GARDENERS' MAGAZINE 



93 



i 



a A «>Iuble petroleum effective, and this may be procured ready for use at a 

 ii or raw petroleum is readily made soluble by mixing with soft soap ; in 



•*"?*Za 'races it may be necessary to paint the portion infected with the aiscusang . r ..„ m 101 ^ pot niants at a m^iin. n f ,1, 



SolSlTct d Led y Now is a good timS to give young fruit trees, such as Xj?^* "^""J Society, Mr. T. D. Hatfie id Garden Sild™ 



3 pears, a good mulch ; this is specially necessary with trees against Jjf ag«* about the proper soil for any crop. Few of us find ourseh es hSSl 



SfiTfi »5S keepfng the roots growing freely, as these trees, having no large ^^^^ ^ to deal with. Ou/soil may be heavy or JhMhe S 



^ts to depend upon, are much sooner affected by drought. J«Jt£ ^w and with every variation of exposure. We go from one placed 



Strawberries will now be showing colour where grown specially for early y certain t k • ° Ur , ne 'g hb °ur's success when we should consider 



supplies, and the value of young plants for the first crop will be seen in such a JJ™ . e " " ain ; J£ ave received plants with the soil so stiff that I have wondered 



,n as this, as these plants are much more forward than older ones. I advised "JtSTtoI? uUvth ° nce WCt ; and from another P Iace wh «e the soil 



ulching early in previous notes, and its value will now be seen, as the mulch- t „ m / f v\ aD< ? ut ttie same as our swamp mud. An acquaintance of mine 



mterial is well cleansed by rains, and will also protect the roots from drought Z^^lT"., ° ne , P la< * where he was gardener the only bit of potting soil he 



! L... ... :„ C/n»n!nn 5c fi«* «U ^ ^uM l find was ; turf from what had at some time been a salt marsh After it was 



a „Xl P f • aDd fr0St went throu g h ^ he f ound he could grow almost 



SSfffpSt: S n e U Em UP 10 ^ -T- Everyb ° d ^ fiDds a waf oTdeaTng- 



weluSXne £f2b "V C °T ative ' ot - We « " having 



i? „ Tr„c ♦ ? J£ S a good P 0110 ^' and one whi ch carries much weight with 

 it, and respect a so. There are methods which we continue, often because U is the 



1 , n d ?! n a han - d t0 hand sort of wa y i w « find out as we must and often 

 we are obhged to experiment for ourselves, for the best practice of one does no? 



rn W nTtV. SU,t M the * ° f ? e ° ther - The g ardeI ^ of iRSd Kto 



thank the old-country gardeners, and many of us our old country training though 

 U> gauge our practice to the altered conditions, and these are principall/of climate 



and often 100 particu,ar * but 1 is R *5S 



9 



Soils and Potti 



season 

 on m 



[ne material is well cleansed by rains, and will also protect the roots from drought 



- Royal Sovereign is again our earliest fruit, and earlier than 

 \obie or Laxton's Earliest ; it is certainly our most useful variety, and does so 

 well in poor soils. On the other hand all kinds are much later than usual, doubt- 

 less owing to the cold nights and want of sun, but the crop is a heavy one. For 

 a few early dishes in the open it will well repay growers to cover a few of the 

 forward plants with spare sashes, as by so doing the crop will be hastened and the 

 season prolonged. This advice may be more useful in the colder parts of the 

 country, but even here we find the larger fruiting kinds well repay for the cover 

 given. With an abundance of bloom it will be well to lift the trusses into better 

 positions to ripen, as they are much weighted down by heavy rains and will benefit 

 by exposure. There must be no delay in netting the earliest fruiters, and this is 

 often done by laying the nets directly over the leaves, but it is not the best plan, 

 as the larger birds settle on the nets and have the best fruit ; it is much better to 

 support the nets with a few rods or sticks ; indeed, if they can be suspended so 

 that the fruits can be gathered without moving the nets it is a great gain in everv 



Wythes, Syon Gardens. 



USEFU 



OF CR 



Plants 



The plants constituting the cruciferae order are mostly herbaceous in character 

 and particularly abundant in lhe temperate parts of the northern hemisphere! 

