January, 1912.] 



71 



Correspondence. 



poultry manure must be rich in that 

 element, and so it is. In tact, it is well- 

 known to practical poultrymen that hen 

 manure is a very high-grade fertiliser, 

 provided it has been properly preserved. 

 There is, however, no farm manure that 

 decomposes more rapidly than does hen 

 manure, and when it decomposes it 

 losses nitrogen very rapidly. In fact, it 

 is the rule rather than the exception, 

 that hen manure loses fully 75 per cent, 

 of its fertilising value before it is put 

 on the soil. The percentage of nitrogen 

 in hen manure has been found to vary 

 from 7 to 3 per cent., the phosphoric 

 acid from 5 to 2 per cent. Where a flock 

 of a hundred or more hens is kept a 

 large amount of valuable manure is pro- 

 duced, and it is important to care for this 

 manure in such a manner as to reduce 

 the loss of fertilising constituents to a 

 minimum. A number of substances, 

 which, if mixed with hen manure, are 

 capable of preserving it for a consider- 

 able period of time. Acid phosphate 

 and kainit serve a useful purpose in this 

 connection, An American station re- 

 commends the following : — Mix with 

 30 lb. of hen manure 10 lb. of sawdust, 



16 1b, of acid phosphate, and 8 lb. of 

 kainit. Mixed in this manner the 

 manure retains its full value ftom six to 

 eight months, and when compounded 

 according to this formula contains 

 approximately the following percentage 

 composition : — Nitrogen 1|, phosphoric 

 acid 4|, and potash 2 per cent. A ferti- 

 lizer of that kind, if applied at the rate 

 of 2 tons per acre, would be a most 

 excellent one for grass lands or for 

 other agricultural crops. It would also 

 be very valuable for use in gardening, 

 where it is desirable to maintain the 

 soil in a high state of fertility. Land 

 plaster, cr calcium sulphate, as it is 

 called, is another substance which keeps 

 hen manure from decomposing and from 

 liberating its nitrogen. Parts of the 

 laud plaster combine chemically with 

 the ammonia that escapes from decom- 

 posing hen manure and forms a non- 

 volatile sub*t."ince called ammonia sul- 

 phate. This, when applied to the soil, 

 becomes available and capable of serving 

 as plant food. The phosphoric acid and 

 potash, of course, is not lost during the 

 fermentation process. These substances 

 are only lost through leaching. 



Correspondence. 



THE GRAPE FRUIT FOR CEYLON. 



Maligatenne, 

 Kandy, 15th January, 1912. 

 Sir,— Your correspondent "A Lover of 

 Grape Fruit " in the December number 

 will be pl'eased to learn that I have 

 succeeded in growing two plants of this 

 species (received through the Secretary 

 of the Ceylon Agricultural Society) on 

 this property,, at an elevation of about 

 1,800 feet, on gravelly soil, on which the 

 different varieties of citrus are success- 

 fully grown. The two plants planted on 

 24th June, 1908, are now 6 feet high, and 

 any suggestions as to accelerating their 

 growth would be thankfully received ; 

 in the meantime it would be interest- 

 ing to know how far others who received 

 plants at the same time succeeded in 

 growing them. 



Yours faithfully, 

 K. BANDARA-BEDDEWELA. 



SEED FROM YOUNG AND OLD 

 TREES. 



Akramboda Group, Mahawella, R.O., 

 Matale, 11th January, 1912. 

 Dear Sir,— Will you kindly give me 

 your opinion on the following point ? Is 



the seed of a yonug two-year old Manihot 

 Glaziovii tree likely to reproduce an in- 

 terior tree ; and, if so, why ? Thanking 

 you in anticipation. 



Yours, etc., 



W. L. R. BARTRUM. 



[We know of no scientific reason why 

 seed from young trees should give rise 

 to progeny inferior to those from old 

 trees, and no conclusive experiments 

 have been made upon the subject. There 

 is, however, a widespread popular belief 

 to this effect, and as such belief very 

 commonly rests upon a basis of fact, we 

 should ourselves use seed from old trees 

 in preference to that from young ones, if 

 both were equally available. 



A much more important point is the 

 individual vigour and yielding capacity 

 of the parent tree. Seeds selected from 

 trees which give a high yield will 

 almost certainly reproduce the same 

 trait in their offspring at least to some 

 extent, and this is in itself an excellent 

 reason for rejecting the seed of very 

 young trees. — Ed. J 



