Horticulture. 



90 



exhaustion of the soil, naturally exhausted of its sulphates phosphates, lime and 

 potash. There are soils which will take a longtime to be exhausted, and will not 

 cease to yield a good return, but such soils are an exception, and the present garden 

 soil of Nuwara Eliya is too exhausted to give any return without careful preparation. 

 The science of the rotation of crops or " the science," as it has been defined,—" of the 

 ordering of a succession of crops in such a maimer that the crops will tax the soil 

 for mineral elements in a different manner," known to the horticultural world ages 

 ago," seems to have been sadly neglected by our market gardeners in Nuwara Eliya. 

 The science is based one may say on the trite maxim " nature abhors a waste," or 

 in other words is founded on the dogma of the economy of nature. 



Two principles underlie it, which, if rightly understood and kept in mind, 

 will appeal to any lay mind— (1) It must be remembered that each plant seeks 

 its own food and assimilates, from the ground through its roots, only such 

 chemicals and other food stuffs as are absolutely required for its welfare. 

 (2) On the other hand it sends out and disperses from its system what is 

 considered a8 waste matter to it. but which is food for and to some other 

 plant. Bearing this in mind one sees the necessity of changing the crops on 

 the same plot, so that when one crop has taxed the soil in one class of food- 

 stuffs a different crop takes its place which requires quite different foodstuffs. 



I shall not encumber you with technical details of the food stuffs suitable 

 to most of the garden vegetables. A text-book on the subject will supply any 

 one interested with the different requirements of our common garden vegetables, 

 and one will also find that with all that has been said and written un the rotation 

 of crops, there is yet a great deal to be learnt by individual experiments, 

 careful management, and observation,' and that each gardener must learn by 

 experience to treat his plot of ground in the best manner possible. But I do 

 not think it out of place to summarise a few practical hints for your guidance, 

 which, I hope, will be of use to some ol you. 



(1) A good rotation will include both chemical and mechanical differences, 

 and place tap roots in a course between surface loots, as for example, after cabbages 

 and cauliflower it will be found that a crop of carrots and parsnips will thrive 

 very well, simply because their roots go down into the soil that the cabbage 

 or cauliflower never reached, though potash, lime sulphates and phosphates are 

 as much needed for the cabbage as for carrots and parsnips. 



(2.) Plants of the same natural families should never immediately succeed 

 each other, e.g. cauliflower should never succeed cabbages or knolkhol, but should 

 follow crops of potato, peas and beans, 



(3.) Lastly, it is very important that a garden should be divided into plots 

 or blocks, and a systematic diary kept of the different crops planted with notes 

 regarding each, for this will enable each gardener to choose a lotation of crops 

 best suited to his land. 



The followiug has been considered by Messrs. Sutton and Company a 

 good cycle of crops for some of the common garden vegetables :— (1) Cabbages» 

 (2) Carrots and Beet, (3) Peas, (4) Celery. (5) Potatoes. 



Secondly, great care should be paid to the manuring of the soil. Large 

 quantities of cattle manure or what we may classify as a general manure are 

 used in the gardens in Nuwara Eliya, sometimes very indiscreetly. In the use 

 of cattle manure a great mistake is made in not collecting the fluid excrements 

 of the animal which con stitutes an important part of the manure. Great benefit 

 could also be done if our gardeners used special and corrective manures to meet 

 the particular conditions of their soil. Lime has been used successfully, as from 

 chemical experimeuts tried it has been found very suitable to the soil of Nuwara 



