwt. per acre. 



The remaining lawn sands are mostly more or 

 less complete manures, designed for spring an 

 early summer application ; that is, for use wnei* 

 everybody begins to pay attention to the ga * 

 den. This being the case, they are com- 

 pounded of the most available manures, so tna 

 the results shall be apparent in a night, as i 

 were, otherwise they would be thought by many 

 users to be ineffective. A sample recently ex- 

 amined was mainly composed of dissolved > 

 sulphate of potash, sulphate of ammonia, an 

 nitrate of soda, mixed with about 50 per cent, o 

 sand. By some, the sand may be considered us 

 less, but it serves at least three very useful p 

 poses, namely, to minimise the burning effeC ^ oQ 

 many of the manures, to make the prepara i 

 pleasant to apply, and, finally, to assist in fceep^ 

 ing the surface from becoming hard during 

 summer heat. This last property is most unp^ 

 tant on heavy soils, as it tends to make a _ 



layer of the surface soil into a mulch, by * 



As a rule, 



