December 31, 1898. 



GARDENERS' MAGAZINE. 



871 



the winter, put on the phosophates at the same time, and the nitrate of soda either 

 in February or March. By those methods they also managed to get an earlier 

 crop. In the first six days of picking they gathered 19K cwt. on the plot heavily 

 dressed with dung ; i8# cwt. on the lightly dressed plot ; but 1 ton $y 2 cwt. on 

 the chemical plot. It was an all-important feature, too, that they had been able 

 to put the strawberries on the market earlier than usual. They had also tested 

 their keeping qualities for four years, and found that where the plots were heavily 

 dunged the fruit kept very badly, and was as a rule too soft for marketing purposes. 

 But where they had been manured lightly with dung and chemicals the straw- 

 berries were comparatively fresh at the end of three days. There was a great 

 difference in the condition of the strawberries where lightly manured, and they 

 could rely upon being able to send them to market fresh without becoming soft 

 and wet. 



Brussels Sprouts (four years' average).— F plot, 282 sieves ; E plot, 257 



sieves, D plot, 321 sieves ; C plot, 305 sieves ; C plot (plus salt), 267 sieves. 

 With such a valuable crop as this, said Mr. Shrivell, it was interesting to show 

 the relative value of the produce and the cost of manuring, which worked out as 

 follows : — 



Plot. 

 E 

 F 

 C 



• t • 



• • « 



• • • 



• • ■ 



• t » 



* • t 



■ • ■ 



C (plus salt) 



• * t 



Sieves. 



257 

 282 



305 

 267 



• • t 



Cost of Manure. 



£5 

 10 



• • • 



• 1 1 



o 

 o 



3 2 

 2 17 



o 

 o 

 o 

 o 



Produce at is. 6d. 

 per Sieve. 



£19 



« • • 



• • • 



5 o 



21 3 o 



22 17 o 

 20 o o 



Thus there was an actual saving in cost of manure as against heavy dung of 

 over £6 per acre f and an increased yield of sprouts equivalent to over £2 per 

 acre, making a saving of .£8 or £9 per acre. In the case of celery and onions they 

 could not do without dung, but [it would be seen that in the case of Brussels 

 sprouts they could do without dung. The average he had given was of four 

 particularly dry years, and this year again, though even more dry, the crop looked 

 remarkably well. 



Cauliflowers (four years' average). — F plot, 15 tons 2 cwt. ; E plot, 

 12 tons 8 cwt. ; D plot, 15 tons 9 cwt. ; C plot, 14 tons 8 cwt. This crop, 

 again, furnished a convincing proof of the value of chemicals for all the cabbage 

 tribe, as the chemical plot, which had never had any dung, had produced two 

 tons more cauliflowers than the plot which had had 25 loads of dung per year for 

 five years ; while the chemicals only cost £3 per acre per year, and the dung ^5. 

 The effect of chemicals on the crop not only increased the yield, but added flavour 

 and gave tenderness, which was a most important thing in such vegetables. 



Broccoli (three years' average). — Average weight F plot, 2 lb. 3 oz. ; E plot, 



1 lb. 14 oz. ; A plot, 2 lb. 4 oz. ; B plot, 2 lb. 8 oz. ; D plot, 2 lb. 9 cz, ; C plot, 



2 lb. 7 oz. Fourth year, 1898 : Average weight F plot, 2 lb. 8 cz. ; E plot, 

 2 lb. 4 oz. ; A plot, 2 lb. 6 oz. ; B plot, 2 lb. 12 oz. ; D plot, 3 lb. 6 oz. ; C plot, 

 2 lb. 12 oz. Although during the four years the dung had cost £40 and the 

 chemicals £i2 9 they had grown more produce by the aid of chemicals alone. Some 

 people had an idea that chemicals ran out and impoverished the ground, and that 

 dung simply remained in the soil and kept on adding goodness to it. He thought 

 the illustration which he had just given in reference to broccoli was conclusive that 

 by judicious use of chemicals the ground was really increased in value. 



Spring Cabbage (three years' average). — F plot, 15^ tons; E plot, 15^ 

 tons ; B plot, lj% tons ; D plot, 16^ tons ; C plot, 18% tons. Fourth year, 

 1898: F plot, 16 tons cwt - 5 E P lot > *3 tons 11 l A cwt.; B plot, 16 tons 

 14 cwt. ; D plot, 19 tons cwt - I C plot, 17 tons 6>£ cwt. Here, again, was 

 another marvellous result. With chemicals alone they had grown i8# tons per 

 acre for the last three years ; and in the fourth year the chemical plot had again 



beaten the heavily-dunged plot. 



Potatos. — To grow potatos there must be some dung in the ground, and in 

 particularly dry years it assisted materially to keep the ground moist. With hardly 

 any rain at all the past season had been a very trying one for potatos, but still, 

 those grown on the experimental plots were very fine and healthy. The following 

 was the average yield during the last four years : Early variety— F plot, 123 sacks ; 

 E plot, ic6 sacks ; B plot, 113 sacks ; C plot, 89 sacks. Main crop— F plot, 134 

 sacks ; E plot, no sacks ; B plot, 127 sacks ; C plot, 103 sacks. 



Autumn Cabbage (three years' average).— F plot, 26 tons ; E plot,23# tons; 

 A plot, 29 tons ; B plot, 28^ tons ; D plot, 29^ tons ; C plot, 27^ tons. The 

 following table furnishes the increase in yield during those three years : Due to 

 25 loads of dung, F, 2% tons ; chemicals, A, $ l / 2 tons ; chemicals, B, 4^ tons ; 

 chemicals, D, 6% tons ; chemicals (without dung), C, 4 tons 



Spinach.— The following figures show that chemicals added to 25 loads of 

 dung per acre would produce a much bigger crop at a very much cheaper cost : F 

 plot, 18 tons ; E plot, 16 tons ; A plot, i8# tons ; D plot, 22^ tons. 



