Horticulture^ 



Eliya, which is particularly sour and acid in it-; condition at present Besides; 

 there are many artificial manures which recommend themselves and 4jfiVe been 

 tried with more or less success, such as basic slag, kaiuit and nitrate of potash. 

 Too much attention also cannot be paid to obtaining a proper humus — that is 

 to say, the black earthy substance resulting from the decay of vegetation in 

 the soil— as it contains several ingredients necessary to plant life which cannot 

 be obtained in any other way. This can always be obtained by burying the 

 garden refuse, taking care not to bury or turn in any deceased plants or weeds. 



It is also important to bear in mind the use of green manures, and the 

 planting of catch crops to serve this purpose ought to be experimented on. It 

 will always be found that cabbages planted between rows of peas or any other 

 leguminous plant thrive well, just as in the west of England it is customary 

 to plant celery and peas in alternate lines. This custom is evidently based on 

 the fact that plants belonging to the Natural Order Leguminosae have the power 

 of taking in various amounts of atmospheric nitrogen and building this up into 

 complex compounds in the plant, which pass into the soil thus increasing the 

 percentage of nitrogen in the soil ; and it will be very interesting to watch 

 experiments on different crops planted in between these " nitrogen collectors " as 

 they have been called. The famous green manure which is being used to some 

 extent among tea is the "Crotalaria striata" which ought to grow in Nuwara 

 Eliya, and some experiments may be made with the " Crotalaria Walkeri," an allied 

 species, which grows wild in Nuwara Eliya. 



Thirdly, it should be deemed essential if possible to let your land or even a 

 portion of your land lie fallow for some time. For this purpose the land should be 

 dug and trenched, and if necessary sown with some fallow crop suitable for the 

 purpose. It has been found by a well-known gardener in Nuwara Eliya that 

 cabbages thrive on land which has lain fallow for some time, and that this is 

 one of the most efficient methods of getting rid of Club-root. There is nothing that 

 promotes the fertility of the soil so much as affording the natural influences of 

 rain and sun full opportunity in liberating the constituents that are locked up in 

 it. If a block of land is left fallow during a south-west monsoon it ought to be 

 greatly benefitted and give a much better crop. But one difficulty offers itself 

 to our gardeners in Nuwara Eliya in this respect, and that is the want of space 

 to carry out anything like a proper system of rotation of crops or even of allow- 

 ing their land to lie fallow for a short time. The gardens in Nuwara Eliya except 

 a few, consist of a few roods, and it will not pay the cultivator to allow them to lie 

 fallow even for a short time. In this connection it may be mentioned that there 

 is suitable Government land which may be taken up by enterprising cultivators 

 should Government be ready to offer any encouragement to them. 



The last four or five years have also seen the growth of club root in cabbage, 

 cauliflowers and turnips, which has practically prevented the successful growth 

 of cabbages and cauliflower in the town where special care and other preventive 

 measures have not been taken. This disease has been known in Europe for over 

 a century, where it has various names besides club root, evidently given to it 

 from the clubbed or club-like appearance of the roots, such as "anbury," "botch," 

 " finger and toe," " hernia or rupture." 



A general lack of vigour in the plant showing itself by its parched yellow 

 drooping leaves and stunted growth, and subsequently the death of the plant 

 itself indicates the disease. On pulling the plant one generally finds that instead 

 of having a good well-developed main root with a good number of rootlets, we have 

 a swollen mass, which is either compact or broken up into numerous irregular 

 swellings of a whitish or dirty white appearance. These swellings sometimes attain 

 to the size of one's fist, becoming larger on the main root than on the side roots. 