 Though they mostly possess pungent or biting properties, none are poisonous, but 

 on the contrary, are eminently wholesome and antiscorbutic. The following best 

 known examples of the order will illustrate this: Horse radish (Coc&ana 

 armoracia) a perennial herb naturalised in this country, occurring in damp, waste 

 places, and found throughout the greater part of Europe. Under culti&tfon it 

 forms a thick somewhat fleshy root, and is much valued as a condimen 

 Mustard.is another condiment of equal or greater value, and is the finely pulveS 

 seeds of two species of Brassica-B. alba the white, and B. ntJa the black 



medicina atrent on armnnt r»f ^ r i J , purposes, it is an important 



tea ksh 3 i t * £5£2££r 



all the varieties <5S £1^1,^ to R in this P ,ant ' 8 ivin S u * 



even the red cabbage ^hi^™! , ^A-?J U,,M l" Sp . nmts > cauliflower, and 

 of the common wi 



ns ^SSSS&S^lf Rapa) bt0 the flX'obZ 

 •ame species : anH th. ^1 . tu . rm P, has s P run g from another variety of the 



on the Continent for th ^ Lke of its seid?^ ^ - US M a S reen fodder ' ™* 

 oil, has originated from sHll *' . fr ° m ^ hlch 15 expressed rape or colza 



f 1 anothefof the eTculen " c^ctSuTroofs It 3*? ^ is 



state, but it has been sueeested ! that^! m ! ?' pl&n } 15 unknown "s wild 



the Mediterranean coast g8 In the earlv ^ * ? T S an allied s P ecies of 

 and found its wav into Fn<rJ a u i. was . extensiv ely cultivated in Egypt 



Pe«d ^i™^™^^^^;^^^ of sixteenth cenfufy! 



At that early period £ culture seems to' t™'^ Pr ° dUC , ed ^ Is ** 

 foned above, £ well as for oyeinTcTotns Z ^ g T t&l f ° r the P ur P ose 

 t^on of mdigo se riousIy interfered w S th, ?, ater the general in troduc- 

 manufactured in some parb o tb?Cn3 T-.° f WOad 5 ^ thou gh it is still 

 ast dying out, and at ^ the present ti m^ f P re P arati on in this country is 



^bech, and there it 1^11^^ h?^^ ° D • n,y - in the neighbourhood of 

 Mckso.n, i n AWw" T made ln the most P"mitive fashion —\f B t p 



Take the old books, and we shall read : " One-tbird of turfy loam, one-third of 



fif L with n i a J hl H d , 2 T d J ° r U my be f ° Urths > indudin ^ ^ 1 or 

 Lk vSL J^ I bUt measuring is tedious work, and too slow to 



• for X „ ?f ; 50 the tendenc y is toward sim P Ier methods. As a matter of 



fn^5. , arC bUt few mUClUreS ° f S0il in use t0 ' da y- Le af soil, one of the best 

 ingredients m any compost, is seldom used in any except private gardens Many 



t g ute a D nT manage t0 gCt aI ° D K g With ° T Ut k Wel1 rotted S fs a good s3 

 tute, and in some cases is better. It is necessary, however, owing to the pre- 



vaihng slipshod methods, that the soil should be light for potted plants The 

 n an with a hose can over- water with safety when the weather is hot, and the 

 plants soon dry out, and when it is cold artificial heat has the same effect But 

 you cannot persuade the old-time gardeners to use the hose, though they may see 

 that it really makes little difference, if ordinary care is used. Many Jffif 5 

 down as requiring heavy soil may be grown as well in a light soil. Wherever the 

 rose grower is located he finds means of meeting the natural wants of his plants 

 tie may add clay, but will not if he finds he can succeed without it, and he is 

 almost sure to do so. 



Take azaleas. It used to be, and is yet in some places, considered necessary 

 to import English peat m order to be successful with them. Ninety per cent, of 

 these beautiful hard-wooded plants are still grown in peaty soil in England. 

 WKning succeeds like success there as well as here, even though it be arbitration ' 

 It an English gardener grows good azaleas in peaty soil he is not likely to change 

 his practice. Ocular demonstration cannot be overcome, and if we will not be 

 convinced by any other argument we must be by this. For instance, take a look 

 at the azaleas grown by Mr. Charles Sanders, gardener for Professor C. S 

 bargent, of Brookhne, and you will see that azaleas can be grown in soil almost 

 wholly lacking peat. 



