?90 



!tllE AGEtCV LTtJEAL JoVtiNAL. 



was exhausted, and it could be rendered 

 still more efficient by the use of hot 

 water, as recommended by Dr. Schutte, 

 who found that a larger and better yield 

 was obtained thereby, although his ex- 

 periments were handicapped by the open 

 air vats in which they were carried out. 



"If it is found that the fermentation, 

 which is supposed to go on in the steep- 

 ing vat, does exist, and is a necessity, 

 then it is likely that the diffusion batteries 



would be useless, as they do not permit 

 of prolonged contact of the plant with 

 the same portion of water. Under those 

 circumstances, a complete double steeping 

 in an improved steeping vat should an- 

 Bwer the question more satisfactorily. 



"Therefore, either of two methods is re- 

 quired: — First, a more thorough steep- 

 ing; second, a diffusion process which can 

 be continued till tests show that no more 

 indigo is being extracted from the plant." 



Garden Notes for February » 



By W. J. Bell, ] 



IN the midlands the winter crop of Peas 

 and Broad Beans should be sown this 

 mon*h. The best sorts of peas are York- 

 shire Hero, 2^ feet ; Pride of the Market, 

 2 feet ; Harrison's Glory, 2^ feet ; and 

 Doctor McLean, 3 feet. For colder dis- 

 tricts the Black Eye is the best to sow a 

 little later for a spring crop. Where there 

 is any frost the other above named varie- 

 ties should not be sown later than middle 

 of March. The soil for Peas should be 

 rich, deep and friable, and should contain 

 a proportion of calcareous matter. If 

 this is absent give a dressing of lime, or 

 lime rubbish and burnt garden refuse. 

 Of artificial fertilisers, bone-dust or fish 

 manure will be the best if mixed with 

 the soil at the bottom of a deep drill, and 

 covered with quite four inches of soil. 

 The drills should be from 2 to 2| feet 

 apart, and 1 lb. of seed will sow about 40 

 feet of drill. In the event of prolonged 

 dry weather, water must be supplied in 

 good time, and in liberal quantity. In 

 giving water the best plan is to open a 

 shallow trench about a foot distant from 

 the rows on the shady side, and in this 

 pour the water so as to fill the trench ; by 

 this method water and labour will be best 

 economised, and the plants will have the 

 full benefit of the operation. 



Sow Broad Beans in double rows, the 

 two lines forming the double rows may 

 be 4 inches apart and the seed 2 inches 

 deep. About 2 feet should be allowed 

 between the double rowb. In preparing 

 the ground plenty of well - decayed 

 manure should be dug in between the 



st and Seedsman. ^ 



first and second spit, and a little lime or 

 wood ash afterwards raked in near the 

 surface. The lime should not be mixed 

 with the manure. 



The pinching out of the tops as soon as 

 there's a fair show of blossom is a good 

 plan. If the plants become infested with 

 fly, syringe with lime water. 



The main crop of Celery should be 

 planted out this month. Celery must 

 have rich soil, abundant moisture, and 

 must be blanched to make it fit for the 

 table. The ground should be laid out in 

 trenches one foot deep, which should be 

 filled up with well decayed stable manure, 

 and good soil thoroughly mixed in equal 

 proportions. The overplus of soil should 

 be retained on each side for the purpose 

 of earthing up when the proper time 

 arrives for blanching. The trenches 

 should be about 18 inches wide, and four 

 feet apart from centre to centre. 



The planting should be done in suit- 

 able weather, each plant being carefully 

 lifted with a trowel and planted along the 

 centre of the trench 6 to 9 inches apart, 

 applying water as planting proceeds so 

 that there may be no check. If dry 

 weather ensues, water must be freely 

 given, but there must be no earthing up 

 till the plants have nearly made their full 

 growth, for the earthing pretty well stops 

 the growth, and is but a finishing process, 

 requiring several weeks to bring the crop 

 to perfection. 



The winter crop of potatoes should be 

 planted now without delay ; also a last 

 sowing of dwarf Beans if required. 



