726 



THE GARDENERS' MAGAZINE. 



September 21^ I912. 



PLANTS IN RELATION TO 



SOILS- 



It has often occurred to me that one of 

 the best object-lessons gardeners and all 

 tiiose engaged in the cultivation of plants 

 could have of the rt^quirements of the dif- 

 ferent forms of vesetable life would be 



of research, sonu 



obtained in the course of Aisits to 

 h>calities of varying geological forma- 

 tions and geographical and atmospheric 

 conditions. By this means the kind 

 of soil to secure a healthy^ vigoroius 

 growth iu certain subjects would be mani- 

 lest, and the sickly appearance of the same 

 species of plants undtM- <:ultivation in an- 

 other composition accounted for. To reap 

 the full benefit of excursions <jF an educa- 

 tional] nature of this kind, it is n<K*(^ssary 

 that those participating in it should |X)s- 

 «ess a kn()wle(l<r(* of our native plants in a 

 mon^ or Irss <l<'<;r(M', and be able to make 

 their own dc<lu<'tions from what came un- 

 der their notice. 



If botanical societies would add geologi- 

 cal and geographical to their names, and 

 combine the three scicMU-es in their outings 



re i! hfiirfit would bt^ 

 more likely to roul t irom their usu;i I 

 annual ex<'Ursi(ir\s. ruih'r such conditions, 

 the members woidd know that, it they 

 found one of the biitterworts growing in a 

 peat bog it would not grow in lime, or on 

 a dry rockery. Practical te^whing on the^e 

 lines is likelv to lead to the avoidanc(^ of 

 many failures among souu' of our i-<nn~ 

 monest gar<lcn floucM's, and ai'oust' a Utn -bM* 

 thirst for sar<'r guidi's to the su<<ossrui 

 cultivation of favourite plants. 



The daffodil is familiar to almost every- 

 one, and yet how few, judging by results, 

 know its gtM»logi<'al requirements, or can 

 giv)^ anv rrisiui for some viirieties giving 

 way to \v*sikn<^ss and diseas(*. Tpwards of 

 twenty v«'ars aifo I found about thrtM* a<'res 

 of daffodils in a wild sl;it*^ in roiiust In^alth, 

 growing on a iinu^-tonc foriuii t ion^ and 

 was able to profit by the w riidvle in 

 after years. Since tluui I have not had any 

 sickly plants, as I hav<^ -alwaVvS ])rovided an 

 ample supply of this mineral plant food 

 within the reach of the roots. Violets, 

 also, are lime-loving, and, although they 

 will exist on soils defii ient in this impor- 

 tant constituent of fertile mediums, vet 

 strong, free-flowering plants are only found 

 on ground where an ample supply of lime 

 is available. Tlie doir-violet will betrav a 



if ^ 



limestone soil in spring by <-ar[ieting the 

 surface with its ]):ile bhu^ flow(Ms. 



These facts go to show tb:U \'or all lime- 

 loving plants an abundant supply of limt* 

 is indispensable to their healtb and it> ab- 

 sence, or scarcity, is Ixnmd to ciipple tbeii- 

 vitalitv, and footer \veak!U^-^s ;iml di>ea^c. 



Then, again, tluM'e art^ platits thai: bare 

 a deci<l<Hl av<'rsion to an exeess of lime in 

 soils, and who->e i^evcnce will iiulicate its 

 absence, or preseru-e oidy in infinitely small 

 quantities. Heaths, and all peat-loving 

 plants, dislike lime, and attempts to grow 

 them on a formation containing a higli 

 percentage of it cannot fail to lead to di.s- 

 appointment. Som--^ other plants have a 

 preference for potash. Khubarb is a spe- 

 cially gross fee<ler of potash compounds. 

