6l2 JOURNAL OF THE ROYAL HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. 



redtop grass does very well indeed in acid soils. For green-manuring 

 on such soils there are at least two leguminous plants available, the 

 cow-pea and hairy vetch, and, under certain conditions, the soy bean 

 and crimson clover. 



The writer emphasizes what is now recognized as the best agri- 

 cultural practice, namely, that Hme in any form to be effective requires 

 to be appHed in a finely divided state and very intimately and 

 thoroughly mixed with the soil. He describes an experiment in which 

 he grew some seedHng blueberry plants in pots and watered them with 

 nothing but lime-water for seven months, at the end of which time 

 they had grov/n from 4! to 14 inches in height, the Hme apparently 

 having no deterrent effect upon them. An examination of the soil 

 showed that the surface was covered with a hard grey crust of lime, 

 the soil for half an inch below this containing no blueberry roots, and 

 a chemical test showing it to be impregnated with Hme. Below this 

 the soil was full of roots and still gave the acid reaction that was 

 characteristic of the whole before the Hme-water appHcation began. 



A. P. 



Afforestation Scheme of tli© Leeds City Council, V/ashburn 

 Valley. By A. Pope (Quart. Jour, of Forestry, No. 3, vol. viii., 

 pp. 190-207 ; July 1914).— The valle}^ originally formed part of the 

 Royal Hunting Forest of Knaresborough, and about 1086 a.d., 

 when the Domesday Survey was made, the owner was the King. 

 In the Middle Ages, the forest was thickly wooded, but during 

 the reign of Queen Elizabeth iron smelting was extensively carried 

 on, which (historians state) caused the destruction of the timber in 

 the forest, and by the year 1700 few trees were left. 



The district was enclosed under Act of Parhament passed in 

 1770. Allotments were granted to various persons, and some of the 

 land broken up and cultivated. 



Thirty to fifty acres of new land surrounding the reservoirs are 

 now planted annually, together with replanting and filling up on 

 the land planted, by the " unemployed," and up to the present 

 853 acres have been planted with 3,400,000 trees. The species planted 

 chiefly are : — Oak, beech, larch, Scots pine, alder, black Italian poplar, 

 wych elm, birch, sycamore, Japanese larch, Corsican pine, Norway 

 and Sitka spruce, while Douglas fir, Hme, Austrian pine, silver fir, 

 white American spruce, hornbeam, and others are being planted on 

 a small scale for experimental purposes. — A. D. W. 



Algaroba. By W. M. Carne (Agr. Gaz. N.S.W. vol. xxv. p. 419).-— 

 The seeds of the Algaroba or Mosquito Bean germinate with difficulty. 

 Chipping the beans aids germination. — S. E. W. 



Ammonia, Fixation of, in Liquid Efanure [Agr. Gaz. N.S.W. , 

 vol. xxv. p. 144). — The loss of ammonia from the Hquid collected from 

 stables and cattle-sheds can be prevented by the addition of powdered 

 gypsum. — S. E. W. 