This brings us to another part of the subject. The successful cultivator of 

 plants finds there are other considerations almost as important as the soil and its 

 consistency. I have tried all kinds of soil for gloxinias, consulting this and that 

 formula. I potted them in light soil, heavy soil, rich and poor, all to little advan- 



With these handsome tuberous-rooted plants much depends on caring for 



tag 



ACKS0N » in Knowledge. 



primitive fashion.— Mr. J. R. 



Root Dryness of Tre*»« xt^A- 



^ was irresistibly carried bacTmnrP ?^ y T Ieader on this object my 



listed on the northern s'de of ft , ^ ha J f a centur y sil *e, when there 

 J presented a singularVaUract^ en7 ° f f^f^P^ a noble avenue of dms 



vations being cut also for 



no 



/ UOWQ of c ~ ^-f ^»t*i^ 



" k » and gradually to die^^Th^" " ^~ th i n th * "ees began^ sneTtheh 



ie avenues of trees h» w *Z^A ^J™^ in r . ls J ust the sort of 



ction. On 



on pasture, 



s own food. 



whe r ° e T hand W we „ old SS Tj"*? thw ^ h to their ^ 

 Jhere they not on l y re cei L 21 3 . continue to g^w and flourish 



P-visioVSr P LT^: but . a,S ° P^ty tflbS 



w j _ ^ "««v,** \a\,^j\.h\xo uu wmmr iui 



the tubers during what is called the resting season, though they are never 

 absolutely at rest and we made a mistake when we enforce it by removing the 

 tubers from the soil in which they had been growing and storing them in dry sand, 

 as is frequently the practice. They should never become thoroughly dry, for 

 living roots will at all times be found, and these require some nourishment, 'it is 

 important that we should start with sound, healthy roots, start them slowly by 

 withholding water until some leaf growth is made, and at all times keep them near 

 the light, though not in direct sunlight. If we attend to these essential conditions 

 we shall find that gloxinias succeed in almost any soil. Peat soil may be 

 necessary for some ferns, but almost all of them will thrive as well in good loam 

 and leaf soil. 



It may surprise you to know that I have but one compost heap, and that is 

 seldom as good as I should like to have it. Good turfy loam is not as plentiful as 

 I could wish, and though it is really the best, some of us have found out how to 

 get along without it. The old country carnation growers are extremely 

 careful when mixing their potting soil— a barrow full of this and that 

 and so much brick rubbish and charcoal ; but the American grower prepares his 

 in the field without a foot of turf ; he must, and so he does. He has several 

 methods, and perhaps the best and most common-sense one is to cultivate the area 

 for stripping, growing thereon a crop of clover with no object beyond turning the 

 best of what is put into the soil as manure into plant food of the kind which the 

 carnation most needs. The American grower raises more and better carnations 

 than his English compeer. He has, it is true, many advantages not possessed by 

 the Briton. He has better light during the winter time, he has made a speciality 

 of the work, and more than all, he has originated a new type of carnations. 

 What I have said about carnation growing only goes to show that the importance 

 of a prescribed composition of the soil is over-estimated. 



When I first set out to pile up potting soil I scratched hard for turf. I landed 

 in New Jersey, and those who have lived in the manufacturing districts about New 

 York know how scarce a bit of turf is. I was bound to have it, and so made up 

 a pile of witch grass dug from the road-side. ^ It was not very bad, for witch 

 grass does not grow in poor soil. I was delighted, ho a ever, when I came to 

 Massachusetts, and the possibilities of a rare compost heap grew in my imagina- 

 tion; but I soon learned that turf here was not as free as water by any means. It 

 is an old saying that "one never knows the worth of a thing until he wants to 

 buy ft." I was not to be baffled, however, and in less than a year I had half a 

 dozen piles. I scoured the hollows in the woods for decayed leaf soil, and well 

 remember coming across an old-time charcoal burner's camping ground in a 

 clearing, well covered with turf. I thought I had now found just the right kind 

 of soil for everything ; but it proved to be the deadest stuff I ever used. Like a 

 fancy dish it was no good without a dressing— a dressing of manure in this case. 

 I made up my mind to keep my find a secret, and did until another was 

 disappointed in the same way, and then, remembering that "misery loves 

 company," I told how I had been deceived. 



( To be continued. ) 



