JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 
April 14, 1881. ] 
287 
14th 
TH 
15th 
F 
Good Friday. 
16th 
S 
17 th 
SUN 
Easter Sunday. 
18th 
M 
Birmingham Spring Show (two days). 
19th 
TU 
national Auricula Society, Southern Division's Show, South 
20th 
W 
Meteorological Society at 7 P.M. [Kensington. 
FIBRELESS COMPOSTS. 
(MATEURS, possessors of a greenhouse and a 
few plants, occasionally ask me what kind of 
“ dirt ’’ gardeners employ to grow their plants 
in. There is a very apparent feeling amongst 
amateurs who have not had a long experience 
in growing plants that gardeners are far ahead 
of them in this matter of “ dirt," and that much 
of the trouble and want of success they experience 
would be overcome could they be quite sure about the 
proper medium to grow their plants in. Amongst gar¬ 
deners who are hindered from obtaining any fibrous turf for 
potting, we occasionally hear a little “ grumble" about the 
want of interest employers take in their garden and the trouble 
they have to get a suitable compost. It is certainly annoying 
to be debarred a few loads of turf annually, when, perhaps, 
there are hundreds of acres to pick from, and to be expected 
to grow plants as well as your neighbours who have their 
stocks of turf always in good condition. However, the fact 
remains, that many proprietors will not have grass land cut 
up, and flowers and plants are looked for just the same as if 
a fertile meadow were always at the gardener’s command. 
There is no use grumbling about these untoward circumstances, 
the wiser plan is to make the most of the material that can be 
obtained. In the hope, then, of helping gardeners living in 
the midst of grass land which they dare not touch, and amateur 
cultivators who cannot obtain turf except at a dear rate, I 
will relate my management of soils for potting. 
When I first settled here and inquired about turf for plants, 
I was referred to an out of-the-way plot of grass which had 
been covered with trees, but it was so sandy and the turf so 
poor as to be useless. I also tried some from the sides of 
roads, but with such unsatisfactory results that I at last had 
recourse to some heaps of soil which had in various corners 
been allowed to accumulate, but this was only employed for 
the choicer plants. For bedding plants almost any soil is 
used, with the addition of a third part of spent Mushroom- 
bed material, and the plants do well for the short time they 
are in this compost. For winter-flowering plants, which are 
grown in the kitchen garden through the summer months, I 
sometimes employ the garden soil, adding a similar proportion 
of manure. For such plants as Chrysanthemums, Carnations, 
Primulas, Cinerarias, Fuchsias, and Pelargoniums, I have 
always been able to obtain fresh loamy soil. At present I am 
employing a loam heap which has been formed from the roots 
of Twitch Grass gathered off some of the fields, and Potato 
shaws- This makes the best base for a compost of any I have 
yet tried ; it is quite as good a material as many “ turfs,” and 
much better than anything in that way which I have yet had 
here. There is no fibre in it with the exception of Nettle roots, 
which would be much better absent ; but after a few years’ 
experience with soils devoid of fibre, we learn from failures 
how to make the most of any material. 
A compost for pot plants should be rich in plant food, and 
at the same time of a texture that will stand the necessary 
daily waterings without becoming soured. Turfy loam answers 
the last of these requirements perfectly, and in a greater or 
less degree the former also. In a compost of common soil 
openness of: texture is required which the roots of grasses 
naturally supply in turf, and, therefore, lasting properties 
must at the same time be secured. Good loams are richer in 
plant food than common garden soil, and that has also to be 
considered in mixing the compost. All fertile soils have the 
constituents necessary to plant life present in varying quantity, 
with the exception of the elements derived from the atmo¬ 
sphere and water. Lime, potash, phosphoric acid, and nitrogen 
may be, one or other or all, present in insufficient proportions 
for the well-being of the plants, and the cultivator in com¬ 
pounding his heap must see that there is a sufficient amount of 
each added. In horse and cow manure we find the most ready 
means of at once procuring these manurial agents, and also 
a medium of openness in the soil, which lasts for the great 
majority of plants as long as it is required. Some turfy loam 
is capable of supporting plants for a long time without any 
addition of manure. Ordinary garden soil will not do so. Only 
stunted growth will be made in such a soil in comparison to 
what it ought to be, and a soured condition -will very soon be 
apparent at the roots of the plants. An addition of at least 
one-third of manure is as little as most plants will flourish in 
when potted in fibreless soils. If the manure is used in proper 
condition and prepared aright, the above proportion of manure 
serves as plant food and also opens the soil. Horse manure I 
always use in the form of Mushroom-bed refuse. It is not of 
much lasting value, as the manurial constituents are to a great 
extent exhausted in the production of Mushrooms, but for 
plants which are to remain only a month or two in pots, and 
which are required to grow quickly, such as bedding plants, it 
answers well. 
Some flowering plants, such as Fuchsias, succeed in a 
mixture of the above and cow dung ; but as a rule I prefer 
cow dung alone as a manure for most plants in pots. The last- 
named manure must be employed in a fresh state to at once 
obtain the most beneficial effects from it. I obtain it in dry 
weather from the park, where it dries quickly without losing 
much of its manurial qualities, and is in a fit condition to rub 
down into small flaky particles. The soil and the manure 
must be evenly incorporated ^throughout; for many plants, 
after having been roughly mixed with a shovel, it is passed 
through the hand, all lumps of soil being rubbed down at the 
same time. I have discontinued the use of leaf soil entirely, as 
I believe either of the manures I recommend is better. Bone- 
meal and prepared half-inch bones are employed, also soot. 
Chemical manures I have tried in the compost, but I do not 
think that is the best way to use these ; periodical dressings of 
manure on the surface of the soil are preferable. When fibre¬ 
less composts are used it is of the first importance to have the 
pots thoroughly drained. In preference to broken pots I em¬ 
ploy sifted cinders. These retain moisture much longer than 
potsherds, and are, moreover, a more efficient means of drain- 
No. 42.— Vol. II., Thijid Series. 
Ho. 1698 .—Vol. LXV., Old Series 
