502 
Su2iplement  to  the  '■^Tropical  Agriculturist.^' 
[Jan.  1,  1897. 
The  preparing  of  the  nurserj^  consists  in  a 
general  tillage  to  the  depth  of  3 feet ; while 
doing  this  all  weeds,  roots,  stones  or  pebbles 
should  be  removed  and  the  different  layers  of  soil 
generally  met  with  thoroughly  mixed,  thus  form- 
ing a uniform  growing  medium  as  regards 
fertility,  texture  «&c..  Virgin  soil  should  never 
be  turned  over  as  excepting  the  vine  it  has  been 
proved  dangerous  to  all  fruit  plants. 
To  avoid  confusion  it  is  best  to  divide  each 
plot  of  the  nursery  into  beds.  Good  nurserymen 
have  their  beds  24  ft.  by  4 ft.  A space  of  about 
9 in.  divides  one  bed  from  the  other  and  every 
six  beds  have  a path  about  3 ft.  broad.  Cuttings 
and  grafting  subjects  are  generally  nursed  in 
larger  beds.  It  is  strictly  necessary  that  the 
nursery  should  be  provided  with  broad  and 
commodious  paths  to  freely  carry  out  all  the  work 
connected  with  it. 
Seeds  intended  for  the  nursery  should  be  heavy, 
well  formed,  procured  from  good,  middle-aged 
trees  andcultivated  in  perfectly  opened  and  sunny 
places  ; they  should  be,  if  possible,  obtained  from 
warmer  climates  and  it  is  eseutial  they  should 
have  been  raised  from  well  matured  fruits  only. 
The  germinating  power  of  seeds  and  their  dura- 
bility differs  according  to  the  species  ; as  a rule 
those  with  a soft  covering  last  longer  than  those 
with  hard  shells.  Seeds  should  be  kept  wliile 
being  collected  ill  dried  sand.  It  is  common,  in 
order  to  obtain  quick  germination  to  svet  the  sand 
occasionally,  a few  day.s  before  sowing,  and  to 
expose  it  to  the  sun  for  about  half  an  hour  daily. 
The  harder  the  shell  of  the  seed,  the  longer  it 
will  take  to  germinate. 
Before  sowing  the  seeds  it  is  advisable  to 
spread  over  the  beds  .some  pulverized  soil,  this 
done,  a light  hoeing  should  follow. 
The  sowing  of  fruit  seeds  is  done  either  in 
furrows  or  in  holes,  in  both  cases  in  straight  lines 
and  never  at  random,  as  symmetrical  sowing  will 
render  easy  all  the  work  connected  with  the  nur- 
sery. The  depth  at  which  the  seeds  are  to  be  put 
in,  varies  according  to  the  mechanical  texture  (See., 
of  the  soil  and  the  size  of  the  seeds.  Small  seeds, 
such  as  orange,  lemon  and  similar  fruits  should 
be  sown  to  1|  in.  deep. 
The  practice  here  of  sowing  seeds  in  bamboos 
is  good,  provided  the  plants  produced  are  not 
allowed  to  remain  in  them  longer  than  one  month 
and  tran.splanted  to  larger  receptacles  afterwards. 
Small  seeds  are  sown  in  lines,  by  cutting  with  a 
hoe,  which  is  kept  straiglit  by  a stretched  string, 
making  furrows  about  4 in.  distant  from  each 
other, '’and  of  the  depth  required  by  tlie  species  of 
seeds  to  be  sown.  The  seeds  are  laid  at  the 
bottem  of  it  if  possible  at  regular  distances  of 
about  3 in.  Witli  the  back  of  the  rake,  the 
furrows  are  covered  and  a finishing  touch  is  given 
all  over  the  bed  with  the  other  side  of  the  same 
tool,  rendering  it  as  level  as  possible  and  free  of 
any  roots  or  stones.  For  larger  seeds  and  for 
tho.se  producing  plants  of  rapid  growth  the  lines 
should  be  more  distant  from  each  other  and  the 
seeds  also  sown  at  larger  intervals.  Sowing  by 
holes  is  also  done  in  lines  and  with  the  guidance 
of  a string. 
