548 
THE TROPICAL AGRICULTURIST. 
[Feb. 1, 1899. 
THE FERTILITY OF THE SOIL. 
Ifc now seems safe to foimulate a few general 
principles as being sutticicnLly establishei to jus- 
tify building upon them a sclieme of horticul- 
tural management : — 
1. The carbon of green-leaved plants is absor- 
bed directly and practically ex(;lusively from the 
atmosphere, through the medium of the foliage. 
At least, the soil supply of carbon is a matter 
of minor importance. 
2. The oxygen of .such plants is chiefly ab- 
sorbed in like manner by the foliage or taken up 
by the roots in combination with hydrogen in the 
form of water ; although a minor and compara- 
tively unimportant source of oxygen and hydiogen 
may be found in the breaking ujj of nitrates and 
ammonia l)y nitrification. 
3. The nitrogen of such plants is obtained in- 
variably from the soil either directly from com- 
pounds ot nitrogen with oxygen, hydrogen, or 
mineral or organic compounds— such a.s nitric acid, 
ammonia, nitrates and humus ; or indirectly 
through symbiotic growth of micro-organisms liv- 
ing in the soil, which have the power of a.ssimi- 
lating the free nitrogen of the atmospliere ; this 
symbiotic growth being apparently confined almost 
altogether to leguminous plants. 
4. The mineral constituents of such plants are 
taken directly from the soil, being absorbed by 
the roots in the form of solution in water. 
5. The ten or more mineral elements found in 
the ashes of plants are furnished in abundance by 
practically all fertile soils provided there be pre- 
sent a sutticient quantity of available phosphoric 
acid and potash, and sometimes also of lime. 
6. The various elementary substances found in 
plants are combined with each other in certain 
definite proportions, varying for different species, 
but held within very narrow limits for each species; 
and the growth of the plant is measured and limited 
by the least amount of the various elements re- 
quired for their growth. 
Keducing these principles to the lowest terms, 
and stating them in general form, we may say 
that the plane will secure a full supply of carbon 
provided other nutrients are furnished ; that the 
supply of oxygen and hydrogen is chiefly depend- 
ent upon the water supply; that the supply of 
nitrogen may be regulated by the use of mineral 
nitrates of ammonia salts, or the settinsr up in the 
soil of those conditions which favour the growth 
of nitrogen-working micro-organisms; and that hav- 
ing provided a full nitrogen supply, we may con- 
trol the growth of the plants by giving or with- 
holding phosphoric acid and potash. 
7. The water-supply of plants is a matter of 
supreme importance, for not only does Avater com- 
prise three-fourths or more of the actual weight 
of cultivated plants when growing, but it is the 
vehicle in which all the mineral and nitiogenous 
constituents of plant-food ai'e carried to their des- 
tination. In performance of this function it is 
constantly passing through the plant, being ab- 
sorbed by the roots and transpired by the foliage ; 
it being estimated that more than 300 pounds 
of water must pass through the tissues for the 
deposition of a single pound of dry substance in 
the plant, and thus the question of the mainte- 
nance of the water-supply becomes one which 
cannot be neglected in the garden. 
The nitrogen supply takes rank next to water 
in importance, for it is the ingredient which may 
be most quickly exhausted by an improvident sys- 
tem of horticulture, and_ which is the most ex- 
pensive to replace by artificial methods. 
soi? n..M i ,<^»"*'Jered that the plant-food in the 
soil must be of »ery ^low solubility, in order that 
U may not at once be wa.hcd away by helvj .Lina 
the ob-o.ved fact thnt when weaj.ply ceilain f.,rms 
i, st« "t'' as su ipho.'pl atl7o? 
instance, a large portion of it i« imnVediitely con- 
verted 1. 0 an insoluble or very slowly .olubl^ con- 
dition by reactions uuhin t'.e soil, it is absurd 
to expect 10 realize in the g.owth of a single sea- 
son, or even in (hat of ma^y seasons, ti e entire 
quantity of plant-food applied in manure 
J>ut aceepting the fact which seems to be de- 
monstrated beyon.i question, that the entire 
amount of plant-food applied in a ferti ise. wfu . ot 
be retiiined in one crop, the que tion arisen 
especially in v:ew ot the li;.ht u/.i.-h recent 'lis-' 
coveries l.ave thrown upon the metho.ls by which 
the inert nitrogen of the .soil is i-onverte.l into 
assimilable form through the agency of nitrify 
ng orgamsms. an.l upon tlie still more interest- 
ing p.pblem of the assimilation of free nitrogen 
tlirongh the agency of symbiotic growth, whether 
we may not hope to be able to MK,.lify' e\ s t n- 
systems, and obtain the object in 4w no? 
quickly Hnd dhcientlv.-J.J. W'uAAH, HarpendeL 
— Oardeners Chronicle, Dec. 17. 
WYNA^D TE.\ COMPANY, LIMITED. 
The fourih annual general meetioR of the Wvnaftd 
lea Company, Limitel. was held at the company ■« 
offices , 20, Eastcheap. E.G.. c. Mondav last.*^ The 
n an^nr^ """'""'^ ^^'^ "^^'"^^ Labouihere, chair* 
man of the company. 
mSfug*"^'*''^ '"'''"^ "'^'^ "otice convening the 
r«ni!! ^Y''""""' tbe adoption of the 
tff ^fid = <ientlemeu, I am eony 
to see 80 few shareholders here today, but I trust 
hat on the other hand it is a proof they have uothing 
e y much to complain of, becanee. as a rule, shared 
^alt!Z ?r - '."""V" "'""bers wh.n there ire i.u- 
h^fl f.V " '° discussed. The report having 
been taken as read, the chairman explainid that therf 
were only really two great facts to^egister. one of 
them being the acqmsition of the Periugodde Estate 
from Mr Walker, and the other the sale of the 
Ne hmunda Estate for 45,000 rupees-about £3,0(10 
tioth these moves on our part have been dicikted 
by the policy that we should try to set our manair. 
ing director in India to be interested to the ,rea ef 
possible extent in the success of the company and 
we have been able to do that in a very sa?i 'icto y 
manner by securing the Peri ngo.lde Estate for £2,500 
in .haie. Ihe Permgodde Estate b^nng situated 
between the wo places where tea has be.n opened 
we selected that estate to build the factory w fch 
wil? h 'If «nti-e of onr tea growin,-. and which 
will obv.ate the necessity of m«ki.-g a ,second .'act.ry on 
the Chundale Estate. The Nelimun-Ja Estate w.s so°d 
because ;,7e wished to reduce as much as possib'e the 
w«V^v '"^ ^r'"/''' cultivation of coffee.' As a result 
we Tiave reduced our acreage of ccffee, but we have 
t 11 cotfee enouKh to bring us iu a fair i:,come in 
fai seasoDs, yet not too much to risk a iarf-e ]o« 
If there were a failure of the crop. We have made 
e.iormous progress in the planting of tea having 
plantea altogether 580 acres, which is very good 
ba°ve Z."° f-^°''/ u™'- °" '''' "'^''^ band we 
have not attained this result without a com- 
paratively heavy outlay, although the cost of 
l« i,^^"/"? not been high. Oa account of 
the amount of money that is due bv the comD.nv 
we have decided to stop any further ex' en": 
tT,^ f f If"" present. But this ques- 
tion of further outlay ,s entirely subordinate to the 
necessity of finding further capital. In looking over 
the accounts you will see that we had a very po r 
