398 



THE GARDEN AND FIELD. 



February, 1914 



All the tribe are ^oss feeders, 

 and like rich, deep, moist soil. 

 W^^en propcrlv fed thev pTow won- 

 derfullv fast and repay one for all 

 attention. A cool, moist climate 

 is reallv one of the ideal condi- 

 tions for calibajTe culture. Mois- 

 ture von must have, as droug-htv 

 conditions are certain failure. Cal> 

 basfes head best in a fjood stiff 

 loam. 



Sow the seed in a small bed of 

 lieht soil and do not allow the 

 seedlin<TS to over-crowd. Reduce 

 their number as soon as you can 

 handle them, as there is uo f^ain 

 in erowinsT more weedy plants 

 than can be used. 



Plant out in rows, allowin* 

 s'^ace according to the renulre- 

 ments of the varieties in cultiva- 

 tion. Drumheads .'should have fuUv 

 thirtv inches between the plants, 

 while Susrarloaf and the smaller 

 lands can do with eip-hteen inches. 

 The ^njror and trrowth of cabbatres 

 can be improved bv frequent stir- 

 rin<TS of the soil between the rows. 

 Water is very necessary durin? 

 drv- weather. In home srardens 

 where cabba<i«s are srrown in 

 rows, be careful to leave the last 

 two rows of leaves on the stem 

 when vou take the head. New 

 brenks come q.wav almost immedi- 

 atelv. and the old T)lants tret a 

 furniKhin<T of nice succulent littlp 

 heads that can be nut to a srood 

 use. This recommendation onlv 

 stands ""ood ivhere the "-round is 

 not renuired for imtnediate use. 



T^ad'sh seed mav be sown lio-htiv 

 in we11-man"rfd beds in anv otk^'i 

 situat-on. T?aT<e the ■surface lev^l, 

 water it. sow th? seed evenlv. 

 ro^'er with a. half-inch coat of lip-ht 

 soil, and then ton with new man- 

 ure, and Veet) the whole fairlv 

 moisi. This is the Chinaman's 

 wav of doinf. afid it nr(*npra11\' 

 na-'-s. Ouic^< <rro\v^h is wh;it the 

 radish renuire*;. There should hf 

 no laTT'tirr. Start clean and keen 



+ Vir- seedliu"- nlotifs rrrowiu"' ^"tI. 



Thin out liberallv. 



Thp utilization of diseased nota- 

 tops as t)ifr feerl is bv no means i 

 jrood plan. The parasitic mode 

 of life of the micro-oreanisms, 

 M'liioh have spoilt thp tubers con- 

 siderablv rodu-^es the value of 

 the tubers, and onerates iniurious- 

 Iv unon the di"'pstive or^-ans of *hp 

 anir>^^ls to which tl^ev are fed. 

 *?mnn riunntitifs do little or no 

 iniur-"' Tt is the Persistent use of 

 the diseased potato which does the 

 harm. 



'^ow rarrot seed on lii'ht 

 land, and cover some with fresh 



manure. Take the seed and mix 

 it with a little dry sand before 

 sowinp^. Rub the lot throiiph 

 vouT hand, so as to get it to scat- 

 ter more evenly. 



Pumpkins, melons, marrows, and 

 ciiicumbers will stand much mulch- 

 ing, and a lot of watering now 

 that the weather is so hot. A 

 little mulch to keep the groimd 

 cool will be such a help. It is a 

 pity to make even the vegetable 

 friends suffer unnecessarily. 



Sow early cauliflower seed at 

 once. January is the time to do 

 something towards la\'ing the foun-( 

 dation for your winter vegetables. 

 Most of us think of sowing this 

 seed when we see the young plants 

 displayed for sale. It is then 

 irettine rather late. Purchase seed 

 this week and r^et the stock in 

 somewhere, either in the open 

 ground or in a shallow box that 

 can be lifted about to suit the 

 day. For preference we like a 

 small bed near a tap. Water is 

 then handy enough not to be for- 

 gotten. All the quick <rrowing 

 seedlings require a lot of attention. 

 Fairly rich soil covered with a 

 light dressing of manure will do 

 for the seed sowing. 



To exterminate the leaf-eating 

 insects which are just now so 

 troublesame among pumpkins and 

 the like, use arsenate of lead for 

 making a spray with which to 

 poison the foliage. 



The slightest shower sets the 

 snail in motion. He dearly loves 

 the rain. And vet we usually 

 speak of the shell-back as a slu"-- 

 rard. Were this true no rain 

 drops would not awaken him. He 

 would .slumber throuirh the *' thun- 

 der shower," much as his pursuers 

 do through the cfolden hours of 

 the early morning. 



Globe Artichokes. 



Not many people care for this 

 vecetalde. Still it is a igood one 

 when properly grown. If not treat- 

 ed to very heavy dressintrs of 

 manure and copious supplies of 



XlrC««U.dD : something about 

 your m^thodn of breading, raarinif 

 t^nd managing Liv* Stoek ? Li«t 

 u» haT* it if it will Mly fill th* 

 back af a Wmmi oavd. 



water, then it had better be kept 

 out of the garden altogether, for 

 very little satisfaction will be got 

 out of it. It does best on rather 

 stiff soil into which all the rb;ten 

 manure vou can afford has been 

 trenched. It will also appreciate 

 a heavy mulching with similar 

 stuff. Treatment such as this will 

 give you very fine toothsome 

 " heads," and these if cut suffici- 

 ently early — that is when closely 

 arranged and very compact — will 

 be delicious when cooked. 



Lettuces. 



It is im])ortant to grow lettuces 

 quickly. In addition to stable 

 manure dug in before planting out 

 they will Ije much benefited by 

 top dressing. Guano is considered 

 specially good and may be applied 

 at the rate of 2 lb. per sod as 

 soon as the young plants begin to 

 make growth. A fortnight the 

 same quantity of nitrate of soda 

 can be given. See that neither 

 manure touch the plants. 



Humus and Air. 



The presence of any large quan- 

 tities of decaying organic matter 

 (huniuis) adds enormously to the 

 water-holding capacity of the soil. 

 One ton of humus will absorb two 

 tons of water, and give it up free- 

 ly to growing crops. Not only 

 t^hat, but the shrinking of the par- 

 ticles oi decaying orJ;anic m-atter 

 and the consequent loosening of the 

 soil grains keeps the soil open 

 and porous. 



Furthermore, humus of good 

 quality is exceedingly rich in both 

 nitrogen and mineral plant food. 

 The maintenance of fertility must 

 ^Iways be said to consist in keep- 

 in'g the soil sui)plied with himius. 

 The first stej) in renovating worn- 

 out soils, is to give them an abun- 

 dant su]iplv of humus of good 

 quality. The best .source of humus 

 is .stable manure, containing both 

 the liquid and the solid excrement, 

 especiallx' when the stock are fed 

 on rich nitrogenous foods. Rven a 

 poor quality of barnyard manure, 

 which has had much of the plant 

 life bleached out of it, has consid- 

 erable valui' because ai the humus 

 it makes. 



Another cheap and valuable 

 source of humius, but one which 



