THE GARDEN AND FIELD. 



throuirli a free snrtacc ol soil as 

 thronjih the side of the pot. 



A eontiiuiation ul Ihc uivestiga- 

 t on couiiisted m the growing of 

 aluig plants in pots ot varying 

 rosity, ami the liciglu ami vi- 

 ir oi the plants increased in 

 iilar gradations as the porosity 

 lunish'ed. It was next found 

 -Mrable to determine the loss of 

 water bv transpiration. 



This was done by the reiiiark- 

 al)lv simple method of subtracting 

 the loss in the tins ami pots witn- 

 oiit plants, from the loss from the 

 tins and pots with plants. 



The results showed that the total 

 loss from two months' old plants 

 in pots was approximately the 

 same as that from two months' 

 old plants in tins, the explanation 

 I 0111'- of course, that the greater 

 loss bv transpiration from the 

 lart^er and more vigorous plants 

 in the tins balanced the greater 

 loss b}- evaporation from the soil 

 in the pots. lyeai measurement 

 showed that transpiration was 1.6 

 times greater in the case of the 

 lilants in tins, and therefore they 

 lU'ight obviously be considered as 

 L;rowing more vigorously. 



The great advantage of using 

 till cans rather than porous pots 

 seems to resc in the fact that in 

 tins it is easier to maintain a 

 nearlv constant moisture content 

 without a rapid drying of tlie soil 

 about the gTowing roots which 

 naturally follow the horizontal 

 water movement towards the side 

 of the pot. 



Finally, in regard to the influ- 

 ences of the presence of salts of 

 tin and zinc, plants grown in un- 

 treated cans did better than those 

 grown in cans of which the inter- 

 nal surfaces had been waxed. This 

 result, together with the fact es- 

 tablished, chemically, that very 

 dilute solutions of tin and zinc 

 salts do have a stimulating influ- 

 ence on plant growth, woiild ap- 

 pear to be good evidence in sup- 

 poTX of the conjecture that the pre- 

 sence of these salts in the tin can 

 is a second beneficial factor which 

 is absent in the case of its rival 

 the earthenware pot. — " Agricul- 

 tural News," Bardados. 



WANTED TO SELL 



INCUBATOES AND BROODERS, 

 Simplex, awarded first price (silver 

 medal) Adelaide Exhibition, 1910. 

 Agent for Cort's Patent Cooler-safe, 

 a boon in summer. Send for price 

 list.— D. LANYON, Manufacturer, 46 

 North Terrace, Kant Town. 6-12. 



The Weather. 



From the personal conrfort 

 point of view Adelaide has had lit- 

 tle to complain of this summer. We 

 have had a few days which have 

 been unpleasant, it is true, but a 

 great number which have been de- 

 iig-htful. We are not quite out of 

 the wood yet, in fact the sultry 

 days we sometimes get in March 

 are more trving to many than the 

 drv clear heat when the thermo- 

 meter skips over the century. They, 

 remind us also of how much cause 

 we ha\'e for gratitude that our cli- 

 made is not as it is sometimes 

 called, " tropical," or even " semi- 

 tropical." It is in fact quite )he 

 reverse. No one can pretend that 

 the old fashioned '' brickfielder " is 

 pleasant, but there seems to be a 

 general idea that it is healthy. 

 Hot winds drive away and destroy 

 the disease germs which are float- 

 ing about in the atmosphere. .These 

 same hot winds are about as nasty 

 but as beneficial, as a disinfection 

 after the measles. 



It is a fact one often hears com- 

 mented upon that we Australians 

 apjiarently do not realise our 

 " semi-tropical " environment. If 

 we did, it is reasonable to sup- 

 pose, they say, that we should 

 adapt ourselves accordingly, and 

 this would exercise an irresistible 

 effect on our mode of living. But, 

 on the contrary, the type of Aus- 

 tralian dwelling house, the clothing 

 of the Australian people, and, what 

 is more important still, their food 

 habits, prove without doubt that 

 we, as a people, have never recog- 

 nised the alleged semi-tropical cha- 

 racter of our climate. 



As a rule, the peoples of differ- 

 ent regions adapt themselves to 

 their surroundings — ^everyone sees 

 and knows this — the food and ha- 

 bits of the Laplander are as wide- 

 Iv diverse as the poles from those 

 of the Hindoo, and it is reasonable 

 to suppose that we have arrived, 

 or at least are arriving, at a 

 knowledge of what suits us best. 



AVhat our summer visitors forget 

 is that though our mode of life 

 may seem a little unsuited for a 

 hot spell, such spells only amount 

 to say,'' one day in ten throughout 

 the year, and it would be certain- 

 ly absurd to eat, dress, and build 

 for the ten days in order to be just 

 a little less uncomfortable on the 

 one day. For the nine days out of 

 every ten our food, clothing, and 

 houses, leave little room for im- 

 provement. 



We are still influenced by our 

 Anglo-iSaxon origin but not great- 



ly! The first settlers coming from 

 old mother Ivnglaiul louiid the sea- 

 sons quite reversed— that the mid- 

 dle of the year was the coolest in- 

 stead of tne hottest part — that 

 Christmas-tide came with sun- 

 shine aided and abetted liy scorch- 

 ing hot winds, too, very often. 

 Notwithstanding these widely dif- 

 ferent conditions, however, the 

 " Pioneer Fathers " of our young 

 country still maintained to a large 

 extent the same style of dress, 

 the same forms of food, and often 

 the most unsuitable class of dwell- 

 ings. If they only thought about 

 the matter it would seem very 

 absurd on a day when the temper- 

 ature ranges from loo to 105 de- 

 grees in the shade to sit down to 

 such a gigantic heating apparatus 

 as hot roast goose and steaming 

 rich plum pudding. But their Eng- 

 lish forefathers did so alnid frost 

 and snow, and so did they what- 

 ever the temperature might be. 



Traditional tendencies are cer- 

 tainly ineradicable in a generation 

 or two, and hence it is that we are 

 not quite free of like absurdities 

 It's in the blood. 



Australia is a very large place 

 with very varied conditions. In the 

 north the conditions are tropical, 

 and the people largely adopt the 

 clothing and conditions suited to 

 the conditions. Not as far as 

 they might do perhaps with bene- 

 fit ; but enough for the present ar- 

 gument. As we pro^jress down the 

 east and west coasts we pass into 

 semi-tropical conditions, but the 

 changeable nature of the climate 

 is the reason for the existing con- 

 dition of things as far as clothing 

 and buildings are concerned. In 

 Central Australia we have short 

 period of intense heat, separated 

 by periods of cool, pleasant wea- 

 ther. Often when the sun regis- 

 ters 160 degrees Fah. in the sun 

 in the day and the shade tempera- 

 ture is over 100 degrees the ther- 

 mometer runs down to 60 degrees 

 or even 50 degrees Fah. at night, 

 so great is the radiation. 



It is not unusual to hear or ex- 

 perience a temperature of iio de- 

 grees. Even 120 degrees is not 

 unheard of, but such temperatures 

 in the tropics woidd be more fatal 

 to the population than an uncheck- 

 ed epidemic of smallpox, and yet 

 our people who live under the con- 

 ditions where such records are 

 made are physically among the 

 most healthy and energetic in the 

 world. 



A tropical climate is a moist air 

 climate. Central and Southern 

 Australia are essentially and dis- 

 tinctly dry-air climates, and can- 



