COMMONPLACE NOTES. 



857 



Any accurate observations on the effects of grafting any plants would 

 be very acceptable. For example, a Fellow tells us that in India " the 

 Gardenia is grafted on the stock of a common white Camellia," and that 

 the result is " white flowers like small single Camellias, but very sweet- 

 scented." This we quite expect is an inaccurate observation, and pro- 

 bably the flowers are those of the wild single Gardenia, and have nothing 

 whatever to do with the Camellia. But even in this we would not be 

 dogmatic. Let someone try whether Gardenia will graft on Camellia, 

 and vice versa, and if it will, observe the flowers. There is nothing like 

 actual experiment. 



Pony's Lawn Shoes. 



" What are the best kind of shoes to prevent a big pony from marking 

 the lawn when mowing?" There are various sorts of " Horse Boots " 

 sold, and most of them are fairly efficient, though some are very clumsy 

 in appearance. We have seen a new one, which looks very neat ; it is 

 called " The Pattisson Lawn Boot." The actual sole is made of leather 

 and india-rubber, and on this is fastened a strong steel plate with a toe- 

 cap in front, and a clip and screw behind, w^hich attaches it to the horse's 

 shoe. It has no upper leathers or straps of any sort, and thus leaves the 

 hoof in a perfectly natural condition. The Field speaks very highly of it, 

 and recommends it for lawns, golf links, and cricket grounds, but we have 

 had no actual experience of it ourselves. 



Compensative Manuring. 



There is an idea abroad, and no doubt it contains a modicum of truth, 

 that the best possible manure for any crop consists of chemical con- 

 stituents exactly equivalent to the chemical constituents of the crop ; in 

 other words, that the land requires to be compensated by an application 

 of exactly those constituents which are found in the ripened crop, and 

 which it is assumed the crop must have extracted from the soil. 



We are reminded forcibly of this by the following passage in a letter 

 from a Fellow : " There was a very enthusiastic gardener in the High- 

 lands who always manured his fruit trees wnth decayed fi-uit. I shoidd 

 have thought the mould and decay of the fruit would rather have been 

 injurious." So we should also think. 



But the argument overlooks three points. First, that of some of the 

 constituents required for healthy growth there is a practically inex- 

 haustible quantity in the soil, so that there is no need to put that back 

 whatever it may be. Secondly, the air and light are always acting on the 

 soil all through the year, and are themselves producing chemical changes 

 which to some extent at least replace any loss from root action. And 

 thirdly, this argument overlooks the fact that all plants take in a large 

 amount of their solid constituents through the medium of their leaves^ 

 which have the power of extracting it from the air, and therefore the soil 

 has no need to be compensated with this material. 



Certain chemical substances are known to be favourable to the pro- 

 duction of certain crops. It is far better to use them than to adopt the 

 theoretical idea of compensating the soil by returning to it the exact 

 equivalent of the constituents found in the last crop. 



