PROrKKDIN'G8 OK THE 



]}cr acre, or ;;• Ih. t() tlio roil. It was sown broad-c.-mt all over 

 ihe j^jrouncl, wliieli is eanily done by mixing- it with dry sand. 

 About the end of April the ground became covered with a 

 preenish appearance, such us is frequently seen in damp situa- 

 tions, in the autumn. As the dry weatlier advanced that 

 appearance ceased. The jdants became much more liealtliy, and 

 of a line dark t!:reen ; in the atituuin they aj)peared far more 

 robust than tliose adjoinini:;. Thev were also le^s infested with 

 insects than tiie latter, but tiiis may have arisen from their heini;- 

 in a more healthy state. Dahlias were also tried w ith Nitrate of 

 Soda, eacli plant havini; about ^ o/. i;iven to it, mixed with water. 

 The plants operated u|)()n became like the Roses, of a line dark 

 green, more robust and compact in their growth, and flowere 1 

 rather more freely, and earlier than others which had no Nitrate. 

 It had no effect on the colours of the ilowers. A few of these 

 Dahlias were in about three weeks acjain suj)plied with an addi- 

 tional ounce, mixed witii water as before, but without any addi- 

 tional effect being ])erceptible, nor was any further result obtained 

 when some of tlie same plants had a third 5 oz. administered to 

 them about a month after. 



Some Vcrbenasy Petunias, Pentstcmons, and various other 

 j)lants were watered with the Nitrate, at the rate of | lb. to 

 the rod, and with the same results, except that they seemed 

 to become exhausted in the autumn sooner than those which 

 were not dressed with the Nitrate. This however may have 

 been owing to the long wet autumn. Nitrate of Soda acts very 

 quickly on plants ; some stunted Oaks and a Silver Fir in pots 

 became of a fine healthy green in about ten days after its appli- 

 cation. It should be given in all cases when plants are beginning 

 to be in full vegetation and not when they are dormant ; if applied 

 then, it seems to have little effect. It should also in all cases 

 be given in damp weather ; if applied in very dry weather, and 

 over head it acts in the same way as common salt by destroying 

 the leaves and 3'oung shoots. 



From the Jlothouse Department, Mr. Fortune reported that 

 during the summer some experiments had been in progress with 

 a view to ascertain the value, as a manure for plants, of the refuse 

 left in the fabrication of Prussiate of Potash. This substance 

 had been used in various proportions for the growth in the 

 open ground of such plants as Pelargoniums, Verbenas, Salvias 

 and Pentstemons, but up to the present time when the frost 

 destroyed them, no effects either deleterious or otherwise had 

 been produced. 



