158 JOURNAL OF THE ROYAL HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. 



Manures, Sale in Small Quantities at Excessive Prices (Jour. 

 Bd. Agr. vol. XX. No. 11, pp. 978-980). — Purchasers of small 

 quantities of artificial manures pay comparatively high prices. For 

 example, the following prices (carriage paid) for kainit appear on a 

 current price Hst : — is. 6d. for 7 lb., a price equivalent to £24 per ton ; 

 2S. 6d. for 28 lb. = £10 per ton ; 6s. for i cwt. = £6 per ton. Four or 

 five tons of kainit could probably be obtained in most districts at 

 the rate of about £2 15s. per ton. 



The manipulation of small quantities by sellers involves extra 

 packing, a higher proportional cost of carriage, additional ware- 

 housing, and other items incidental to retail trade, and this adds greatly 

 to the cost as compared with that of large consignments obtained 

 direct from the manufacturer. The adoption of co-operative methods 

 appears to be the only way by which those who need small quantities 

 can avoid the payment of relatively high prices. 



The extra cost to the small buyer is often even greater in the case 

 of mixed manures than in the foregoing instance. Thus, a shilhng 

 packet of a much-advertised manure contained about as much 

 fertilizer as would cost a farmer using artificial manures in quantity 

 one halfpenny. 



The fallacy of the supposition that an analysis constitutes a 

 guarantee that the manure is worth the price asked for it is pointed 

 out, and intending purchasers are advised to calculate by means 

 of the unit system the value of manures offered for sale. 



Apart from the greater cost, the purchase of compound manures is 

 as a general rule to be deprecated, as the best results can only be 

 obtained by studying the requirements of each kind of plant and 

 manuring accordingly. In a garden it is, however, useful to have a 

 mixture which can be used for most quick-growing plants, and may be 

 relied upon to give satisfactory — even if not the very best — results. 

 Such a mixture might be cheaply prepared as follows : — 



I part (by weight) Sulphate of Ammonia (" 95 per cent, pure "). 



6 parts Superphosphate {" 26 per cent. Soluble Phosphate "). 



Impart ,, Bone Meal (finely ground). 



,, Sulphate of Potash (" 90 per cent, pure "). 



The mixing should be done carefully, and the whole should be 

 passed through a sieve of about f inch mesh. If stored in a dry place 

 the mixture will keep for years without any appreciable change. The 

 rate of application should not exceed that of i lb. to four square 

 yards unless the use of manures is well understood. — A. S. 



Mazus rugosus. By the Wargrave Plant Farm, Ltd. (Garden, 

 March 29, 1914, p. 154; fig.)- — ^The following particulars are given 

 of this plant, which received an Award of Merit at the Royal Horticul- 

 tural Society's meeting on March 4. The plant originally came from 

 the Himalayas, and spreads by means of procumbent stems which 

 root as they grow. These produce flowers i inch in height, the plant 

 exhibited thus giving the impression of a pan of seedlings. When 



