June 27, 1865. ] 



JOURNAL OF HOETICULTUKE AND COTTAGE GABDENEE. 



479 



WEEKLY CALENDAR. 



Day 



Day 



of 



of 



M'nth 



Week. 



27 ■ 



Tu 



28 



■w 



29 



Th 



30 



F 



1 



S 



2 



Son 



3 



M 



JUNE .27-JULY 3, 1865. 



Privet flowers. 



CoRONATio:! OF Queen Victoria. 

 Ladv's Bed-traw flowers. 

 Pimpernel Sowers. [1S62. 



Pki.scrss Lorisop Hesse M.&RB1ED 

 3 Sl'nday \fter Trinity. 

 Lime tree flowers. 



Averafje Temperature 

 near London. 



Day. Night. 



72.0 

 7S.3 

 72.8 

 72.7 

 72.3 

 73.3 

 74.2 



48.6 

 49.3 

 43.6 

 48.3 

 51.7 

 51.5 

 50.7 



Mean. 

 60.3 

 01.3 

 60.2 

 60.0 

 62.0 

 62.4 

 62.5 



Rain Ln 



last 

 38 years. 



Days. 

 13 

 15 

 10 

 12 

 18 

 14 

 16 



Son 



Rises. 



m. h, 

 47 af3 



Snn 



Sets. 



m. li. 

 ]9af8 



19 8 



18 8 



18 8 



18 8 



18 8 



17 8 



Moon 



Rises. 



Moon 



Sets. 



m. h. 



38 8 



42 9 



47 10 



49 11 



51 



54 1 



57 2 



m. h. 



17 10 



41 10 



3 11 



24 11 



48 11 



mom. 



12 



Moon's 

 Age. 



4 

 5 

 6 

 7 



9 

 10 



Clock 



before 



Sun. 



■Dsyof 

 Year. 



178 

 179 

 180 

 181 

 182 

 183 

 184 



From observations taken near London during the last thirtv-ei^ht years, the averaee dav temperature of the week is 72.9°, and its night 

 temperature 49.8'. Iho greatest heat was 91° on the 30th, 1862; and the lowest cold, 34*, on the 30th, 1863. The greatest fall of raiu was 

 1.18 Inch. 



majstueing the aie. 



AKUKED atmosplieres may 

 seem at variance with 

 tlie requirements of a 

 plant and contrary to 

 the common course of 

 Nature, but it would be 

 nodifficult taskto prove 

 that manured atmo- 

 spheres are within the 

 order of Nature her- 

 self. I shall not, how- 

 ever, attempt to do this, 

 but I take for granted 

 that plants feed at 

 night by their leaves, 

 <jr absorb from the at- 

 mosphere nourishment 

 nearly, if not quite, 

 equal in amount to that derived from the soil. There is 

 not a gardener but wUl agree that a hotbed of leaves, 

 dung, or other fermenting materials is more suitable for 

 the growth of plants than any other description of arti- 

 ficial atmosphere. It was a common practice to place 

 fermenting dung in vineries on commencing to force, and 

 it was usual to start nearly eveiy thing by the aid of dung 

 hotbeds. Whether knowing or not knowing that the 

 steam of fermenting dung was highly conducive to vege- 

 table growth, our fathers in horticulture employed it as 

 largely as we do Kttle. It might not be known to them 

 that the steam generated by the fermentation of the 

 dung parted with its ammonia, and fed the plants by the 

 foliage ; and I beheve that they were perfectly ignorant 

 of the value of the vapour of hot dung as a manurial' 

 agent, and only valued it as maintaining a moist and more,' 

 uniform heat than flues. At the present day the whole j 

 system of heating has undergone so great a change by j 

 the introduction of hot water in iron pipes, that dung' 

