42 



Garden and Forest. 



[January 23, 1889. 



Portland cement and seven parts sand, which is poured over the 

 t)ottom within a rougli curbing' of loose boards. Alter being 

 smoothed to a level by drawing a short piece of timber over 

 it, this bed is allowed three days to harden. Then a border is 

 made all aroimd by pouring the same kind of mortar between 

 two courses of boards four inches wide, set on edge one inch 

 apart, the space within the border measuring two hundred feet 

 long by three feet wide. After the sides have been left th ree days 

 longer to harden, the inner boards are removed and tlie whole 

 inner surface receives a thin coat of pure cement in order that 

 it may be water-tight. 



At either end of the cemented bottom are set wooden boxes 

 six inches square, rising six inches above the surface of the 

 ground. Through these the gardener may see how much 

 water is in the trench, and regulate the supply accordingly. 

 Next to these are laid lengthwise of the cemented bottom hve 

 courses of narrow inch boards. Crosswise of these a second 

 layer of boards is put on closer together than the tirst. Then 

 Palmetto leaves are laid over the boards and the trench is 

 filled in with earth. The water from the well is led through 

 the garden in two-inch pipes and distributed to the beds in 

 half-inch pipes, which open through faucets in one of the 

 boxes that lead to the bottom of each bed. 



It is found that by keeping vip the supply of water in the 

 trenches the ground over and between them is kept sufficiently 

 moist in the driest weather, and that a most luxuriant growth 

 of vegetables can be obtained. In order to economize space, 

 different kinds of vegetables are planted in alternate rows — 

 for example, several rows of Beets, Radishes and Lettuce be- 

 tween two rows of Cabbages. A close succession is kept up 

 also, the intention being to have the ground constantly and 

 fully occupied with the most profitable varieties. The cost of 

 such beds is considerable, but it is found that one measuring 

 four by fifty feet can be prepared for $15 or $20, and this 

 affords a garden spot sixteen by sixty-six feet in area, on which 

 may be grown a very large quantity of vegetables of quality 

 and size not obtainable in any ordinary garden. An acre of 

 ground thus prepared costs $1,000, but it is believed that it will 

 produce to the value of $3,000 in a year. The length of the 

 growing season in Florida is greatly in favor of this system, 

 and it is not improbable that it will come into general use in 

 localities where there is large demand for fresh vegetables in 

 winter and spring. It is, of course, equally well adapted for 

 flower-gardens. A. H. Curtiss. 



Jacksonville, Fla. 



The Relation Between Blossoming and the Tubers 

 in the Potato. 



THE following abstract from A?inales Agronomiques of a 

 paper by Dr. E. Wollny has, perhaps, a practical as well 

 as a botanical interest. Whatever may be the case in Ger- 

 many, the flowering of the Potato is usually abundant here, 

 but in a large portion of our best varieties no fruit is pro- 

 duced. It is not probable that the removal of the flowers 01 

 such varieties would in any way increase the development 

 of tubers. If, however, the removal of the young tubers as 

 they appear would increase the vigor of the growth of the 

 flowers, this fact miy-ht be of advantage to those who are 

 trying to produce new varieties from seed. It is now 

 almost impossible to secure seedlings from some of our 

 choice varieties, although they blossom freely. Some in- 

 vestigations by Dr. B. D. tJalsted seem to indicate that 

 failure to set fruit is due to defective or imperfectly devel- 

 oped pollen. It might be worth while to remove the young 

 tubers from some of these varieties as they appear, in order 

 to ascertain whether this treatment would encourage greater 

 vigor in the development of the pollen, and *^he consequent 

 production of seed. 



In the climate of Germany the blooming of different varie- 

 ties of Potatoes is very much restricted. Most of the 

 varieties do not flower, excepting here and there in the course 

 of years ; a small number only flower regularly and bearfruit. 

 It is not so in Chili, the habitat of the Potato. There it flowers 

 abundantly, but the tubers remain small, while in the tem- 

 perate zone the formation of the tubers is favored at the ex- 

 pense of fertilization. 



This fact seems to indicate a sort of balance Ijetween the 

 two modes of reproduction by the tubers, and by the seeds : 

 the energy of the one seems to bring about the decadence of 

 th'a other. ' In fact. Knight and Laingenthal have found that 

 tJ,ey may increase the blooming by detaching th : young 



tubers as they appear. Inversely, they found that suppressing 

 the flowers favored the development of the tubers of many 

 varieties. An anonymous English author has obtained by this 

 metliod an increase in harvest of 2,670 pounds per acre. 