Carrots.— This year the carrot crop had been a failure. Right through the 

 plots the carrots had been eaten up by flea, and after seeding the ground three 

 times they gave it up in disgust. The following was the average crop for the last 

 four years : E plot, 16 tons 17 cwt. ; B plot, 18 tons 6 cwt. ; C plot, 17 tons 17 

 cwtt 



Concluding his lecture, Mr. Shrivell said that the use of chemicals very materi- 

 ally increased the value of dung, and the proper method of gardening was to throw 

 aside all old-fashioned prejudices, and take up the use of chemicals in addition to 

 dung. They all knew some very fine produce had been grown in the past by the 

 aid of dung alone ; but there was no reason why, as time went on, they should not 

 try to grow it as good, and at a much cheaper cost, by the use of chemicals. They 

 must call in science 10 the aid of practice. The two would go very well together, 

 but one could not do without the other. 



Sweet Peas.— Referring to your leader on Sweet Peas and how to obtain 

 extra strong plants and early bloom, I venture to draw attention to the method 

 adopted by Mr. C. J. Salter at Woodhatch, Reigate. He has several long boxes, 

 or troughs, of stout wood some ten inches wide and eight inches deep. These being 

 thoroughly cleansed, then having sufficient drainage, are filled with coarse loam, 

 the turfy pieces coming next to the drainage. The soil is well pressed, then sweet 

 peas are dibbled in thinly all through the middle of the troughs, next watered and 

 stood near the glass in a warm frame. Growth soon follows, then hardening, and 

 the plants are several inches in height, when the boxes may be safely stood out- 

 doors in a warm position and handy for watering. Soon tall stakes are added, 

 and in such limited root room, being, of course, well fed, the growth and flower 

 production is wonderful. — A. D. 



Mr, James Fulton, for the past two and a-balf years head gardener to Sir 

 Charles Barrington, Bart., Glenstal Castle, Murroe, Co. Limerick, has been 

 appointed head gardener to W. S. Gilbert, Esq., Grimes Dyke, Harrow Weald, 

 Middlesex, and enters upon his duties there on January 2. 



Editorial communications should be addressed to the Editor of the Gardeners' 

 Magazine, 148 and 149, Aldersgate Street, E.C. 



Specimens of plants, flowers, and fruits for naming or opinion should be sent to 

 the Editor of the Gardeners' Magazine, 11 Endsleigh," Priory Park, Kew, 

 Surrey, and as early in the week as possible. All parcels must be sufficiently 

 prepaid. 



The Editor will be glad to receive photographs of gardens, plants, flowers, trees, 

 fruits, &c, for reproduction in the Gardeners Magazine. He will also be 



greatly obliged by correspondents sending early intimation of interesting local 

 events relating to horticulture. In sending newspapers containing matter to 

 which they wish to draw attention, correspondents are requested to distinctly 

 iark the paragraph. 



Secretaries of horticultural societies are invited to send early notification of forth- 

 coming exhibitions and meetings, and are requested to advise us concerning 

 change of dates. 



-Propagating Seakale. — Novice, Sussex : The propagation oi seakale 

 may be so readily effected by means of seed and cuttings that you will have no 

 difficulty in obtaining a large stock of crowns for forcing. If you have no crowns 

 from which to obtain root cuttings it will be necessary for you to purchase small 

 crowns or to raise a stock from seed, which, as you will see on reference to a seed 



Propagating Seakale. 



catalogue, is not expensive. An experienced cultivator will, if the soil is naturally 

 deep and rich, be able to produce crowns of a suitable size for forcing from seed 

 sown in the spring previous, but to accomplish high-class culture is essential. 

 He would commence by liberally manuring and deeply digging the soil early in 

 the winter, and have the surface somewhat rough. Towards the end of March he 

 would break down the surface, and shortly afterwards will draw shallow 

 drills eighteen inches apart and distribute the seed thinly along them and cover 

 with soil. The after cultivation consists in using the hoe freely for the purpose of 

 destroying weeds and maintaining the soil in a loose condition, and in giving one 

 or two thorough soakings of water should the weather be exceptionally dry during 

 the summer. As you have had but little experience in the cultivation of this vege- 

 table we would suggest that you do not adopt this express method of culture and 

 instead sow the seed rather thinly on a bed of soil and thin to three or four inches 

 apart where the plants are crowded. By this means you will obtain by the end 

 of the autumn a supply of crowns of a suitable size for planting. Lift these in 

 the autumn, take off the lower portion about six inches from the crown, and from 

 those crowns which have more than bud remove all but the strongest. Tie them 

 up in bundles, and then put them in a trench with the crowns level with the 

 surface, and pack the soil firmly about them. These are to be planted early in 

 March in soil that has been liberally manured, the rows to be eighteen inches 

 apart and the crowns ten inches from each other in the rows. By the autumn 

 these will have become stout crowns like D, and will be furnished with side roots 

 as in the case of E, which represents an old root that has been allowed to form 

 two crowns. The root should have the lower part taken off as in D, and tr e 

 thong-like roots be cut into six inch lengths, as represented at A, which should 

 have a sloping cut at the lower end to facilitate planting. B shows the cutting 

 commencing to produce buds, and of these those at the side A A should be 

 rubbed off, leaving the central bud to form a crown, as shown by C. The thong- 

 like or side roots are to be dealt with in precisely the same manner as advised for 

 the seedlings. 