 hotbeds are but little used in comparison to what theyi 

 were. In the good old times syringes were but little 

 employed, they came in with the present system of heat- 

 ing, and were necessary to counteract the evils of a dry 

 heat ; and supplying moisture by sprinkKng the floors 

 and syringing the foliage was no doubt prompted by the 

 knowledge that a moist heat was necessary. Accordingly, 

 these proceedings were intended as an equivalent for the 

 steam of fermenting materials. These means, however, 

 ■were not sufficient, and tanks and guttered pipes were 

 soon invented to more regularly maintain a moist atmo- 

 sphere, and with the same object flue-covers were made 

 hollow to hold water ; yet, after all, an equivalent for the 

 moist atmosphere of hot dung was not secured. It was 

 not simply moisture that it was necessary to supply, but 

 the ammonia of the dung as well : hence we find soot 

 water used by Mr. Fish, and of late guano water by Mr. 

 Thomson, of Archerfield. It must be evident that soot 

 and guano possess little evaporative except ammonia, 

 No. 222,— Vol. Vm., Nsw Serie* 



and this is precisely what the atmosphere of a house 

 heated by fermenting materials contained along with 

 watery vapour. 



I need not search for further evidence in support of 

 ammonia, as vapour, being a manurial agent absorbed by 

 the leaves. Its utihty as an invigorator of growth and 

 insect-destroyer is undoubted. If there is an insect that 

 may be attributed to a deficiency of moisture in the 

 atmosphere it is red spider ; its presence is ever a sign 

 of a vitiated parched atmosphere, not necessarily dry 

 but lacking the vapour of water fresh from the clouds, 

 which is equally destructive to this pest with soot water. 

 Ammonia few insects can well endure, and, unlike other 

 remedies, it contributes to the health of the subject. It 

 might be argued that red spider does not attack vigorous 

 plants in the same atmosphere. I am not quite certain 

 that plants do not throw off through the leaves any excess 

 of nutrition absorbed by their roots, and this may be re- 

 tained within the house thtough early closing, and ab- 

 sorbed by the leaves again at night, and plants would 

 thus be fed, as they naturally are, by the dew at night. 



I do not think it will be doubted that fresh rain water 

 is more conducive to growth than that a month old from 

 a tank, or if it be questioned it would be well to account 

 for artificial waterings never being so beneficial as natural 

 ones. If it were possible to have houses so constructed 

 that they could be opened to admit of the rain falling on 

 the plants or fruit trees, I am firmly persuaded it would 

 do more good than many artificial applications. 



Setting aside many considerations, we find that some 

 manures are richer in ammonia than others — soot con- 

 tains a considerable amount, and more especially Peru- 

 vian guano and sheep's-dimg. These are the most power- 

 ful, and scarcely less so are the di-ainings of a dunghill 

 when they consist of the washings of horse-droppings. 

 My experience is limited to the liquid manures made 

 from these substances. They are made in a tub or barrel 

 holding twenty three-gaUon-watering-potsfuU of water, 

 or 60 gallons ; a peck of fresh sheep's-dung, the same of 

 soot, half a bushel of horse-droppings (fresh), and 15 ozs. 

 of guano are put in each respectively, and soft water 

 poiu-ed on them, and well stirred up. In this state the 

 liquid is poured into the evaporating-troughs, and used 

 for sprinkling the floors, &c., of the houses, but is not 

 applied to any higlily -heated surface, such as a flue or hot- 

 water pipe from which it would be quickly evaporated. 

 For syringing the clear liquid only is employed, and 

 always at the time of shutting up the house or a little 

 afterwards. In whatever form it is applied, whether in. 

 evaporating-pans, sprinkled on the floors, or syringed on 

 the plants, the atmosphere is sensibly impregnated with 

 ammonia, and the odour is not unpleasant, except in the 

 case of soot water, the vapour from which retains the 

 sooty smell. The drainings of the dunghill diluted with 

 an equal volume of water, used in evaporating-pans 

 and for sprinkling the floors, &c., are the most ob- 

 jectionable on account of the smell, though those not 

 actually aware of this liquid being used would not feel 

 annoyed. For syringing with, it is diluted with sis times 

 No. 874.— Vol. XXXin., Old SERiEg, 



