Novoinl>er, IjlS 



THU; GARDEN AND FIELD. 



across, and the Itnvvr or narrow 

 end in slantinij fashion. .Vs there 

 is often very little difference be- 

 tween the upper and lower end of 

 ~lhe lenj^ths, it is a )jood rule to 

 cut the loNter end slantwise, which 

 quickly determines the fact. Tie 

 these in bundles, phiccd in a shelt- 

 ered place and they will soon 

 callus over, when thcv may be 

 planted out. 



Thrifty French Nursery 

 Practice. 



The French cultivator has a 

 good knowledge of the soil treat- 

 ment, and, compared with his 

 French neighbor, the Knglishman 

 has, it is said, much to learn. 

 The working of the soil goes hand 

 in hand with its 'improvement. 

 Throughout the year the workers 

 by the piece are to be found in 

 the gardens. In spring the ground 

 is broken up. Thev do not wait 

 till " goats fodder " can be made. 

 As to manure, it is not so much 

 of the dear stable manure that is 

 used but rather waste from the 

 kitchen of w^hich every big town 

 wants to rid itself, and which 

 tbe gardener and farmer throws 

 into a heap to decay. The dust 

 and rubbish of the summer 

 months, which contains but a 

 small quantity of coal ashes, and 

 therefore the more humus, are the 

 most made use of. This is mixed 

 with stable manure and cow dung 

 to improve it. About Paris this 

 rubbish is put at once on the land, 

 crockery, metals, etc., picking out 

 these latter, afterwards. This com- 

 post is not only a manure, but it 

 helps to lighten heavy loams soils. 



Compost. 



! By carefully keeping the paths, 

 'beds, and fences which surround 

 the garden clear of weeds and 

 grass, a considerable addition of 

 I good compost and manure will 

 [ be obtained. All kinds of veget- 

 I able and animal refuse may be used 

 to swell the pile, but do not add 

 any cuttings of hard-wooded 

 plants, as they take too long, to 

 rot. These should be burned, and 

 the ashes thus obtained thrown 

 upon the heap. 



Weeds that have seeded should 

 he burned, and the ashes only add- 

 led to the heap, and this because 

 no other treatment will get rid 

 of the seeds. Such is their vitality 



(li.it nothing else will kill tluin, 

 however well they may apparent- 

 1\ cau.se the f[?cay of the weeds 

 with their seeds, will not in reali- 

 iy have killed the seeds. We have 

 known seeded weeds lie for a very 

 long time in a comjiosl heap^ with 

 e\ cry appearance of the whole be- 

 ing reduced to a condition of tho- 

 rough decomi)osition, and yet on 

 tlio application to the land, a 

 \ crv short' time sufficed to give as 

 fine a crop of weeds as if the 

 seeds had been put in quite fresh. 

 The bedroom slops put 'on with 

 tlie ashes from the' house are 

 \ cry useful. Care must be taken 

 not to add more than can 

 be absorbed by the material with- 

 out an excess to be ofTensive. 

 T.ime should be added in the form 

 of gypsum', which will allow of the 

 slops in' moderation to be added 

 ■without offence or fear of disease. 



In the preparation and manasre- 

 nient of manure lies much of the 

 success in the cultivg.tion of the 

 garden. It is a strange fact that 

 the greater number of amateur 

 gardeners usually take one of the 

 two extreme cour.ses — thev either 

 fail to manure at all, or eLse thev 

 add large quantities of fresh, hot 

 stable manure, and it is hard to 

 decide which course does the more 

 harm. 



The' whole heap should be turned 

 over two or three times, and then 

 in less than twelve months a splen- 

 did (manure is ready for the gar- 

 den, over which it should be scat- 

 tered in the usual v/av, and dug in. 



In making up cucumber and 

 melon beds many people sink a 

 three or four inch pipe dose to 

 where the plants are to stand. 

 If the pipes are porous the bot- 

 tom end is plugp-ed with clay, or 

 if solid the pipe is 'filled with sand 

 srravel, or manure. Where water 

 is scarce it is a ^ood nlan, though 

 it is not I an unmixed blessin?. 



A suburban amateur hardener, 

 who rather prides himself on his 

 peas, has had a pa'rticularly fine 

 crop. The other mmruino-, having 

 picked a supply for the day, he 

 was returnine to thi^ house, when 

 he noticed a neighbour who is 

 rather deaf, lookinp- over the (har- 

 den fence. " Peas," he shoufpd as 

 he held up the basket on the fence. 

 " Peas," from my own o-arden." 

 " Thank vou," replied his neicrh- 

 bour, picking up the basket and 

 makincr a short track for his own 

 door, leavincr the di<!corisolate pea- 

 le.ss one to wonder whether the 

 neif^hbour is reallv as deaf as he 

 is supposed to be. 



About Fertilizers and Their 

 Use. 



Chemical coticeptions i of an \ 

 sort, espcciall\- concerning solids, 

 are always complicated with c[ues- 

 tions of solubility. The slow but 

 certain action of ' the elcTnents 

 V making our rocks vield uj) their 

 stores of food for vegetable growth 

 is largely a question of solubility. 

 The only " Opi;Mi Sesame " at the 

 ])lant root is solubility. Animal 

 and vegetable life 'both are de- 

 pendent upon solubility. 



Every ^ay conditions are such 

 that we immediately associate 

 solubilit)' with that combination' 

 of elements ■ called water. Water 

 and solulTilitv. 



The illimitable solvent action of 

 water needs no proof. Sea water 

 even contains gold, although gold 

 is one of the most obdurate 

 metals, being dissolved by only 

 the strongest acids. Yet "gold is 

 not soluble in water in the com- 

 mon acceptation of the word. 

 Such substances as sugar, nitrate 

 of soda or sulphate of potash are, 

 although not to tf-.e same degree 

 because sugar will disolve in twice 

 its weight of water, pure nitrate, 

 in nearly its own weight while the \ 

 sulphate takes ten times to become 

 di.ssolved. 



The simple solvent action of 

 water, while remarkable, should 

 not be confused with that obtain- 

 ed when it is combined with other 

 asrents. Many "mixed "fertilisers," 

 blood or bone, are insoluble 

 and require something besides 

 w^ater to dissolve them. 



In this connection the great in- 

 fluence of the fineness of fertilizing 

 materials should be noted for its 

 great practical importance. The 

 ease or otherwise with which it 

 yields up its value depends largely 

 upon the 'amount of surface ex- 

 posed or in other words upon the 

 working surface. Fine grinding 

 makes surface grow in astounding 

 fashion and therefore even if the 

 solubility is slicht the work done 

 in a given time is vastly increased 

 and the maximum effect is reach- 

 ed with the finest powder. 



Everybody is cognizant of this 

 truth and its application to bone. 

 Being of slight solubility in water 

 its immediate value depends to a 

 great extent upon its fineness. 

 Almost any action upon it from 

 any agent will be aided by large 

 surfaces. To have bone last a long 

 time we use " inch " bone. To have 



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