61 



question of weeding, air is one of the most necessary ingredients in the 

 soil, and the more air can be enclosed the quicker the manure w ill 

 disappear, and the more efficacious will be its action in a given time. 

 I have insisted upon this point and several others in many of my papers 

 contributed to " The Sugar Cane" magazine. 



Marl or sandy limestone spread over these stiff clays at various inter- 

 vals, as in the process which we call in England " top-dressing" will 

 be canied down into the soil during the rainy season, and greatly 

 improve its quality. Each application might be most advantageously 

 alternated by a similar application of urban cane manure ; for as the 

 roots of the cane rarely extend to more than a foot in depth, we may, 

 in many cases, trust to the rain to carry the fertilising ingredients 

 within their reach. 



It is evident that to grow the largest amount of sugar is the essential 

 part of our problem. For this we do not require stimulants and in- 

 complete manures, which will produce only a temporary gain of short 

 duration and leave the land in a worse condition than before, but a 

 careful application of those scientific principles which have been deduced 

 from direct experiment and observation. This alone can claim to rank 

 as true philosophy, and must serve as our guide in practice. 



In giving professional advice upon these subjects I have never failed 

 to bear this in view. Moreover, I have been anxious to prove an asser- 

 tion published many years ago, to the effect that Agricultural Chemistry, 

 in spite of the dogmatic and conflicting statements of some of its more 

 enthusiastic cultivators, is quite capable, when conscientiously applied 

 to any cultivated plant, of increasing to a very great extent the yield 

 of that plant upon soils which have suffered from long cultivation. 

 This is equally true whether the plant be cultivated for its saccharine 

 juice, its seed, its bark, its le-^f, or its fibre ; and as a soil, however rich, 

 must sooner or later lose its fertility by constant work, the most essen- 

 tial element in the problem is the discovery of the proper kind of 

 manure for the plant in question. 



If my efforts should hereafter be found to have realised this point for 

 the sugar-cane, I shall be amply repaid for the time I have devoted to 

 its study. 



CULTIVATION OF TOMATOES. 



By W. Cradwick, Superintendent of Hope Gardens. 



Sow in a well prepared bed, or in a box not less than four inches 

 deep. First dip the seeds in Kerosine to prevent ants carrying them 

 away ; do this without letting them soak in the Kerosine. Be careful 

 when sowing to put the seeds about half an inch apart ; and do not put 

 them more than about an eight of an inch below the surface of the soil, 

 if sown too deep they will rot germinate. Put them in a cool place, 

 but not under shade, and water lightly every day. 



When they are an inch and a half high, transplant to another bed 

 or box, or better still into five-inch clay pots, each plant in a separate 

 pot. Keep them well watered until they are 6 inches high, then plant 

 out in rows 2 feet apart, the plants to be 18 inches apart in the rows. 

 Put to each plant a stout stick 6 feet high, and keep the plant tied to 