Wollny recognizes that, from his experiments, the develop- 

 ment of the flower is prejudicial to that of the tubers. Experi- 

 ments were conducted in i886 on many varieties that produce 

 flowers. Four plots were planted with each variety, one act- 

 ing as a duplicate or control, being left to itself; the inflores- 

 cence on the other three was cut at three different periods. 

 The inflorescence oftenest cut off produced the crop of great- 

 est weight ; it also exercised an influence on the number as 

 well as size of the tubers. However, the early varieties, and 

 the plants which had not been topped till late, gave a contrary 

 result, one crop being poor, probably Ijecause there remained 

 some little time between the operadon and the maturity of the 

 tubers, and the season had been especially dry from July 14th 

 to August 25th. 



These experiments enable us to understand why the Potato 

 does not thrive alike in Chili and Germany. It is probable that 

 dryness and sunlight induce bloom, and humidity, and a sky 

 more or less cloudy, the formation of tubers. In fact, in dry 

 years a great number of varieties flower, while the same varie- 

 ties do not bloom when the weather is moist and the sky is 

 obscure. 



The influence of light upon the production of flowers is a 

 fact that has been long known, and very recently Sachs has 

 shown that it is the chemical rays which provoke flowering. 

 Plants of Nasturtium, a flowering plant of the first class, pro- 

 duced no flowers behind a screen of a solution of sulphate of 

 quinine. But it seems to us that it is necessary to divide the 

 problem into two, and to distinguish one immediate influence 

 and another indirect influence, the effect of which is itself ac- 

 cumulated by heredity, in order to become a race characteris- 

 tic. These two features necessarily combine, and act in the 

 same way in our country. We do not think, however, that 

 these things are brought about by purely physical influence. 



There are, in fact, many examples of plants being repro- 

 duced artificially or naturally by budding, root-grafting, 

 tubers, etc., and which in flowering do not produce fruit, or 

 which, producing fruits, are none the less sterile, as seeds are 

 not formed in them. Lysimachia ttumtnularia, a creeping 

 plant ; the Tarragon, which flowers but does not set seed ; 

 Garlic rocambole, which produces bulbs in place of flowers ; a 

 variety of Ficaria ranunculoides, which produces tubercles in 

 the axils of the leaves; and Sugar-cane and Bananas, which are 

 nearly always sterile. 



Rose Notes. 



JANUARY is one of the most critical months of the year to 

 the Rose-grower, not only because the flowers are in 

 greater demand at that season than at any other during the 

 winter, but also on account of the weather, which in this lati- 

 tude is usually severe and frequently dull. It therefore be- 

 comes necessary to exercise greater care in watering, as 

 excessive moisture, either at the root or in the air, proves 

 injurious, the diminished sunshine rendering the evaporation 

 much slower than during the autumn months. 



As to ventilation, it may be repeated that fresh air, carefully 

 admitted, is one of the most valuable aids to the Rose-grower, 

 but no hard-and-fast rule can be laid down for this operation, 

 as it depends entirely on the condition of the weather. Similar 

 advice may be ottered in regard to tiring, as this part of the 

 work also needs careful handling to keep an even tempera- 

 ture of from 55" to 58" at night, this being found most sads- 

 factoryfor an assortment of varieties. More Roses are injured 

 by too high a temperature than by allowing the heat to fall a few 

 degrees below the standard mentioned. It should be remem- 

 bered that the original species, from which our fine varieties 

 have been derived, were found in temperate climates, and it 

 is only reasonable to suppose that their offspring will flourish 

 under somewhat similar conditions as to temperature, 

 although some allowance should be made for the extra 

 stimulation required for the production of a succession of 

 flowers at this season. 



The effect, also, of any previous error in management, will 

 be more noticeable at this time. Such mistakes, for instance, 

 as the dangerous plan of running the houses at a specially high 

 temperature just before the holiday season, to open an extra 

 quantity of flowers, is a practice almost invariably followed by 

 so great a falling off in the succeeding crop as to more than 

 counterbalance the advantage gained. 



Where a stock of young plants has been secured from early 

 cuttings, some of them may now be ready for repotting, and 



