PREPARING SOIL AND PROPAGATING 3 1 



fuls of slaked lime — two or three pounds 

 per cubic yard of soil. A lack of lime will 

 cause soft stems and flabby leaves. 



" Nitrate of soda and sulphate of ammonia 

 have been recommended by some growers 

 as a part of the compost. The evidence 

 in favour of this practice is at present in- 

 sufficient to commend it. It seems an 

 unnecessary addition, with danger, of a too 

 concentrated soil composition, and waste 

 of nitrogen through rapid drainage. Ex- 

 cessive concentration of nutrients in the 

 soil mixture is more injurious than a 

 deficiency, because of the inability of the 

 roots to absorb solutions above a certain 

 degree of concentration. The result is that 

 the plant starves. This fact has been very 

 strikingly shown by some chrysanthemum 

 cultures seen by the writer. Again, in the 

 presence of an excess of nutrients, a good 

 development of roots is not produced, even 

 though the concentration of the soil solution 

 is not too great for absorption by the roots; 

 and, further, the roots are not in condition 

 to take up the subsequently applied liquid 

 manure. The best plan is to have a moder- 

 ately rich compost, thereby obtaining healthy 



