January, 1909.] 



75 



Miscellaneous- 



trench, about six inches deep across it 

 and place the cuttings inclined against 

 the steeper side four to five inches apart 

 about which sprinkle some sand, rivet- 

 sand for preference ; fill in with the soil 

 and press firmly around the cuttings. 

 Open the next line about seven inches 

 distant and proceed in the same manner, 

 finally passing the watering-can lightly 

 over the bed. Most rose growers prefer 

 pot culture, evidently with the object of 

 being able to move the plants from place 

 to place. But the bloom of pot plants 

 is not always so satisfactory as those 

 from plants grown in the ground. The 

 soil for pot plants should be made up of 

 river soil or alluvial loam, failing this, 

 loamy cabook material, and half manure. 

 If the manure is not old, earthworms 

 and white ants are generated ; and old 

 mannre will sometimes contain the 

 larvae of the Chafer Beetle — destructive 

 to rose trees by eating the root. The 

 best plan is to spread out the manure 

 and let the birds and chickens pick up the 

 grubs and sift it before using. Soil, too, 

 sometimes contains the eggs of earth- 

 worms and in that case it should be 

 incinerated. Burning the soil would 

 effect great improvemeut in the case of 

 clay soil, rendering it light and less 

 retentive of moisture. The addition of 

 leaf mould would greatly improve the 

 quality of the potting soil. It is obviously 

 necessary 



AFTER PLANTING CUTTINGS 



that they should be kept shaded and 

 the ground kept moist until they make 

 steady young growth. Cadjans or 

 bamboo tats would do very well for 

 shading ; and once the slips have estab- 

 lished a footing the sunshades should 

 be removed. The rose plants, like most 

 other, should be judiciously watered 

 and not swamped. In Nature vegetation 

 makes little progress during incessant 

 rains ; but as soon as the rain ceases and 

 the sun shines, the grass and weeds, and 

 cultivated crops spring up. In like 

 manner, if the soil round the rose plants 

 is kept continually damp and the sun 

 and air not allowed to circulate through 

 it, the plants are sure to be unhealthy.— 

 Hortus in the Ceylon Independent 



THE ROTATION OF CROPS. 



This is one of the oldest phases of 

 good kitchen gardening, yet it is sate 

 to say that none is less perfectly under- 

 stood by the majority of cultivators. 

 The reasons for this failure on behalf of 

 cultivators to grasp the elements of the 

 rotation of crops need not be sought for 

 in vain, the chief one being that hard- 

 and-fast rules cannot be laid down 



concerning what particular crop shall 

 succeed an existing one, and also that in 

 many cases the grower has only a partial 

 control over circumstances, and con- 

 sequently is obliged to do the best he can 

 with the soil at his command. 



At the outset it may be as well to 

 briefly consider the principles which 

 underlie the rotation of crops. The 

 chief object with most cultivators in 

 changing crops is to get the best possible 

 results from the soil, the idea being 

 that different classes of plants require 

 different kinds of food for their upbuild- 

 ing ; and there is, no doubt, a lot of 

 wisdom in such a course, Another point, 

 however, which is frequently overlooked, 

 but which is equally or even more 

 important, is the fact that certain 

 diseases and pests attack certain plants 

 only, and therefore by keeping these 

 plants off the ground for two or three 

 years a disease may be eradicated. Club- 

 root of the Cabbage family is a disease 

 which may be mentioned as an example. 



As previously stated, a cultivator 

 frequently has to do the best he can 

 under existing circumstances, and often 

 these are such as to render it imperative 

 to overlap crops which would be much 

 better if given entirely fresh ground. 

 There are, however, many gardens 

 wherein it is possible to give the various 

 plots a change of crop each season, and 

 wherever such a course is possible every 

 effort should be made to adopt it. 



As the question is naturally a very 

 complicated one, only general indications 

 and hints as to carrying out the work 

 can be given ; but these, coupled with 

 intelligent application, will, I hope, 

 prove of some use to amateurs and 

 others who have only given the matter 

 a passing thought. Taking the Cabbage 

 family first, it has been proved that all 

 the members thereof requite practically 

 the same kinds of food, and in addition, 

 as previously stated, all are subject to 

 attacks of club-root and other diseases 

 and pests which do not attack some 

 other classes of plants ; hence it would 

 be unwise to let a crop of Cauliflowers, 

 for example, to be followed by spring 

 gabbages, as the former will, to a great 

 extent, have exhausted the soil of those 

 particular foods needed by the Cabbages, 

 and any disease which might have been 

 present on the first crop would almost 

 certainly make a host of the second. In 

 practice it is found to be a good plan to 

 let deep rooting crops, such as Parsnips, 

 Carrots or Beetroots, follow any of the 

 Cabbage family. 



Potatoes, again, are another crop which 

 ought not to occupy the same ground 

 two years running, as they are veritable 

 gluttons 30 tar as potassic manures are 



