238 
CONTEMPORARY WRITINGS. 
It is asserted that it is a common error, also, 
to dig them too deep. Eleven feet is said to 
be deep enough, and two feet of this should 
be drainage. 
Horticultural Society's Garden. — The 
orchids, we are informed, are kept compara- 
tively dry and cool, instead of warm and 
moist, and they flourish more under such 
treatment. We are glad of this, for there 
has, in days gone by, been sad bungling with 
the orchideous plants. 
Potato Disease. — There is a plan of ma- 
nagement, proposed by Mr. PI. L. Meyer, 
which deserves to be made generally known. 
In a paper read to the Royal Agricultural 
Society, he made the following recommenda- 
tion : — " I propose a method of protection, 
which, I think, may be equally effective against 
any one of the above-mentioned causes of the 
disease, whether animal, vegetable, atmo- 
spheric, or electric. I propose to cover up 
the plant with the readiest material at hand — 
namely, the soil it grows in. The manner in 
which this must be done is, by laying down 
the haulm, and covering it over with earth 
from the root to within a few inches of the 
extremity, leaving only the tips of the plant 
exposed to the benefits of light and air. A 
field, when thus treated, presents to view a 
succession of ridges of earth and valleys ; the 
ridges contain the potatos and the stems of 
the plants earthed over, and in the valleys or 
furrows lie securely the tips of the foliage. 
Should the injurious blight occur while the 
field remains in this state, the tops of the plants 
are greatly sheltered from its influence by the 
ridges of earth they lie between. Nothing 
further will be required but to watch the 
field, and continue to cover up the haulms 
from time to time, so as to keep only the tips 
exposed. The process thus described should be 
immediately put in practice, instead of the usual 
method of ' earthing up,' and while the stems 
of the plant are still pliant and manageable. 
This simple process will not require any outlay, 
and in point of labour only stands in the place 
of the usual method of earthing up. . . . The 
best way of putting this mode in practice is, 
by laying down the haulms with the hand, and 
afterwards covering them with the earth that 
lies between the rows. The earlier the plant 
can be attended to as I have proposed, the 
less it is liable to receive the germ or inocula- 
tion of the infection ; but owing to the present 
advanced state of the plant, it may be advisa- 
ble to administer lime or some other purifying 
substance before covering the haulm. It is 
desirable to lay the stems down in a direction 
away from the east, as much towards the south- 
west as possible, because it is from the east 
that blights of all descriptions appear to ori- 
ginate. The usual manner of planting potatos 
being in rows only sufficiently apart to allow 
room for the underground shoots and tubers 
to vegetate, it will be found necessary to lay 
the haulms of the plant down in a slanting 
or oblique direction, so as to let the exposed 
tops of the haulm reach only to the centre of 
the valley or furrow, thereby gaining the 
double advantage of room and protection." 
This experiment was carefully tried in the 
Garden of the Horticultural Society in 1848, 
and with success; for although, as was to be ex- 
pected, the amount of produce was diminished, 
(not, however, to the extent of more than 
3 cwt. per acre), the proportional quantity of 
sound potatos obtained was more than seven 
times that of the rows on each side. "We re- 
gard this as an artificial method of curbing 
the luxuriance of the potato, which it does 
very effectually : but whether that be so or 
not, it will be well to repeat the trial under 
varied circumstances, in order that its true 
value may be ascertained. The plan has this 
merit, that it seems incapable of doing any 
harm. — Gard. Chron. 
Watering large Plants in Tubs. — It is 
well known that when large masses of soil, like 
that in which Camellias are grown, get dry, it is 
difficult to water them all through, on account 
of the water passing off speedily by the sides 
of the tubs. To prevent this, Mr. Allnut, of 
Clapham, sinks (slightly) into the surface of 
the ball, some two or three inches from the 
side of the pot or tub, a hoop of zinc or some 
such metal, which compels the water to pass 
down through the mass of soil instead of es- 
caping by its side. He practises this plan 
with all his large specimens, and with advan- 
tage, not only to the plant, but with regard to 
saving time and labour. 
Araucaria imbricata. — There was planted 
in a park in the south of England, in the 
autumn of 1845, a number of good sized plants 
of Araucaria imbricata, in various soils and 
situations, all considered more or less good, 
with one exception. This latter plant was 
placed in what might be considered a disad- 
vantageous site in all respects ; when planted 
it was looked upon as certain not to do well, 
being in a low valley where fogs appear earliest 
and leave latest, and where the most powerful 
winds sweep along more destructively than in 
the exposed places, at the foot of a hill facing 
the north, and shaded^ by large trees during 
the whole winter season, and where six«inches 
below the turf there is a hard bed of stones ; 
yet this tree looks most luxuriantly, and has 
made growth in the proportion of three to one 
more than any of its contemporaries. There 
is no doubt that the sweeping winds, the bed 
of stones, and the entire absence of sun for 
several months, have all proved favourable to 
it. — Gard. Chron. 