 Holly luxuriates where it is in abundance : 

 the herbaceous plant, Heuchera sanguinea. 

 blooms profusely on potash soils, and the 

 colours of all flowers art^ most de'i<lerl 

 where this mineral ingnMlient is a distin- 

 guishing part. Weak growth, feeble efrr>rts 

 in flowering, and wa>liefl-out colours in the 

 blo(mis are sure indications of an insuffi- 

 eieney of potash in the ^(>il for potash- 

 lovmjT plants. 



Besides tht^o factors in plant irrowth, 

 which may be taken as a gui<le to tlu^ com- 

 position of soils, there is another of equal 



importance where the aim is the production 

 of fruit, viz., phosphates. All soils in 

 which phosphates are plentiful and avail- 

 able to plant life will help fruit-^bearing 

 plants in the formation and maturation of 

 their fruits. Well-developed heads of 

 grasses and large sound seeds of weeds may 

 be taken as a criterion of an ample supply 

 of phosphates in the soil. Clover is very 

 partial to phosphates, and will only luxu- 

 riate in compositions abundantly provided 

 with these valuable constituents of a fruit- 

 producing soil. The absence of phosphates 

 is manifested by the mere existence of clovt r, 

 small seeds of the natural herbage, and a 

 softness in the growths of plants. In such 

 a condition, plants are not equal to resist- 

 ing severe strains ci an adverse climate, or 

 the attacks of fungoid and other diseases, 

 and, sooner or later, have to yield the 

 ground they occupy to vegetation suitable 



to the soil. 



It is by noting the relations of plant 

 life to soils that much is learned as to the 

 special needs of certain plants, and this 

 can only be done by covering a wide area 

 <'ontaining variety in geological forma- 

 tions, knowing their composition, and 

 closely observing the vegetation upon them. 

 Anne<l with information obtained in this 

 manner, the plant cultivator will be in a 

 position to make ibis own deductions re- 

 garding the subjects he wishes to grow, 

 and, at the same time, avoid the pitfalls 



eaten as a salad or boiled, in soups, espe- 

 cially in Germany, where the celebrated 

 sour krout is a common dish. Chervil is 

 more often than not found in the garden as 

 a pot-herb. Alexanders, cultivated for the 

 ointment for which it was famous, is still 

 to be found in a few old haunts. Sweet 

 marjoram, aromatic as it is, is more fre- 

 quently cultivated than some others. Goose- 

 toot and mercury are nearly always to be 

 foimd on cultivated ground. The latter 

 is an excellent spinach, but is not so often 

 cultivated as it used to be. Star of Beth- 

 lehem is to be found here and there in the 

 garden, kept for its bulbs, which are verv 

 nutritious when boiled. Spiked ornitho- 

 galum is also eaten as asparagus in some 

 localities in the South of England, where 

 it grows wild. In the same way Solomon's 

 seal owes its presence in our gardens to the 

 fact that the root is eaten dried and 

 ground. The roots of sea holly were can- 

 died more frequently in Shakespeare's day, 

 w^hen thev were known 



they 

 comfits." 



as kissing 



in the path of the uninitiated. 



HiBEENIA. 



POT'HERBS IN THE GARDEN. 



We can obtain some idea of the fragrance 

 of the old gardens of our ancestors where 

 pot-herh.s and salads ran riot amid the wild 

 beauty of the old-fashioned' flowers that 

 have now disappeared, from the contents 



Formerly much employed as a drug, fen- 

 nel, which is used as a condiment with fish, 

 is often grown in the garden as a valued 

 herb, and so also w^as smallage, little used 

 now. Clary was nearly ahvays to be found 

 in the garden till recently as an eye-salve. 

 In the same way house-leek may almost he 

 regarded as a pot-herb, being used for oint- 

 ments, and commonly cultivated all over 

 the kingdom in its own particular habitat, 

 a thatched roof. There are also many coun- 

 try gardens where balm and hyssop are to 

 he found at the present day, where they 

 are used as herbal remedies. 



Burnet^ so useful as a spice in wines, 

 tansy used in cakes, and ox-tongue, were 

 often used, and still linger here and there. 

