THE GARDENERS' CHRONICLE OF AMERICA. 
153 
seedling while it is developing its roots and first leaves. 
We can, of course, go further back in starting our ob- 
servations of the life progress of the monarch of the 
forest. We can dissect the insignificant greenish 
flower of the oak when the future seed (acorn) is but 
a single cell, a tiny bag filled with protoplasm. From 
that "early stage to the period when the tree is first 
ripe for conversion into timber we span a century and 
a half, equal to two good human lives, and the oak is 
but at the point where a man attains his majority. 
The oak is built up after the fashion by which man 
attains his full stature. It is a process of multiplica- 
tion of weak, minute cells, which become specialized 
for distinct offices in the economy of the vegetable 
community we call tree. Some go to renew and en- 
large the roots, others to the perfecting of that system 
of vessels through which the crude fluid from the roots 
is carried up to the topmost leaf, whence, after under- 
going chemical transformation in the leaf laboratory, 
it is circulated to all parts of the organism to make pos- 
sible the production of more cells. Each of these has a 
special task, and it becomes invested with cork or 
wood to enable it to become part of the bark or the 
timber, or it remains soft and develops the green color- 
ing matter which enables it, when exposed to sunlight, 
to manufacture starch from carbon and water. 
The tree, as we indicated, gets its food from the air 
and the soil. The rootlets have the power of dissolving 
the mineral salts in the soil in which they ramify, some 
authorities believing that they are materially helped 
in this respect, so far as organic matter is concerned, 
by a fungus that invests them with a mantle of deli- 
cate threads. However that may be. the fluid that is 
taken up by the roots is not merely water, but water 
plus dissolved mineral matter and nitrogen. 
At the same time that the roots are thus absorbing 
liquid nutriment, the leaves pierced with the thousands of 
little stomata or mouths take in atmospheric air. which 
is compounded chiefly of the gases, oxygen and car- 
bon. The leaf cells containing the green coloring mat- 
ter (chlorophyll) seize hold of the carbon and release the 
oxygen. The carbon is then combined with the fluid 
from the roots by the vital chemistry of the leaves and 
is circulated all "over the system for the sustenance of 
all the organs and tissues. 
The flowering of the trees varies so greatly that it 
can only be dealt with satisfactorily as each species 
is described. It may be stated, however, that all the 
true forest trees are wind fertilized and therefore have 
inconspicuous greenish blossoms. By true forest trees 
we mean those'that alone or slightly mixed are capable 
of forming high forests. 
The small trees, such as crab, rowan, cherry, black- 
thorn, hawthorn, buckthorn, etc.. belong more to the open 
woodiand, to the common and hedge-row. These, from 
their habitat, can be seen singly and therefore can 
make use of the conspicuous flowers that are fertilized 
bv insects. 
responsible for much of the lime carbonate which passes 
away in the drainage water. Acid manures also act as a 
solvent to greatly increase the loss of lime and these 
should not, therefore, be applied to soils which are known 
to be deficient in lime. While, on the other hand, appli- 
cations of such organic manures as dried blood, bone, 
sheep, stable manure, or even nitrate of soda or basic- 
slag diminish the loss. The turning of an old pasture 
land, the growth of all leguminous crops as peas, beans 
and clover, which leave a considerable residue of oxalate 
of lime, tend to maintain the stock of lime carbonate in 
the soil. This, however, in turn is being constantly drawn 
upon for nitrification as well as for the neutralization of 
the acids produced during bacterial decay. 
Soils to which for many years heavy dressings of or- 
ganic and acid manures have been given are apt to bec< nne 
sour provided little or no lime exists in them. In ibis 
case an application of pulverized limestone at the rate of 
one ton per acre, or half that quantity of quick lime ap- 
plied in winter or very early spring is to be recommended 
Failing either of these basic slag given at the rate of c >ne- 
quarter ton per acre would prove beneficial. The lime 
combines with the organic matter and rapid decomposi- 
tion ensues, setting free much plant food that previously 
was not available and thus restoring the whole mass to a 
pr< iductive conditii in. 
All leguminous crops, together with potatos, benefit by 
the presence of lime in the soil and while the value of 
lime to the horticulturalist can scarcely be over-estimated, 
great care is needed in its application or more harm than 
good may result. He it remembered that — "too much of 
anything is good for nothing." In short, lime is bene- 
ficial on heavy and freely manured land and that contain- 
ing much humus, but it is of little value on poor light 
soils. In fact, it is about the worse dressing that could be 
given. The well known club-foot disease is more often 
than not indicative of a soil wanting in lime and an early 
application should not lie withheld. 
ivr 
LIME IN SOILS. 
[( 1ST of the carbonate of lime present in ordinary gar- 
1 den soil has been derived either from the natural chalk 
formation of the district or from artificial application; 
and the regular loss of lime to which garden earth is sub- 
ject presents every gardener with a problem worthy oi 
deliberation. To what extent the soil becomes impover- 
ished of this valuable element depends upon the attending 
management. It is generally understood that the action 
of carbonic acid present in rain water and that set free 
bv the micro-organisms during ordinary root growth is 
TRAPS TO CATCH SUNBEAMS. 
/COMPARATIVELY few gardeners appreciate the re- 
suits obtained by the proper use of glass. Unpro- 
tected flower and vegetable crops are subject to weather 
conditions, while with the intelligent use of glass the 
plants will mature quickly and the number of crops 
grown on a given space can be increased considerably 
and the vegetables will be tender and juicy. 
Until recently the sashlight and the bell glass have been 
the only practical devices suitable for the purpose, but 
French gardeners now use what they call the continuous 
cloche. It is a very simple and clever adaptation of ordi- 
nary panes of window glass, held together firmly by a 
patented system of bent wires. The wire grips the glass 
firmly in a manner that makes the forcer absolutely rigid, 
in the form of an inverted letter V. The two panes oi 
glass do not quite meet at the top, leaving a small space 
at the apex which affords proper ventilation, allowing ex- 
cessive heat and moisture to escape. When the bell glass 
is used it is necessary to plant in small round patches, 
but with the new system the planting may be in long rows 
as is common in ordinary gardening, economizing in 
space and labor. 
Various sizes of glass can be used to hasten growth in 
the spring and for protecting all kinds of plants in the 
fall, extending the length of the season considerably, mak- 
ing it possible to start the garden earlier than usual and 
keep it going until late in the fall. 
When not in use the glass can be removed from the w ire 
frames and stored away and the wires packed away until 
wanted the following season. 