The  work  to  be  done  after  sowing  consi.sts  of 
weeding,  hoeing,  thinning  and  watering.  Weeding 
is  undispensable  as  tin*  nursery  must  be  kept  per- 
fectly free  of  weeds.  Iloeing  must  take  place  fre- 
quently, theoftener  the  better;  this  operation  will 
aerate  the  soil,  will  bring  to  the  surface  the  roots 
of  weeds,  and  also  remove  the  objectionable 
superficial  crust  which  tends  to  form  as  the  result 
of  watering.  Hoeing  should  not  take  place  before 
the  plants  are  one  month  old  as  too  tender  plants 
are  extremely  sensitive. 
By  thinning,  we  will  remove  all  the  fruit  plants 
which  have  sprung  up  between  the  rows,  and 
these  could  be  transplanted  to  where  the  seed  has 
not  germinated  by  taking  them  up  with  a ball  of 
earth  adhering.  This  transplanting  is  not 
always  successful  and  even  if  so  the  jilants  will  not 
turn  out  strong  specimens. 
Watering  must  begin  only  when  thought  strict- 
ly necessary,  as  it  must  be  remembered  that  once 
watering  has  begun  it  must  be  done  daily  and  at  re- 
gular houi’s ; a stoppage  would  cause  more  serious 
harm,  than  if  the  seeds  have  been  left  in  the 
soil  without  watering  at  all.  Coirdust  spread  about 
I in.  thick  over  damped  beds  should  keep  moisture 
in  this  climate,  enougli  for  the  requirements  of  the 
seeds. 
About  six  months  after  sowing  and  with  favour- 
able weather  plants  intended  to  be  a grafted 
should  be  transplanted  to  that  portion  prepared 
for  them  ; tho.se  only  should  be  picked  out  for  this 
purpose  which  are  at  least  about  the  thickness  of 
a pencil.  All  others  of  inferior  growth  and  vigour, 
should  remain  in  their  places  for  another  season  : 
with  a sharp  pruning  knife  these  plants  are  cut 
down  to  the  base  in  order  to  provoke  the  si.routing 
of  a new  and  health.ier  stem  ; during  their  second 
start  they  should  be  watched  and  not  allowed  to 
grow  more  than  one  shoot,  by  suppressing  all 
others  as  fast  as  they  appear. 
The  transplanting  is  done  more  successfully  in 
cloudy  but  not  wet  weather.  In  up  rooting, 
great  care  should  be  taken  not  to  injure  the  roots 
and  if  any  bruises  should  occur  it  is  better  to 
treat  such  injured  parts  of  the  roots  by  a clean  cut. 
Tap  roots  of  all  fruit  plants  should  not  be  left 
longer  than  .'i  in.,  and  the  cut  should  take  place 
where  there  is  most  ramification  of  lateral  roots. 
Grafting  is  best  done  on  a board,  before  trans- 
planting  and  immediately  after  uprooting. 
C.  ZANETTI 
“ NITRAGIN  ” OR  THE  U.SE  OF  PUKE 
CULTIVATION  BaCTERIA  FOR 
LEGUMINOUS  CROPS. 
(Co)itinueil. ) 
Up  to  tlie  present  time  there  have  !)cen  j)re- 
pared  and  put  on  the  market  j)ure  cultivations  of 
the  organisms  deriveil  from  tlie  noilules  found  on 
the  roots,  and  suitable  for  application  to  the 
growth,  of  17  leguminous  field  crops. 
Eacli  bottle  as  soM  bears  a diflerently  coloured 
label  according  to  the  kind  of  crop  it  is  intended 
for,  and  also  the  German  and  the  botanical  name 
of  the  plant.  The  contents  of  a single  bottle  are 
sufficient  for  securing  the  inoculation  af  about 
half  an  acre  of  the  land  on  whicli  the  crop  is  to 
be  sown,  and  the  present  cost  of  a single  bottle 
is  M.  2‘50,  or  about  2s  6d  in  Englisli  money. 
Thus  the  additional  cost  of  inoculating  a crop 
would  come  to  about  .'is  an  acre.  To  look  at,  a 
bottle  appears  to  contain  at  tlie  bottoin  of  jt 