 Borage is still used for cooling tankards, 

 and the way in which it lingers aronnd the 

 house and garden in the case of old proper- 



«f the old herhals or books on plants writ- ^.^^ ^^^^^^ l^^^ prevalent it was formerly, 

 ton by Gerarde and others in the sixteenth j,^^ ^^^^^ ^. P^^^^ ^f^^^ 

 century and onAvard. But, like the liowers ® 

 of the long borders, tall, stately, and de- 

 licious in sc'cnt and colours, where are the 

 herlis of a centxuy ago^ with their delight- 

 ful aroma? The answer is obvious— the 

 old order changeth, giving place to the 



new. 



' And there are probably few or no 

 gardens where we should find a complete 

 sfM-ies of the herbs of the gardens of the 

 eighteenth century. Moreover, it W'as not 

 until the sixteenth and seventeenth cen- 

 turies that we really had in our garden 

 those staple vegetables which now form so 

 important a part of the modern outdoor 

 establishment. The parsnip was 

 duced, for instance, in 1548, the potato 

 after the discovery of the new world, and 

 so on. Even in the seventeenth century 

 (;ibl>age, caulillower, turnip, carrot, pars- 

 ui]), pens, and ra])e were rarely cultivate<l, 

 ariil largely brought over from the Conti- 

 nent, living to hand amongst our wild 

 plants, moreover, are the wild < al>bii^(\ car- 

 rot, parsnip, celery, seakale. and aspara- 

 gus, amongst others, whieh luive been in- 

 troducefl into use here by foreigners as a 

 rule. 



In the absence of such well-adapted 

 plants for vegetable use, others have oeen 

 used as pot-herbs. Probably the majority 

 of folk would connect this term with but 

 three or four common plants mint, sage, 

 thyme, and parsley. But, though not in 

 gen(U'al usage to-day, there are a few others 

 of fairly fn^quent use here, and still better 

 km)wn on th<' Continent Avhere gowl cook- 

 ing i> a sine qua non with the gourmand 

 nm\ the epicure. Thus one may find the 



hniyes of pilewort eaten in some parts as a 

 relish. 



In .addition to the universal parsley, 

 mint, etc., we find the sweet-scented cicely 



detected in the shrubbery, where it is quite 

 a straggler from the garden, and it niay 

 still be found in some old-fashioned kitchon 

 gardens along wdth its close allies comfrev 

 and borage. Purslane may be used as a 

 pickle, too, here and there, wuth others 



of the same kind. 



Then many gardens, besides the ptu'^lj 

 domestic pot-herbs, one also furnished witli 

 others that are used as herbal remedies lor 

 different complaints, a practice which ^is 

 becoming the vogue again. Amongst thes« 



refer to horehound (white 



we 



black), which is very largely used to^ay 

 mtro- fQj. herb-beer. Of course, peppermint nuist 



not be overlooked. Dill water was once 

 much more freqxiently used than to-aa." 

 but it is still employed for the same pur- 

 pose. Caraway moreover, is purely ar - 

 ficially dispensed with as being an escap 

 from the garden, where it is yet grown I 

 flavouring, etc. Valerian, again, was once 

 commonly grown as a herb, but d 

 frequently. Mallow, rue, chamomile, an^ 

 the now rare elecampane, are all 0^^ 

 fashioned herbal remedies for various c( 

 plaints, used formerly in some abundan 

 but more rarely now in the garden aioir 

 with the true pot-herbs. 



Leicester Museum. B. R. HorWOOD- 



Phoenix Roebelini. — ^t^' ^^^^ 



where about twenty years since this K ' 

 dwarf-growing form of Phoenix was 1^.^^^ 

 duced into cultivation. For a long ^^^^^ 

 after that it remained a rare P^"^' -.j^^ 

 within the last decade or so large quani 

 of seed have been sent to this country, 

 result being that pretty little ^xampi^.^ 

 now be purchased at a cheap rate. 

 a small state by far the prettiest ei 



date palm family.— S. W. 



or 



