JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 
May 11, 1882. ] 
I cannot decline this challenge, if I break my teeth in the 
attempt, and I propose this solution :— 
Kainit of the following composition was being freely offered 
in the market some years since, and it does not, I think, essentially 
differ from other samples of the manure. Potash sulphate, about 
36 per cent.; magnesia, sulphate, and chloride, about 29 per cent.; 
common salt, about 31 per cent. In the tables of analyses of ashes 
of plants grown by Emil Wolff I find that the ash of the tuber of 
the Potato contains 59 - 8 per cent, of potash, and that the ash of 
the leaves and stem show an unusual quantity of magnesia. When 
gathered in August the per-centage of magnesia in the ash of the 
leaves and stems was 16 8 per cent., and when gathered in October 
no less than 22-6 per cent. A comparison, then, of the analyses of 
the manure and of the plant tuber and leaves would appear to ex¬ 
plain the phenomenon mentioned, for the amount of magnesia pre¬ 
sent in the soil is generally small, except in the magnesian lime¬ 
stone districts, or in those in which serpentine prevails. 
I remember, moreover, to have come across a statement made 
by Dr. Hogg of the surprising effects produced in his Potato crop 
by a manure of which magnesia was the prevailing feature. His 
experiments were made with Lapstones. One row he manured with 
a “ heavy dressing ” of farmyard manure ; another row he manured 
with the compound containing the magnesia. The farmyard 
manure gave a crop of 42 lbs., with many diseased tubers ; the 
magnesia compound gave a crop of 93 lbs. Dr. Hogg observed 
that as the growth progressed the row dressed with the magnesian 
manure “ went clean away from the other.” If my explanation of 
the results obtained by the Cork Society is not the correct one it 
looks at least very feasible, and is well worth the further attention 
and experiment of “ Single-handed,” more especially as he ap¬ 
parently shares in the popular view of the bad qualities of mag¬ 
nesia as an agricultural application. He attributes to its hurtful 
effects, indeed, the ill effects which Dr. Yoelcker observed some¬ 
times to follow the use of kainit. I may perhaps be allowed to 
add, without appearing captious, that I did not quote this extract 
from Dr. Yoelcker’s reports to show that potash was sometimes 
hurtful (for this might be said of any fertilising element impro¬ 
perly used), but I quoted this extract amongst others to show that 
Dr. Voelcker even could, in the question of the economy of such 
addition of potash as “ Single-handed” had recommended, still 
sign himself as I do. 
In reply to your correspondent’s question relating to muriate 
v. sulphate of potash under “Notes on Current Subjects” last 
week, my reply is that the muriate is undoubtedly the cheaper 
salt, as well as the more soluble. But both must be more than 
sufficiently soluble for the wants of plants. Ville obtained less 
favourable results with the sulphate than with the muriate. 
Dr. Voelcker’s reports, from which I quoted at pp. 325-6 of the 
Journal of Horticulture, are given in the volumes of the Journal 
of the Boyal Agricultural Society, published by Messrs. Clowes and 
Sons, Stamford Street, Charing Cross, and sold to the public at 
6.?. per number. The volumes of the Journal could be referred to 
at the library of the Royal Agricultural Society in Hanover Square, 
and I believe also at the educational library of the South Kensing¬ 
ton Museum. Copies can generally be picked up cheaply at the 
second-hand bookshops.— Inquirer. 
ASTERS. 
As we are now fast approaching the bedding-out season, 
amateurs and professionals will be contemplating their arrange¬ 
ments for bedding the seedlings at their disposal in order to 
make as effective a display as possible. The scarcity of Asters 
this year, which are now so deservedly popular, and which have 
held such an important part in beautifying our borders, is very 
much to be deplored. The seedlings raised from this spring’s 
sowings are far from being adequate to the usual requirements. 
The causes which have led to such disappointing results are the 
continued wet weather which prevailed on the Continent last 
autumn as the seeds were arriving at maturity, and the absence 
of wind to shake out the rain which had lodged in the flower-heads, 
thereby preventing the proper development and perfection of the 
seed. The crop was the most deficient on record, and to make 
things worse the germination of what little seed was saved is 
correspondingly low. It is a lamentable fact that the finer varieties 
■—those which have been brought to the highest state of perfection 
through the assiduous labour of the grower, and those which are 
most in request by the public—viz., the Chrysanthemum-flower¬ 
ing, the Pmony-flowering, and the Victoria varieties, are those 
which have suffered most.—J. McK. 
Vegetation in Fiji. —The following is an abstract of some in¬ 
teresting remarks upon the vegetable products of Fiji which occurs 
381 
in Mr. J. Horne’s work, “A Year in Fiji” — Fruit is plentiful in 
Fiji, and might with advantage be exported, especially Bananas, 
Pine Apples, and Oranges. Attention is called to the necessity of 
re-foresting. Of the agricultural products, mention is made of copra, 
sugar, cotton, maize, tobacco, and coffee. Of copra, the dried kernel 
of cocoa-nuts, there was exported in 1878 £122,194 worthj but little 
oil was made, the copra paying better. The sugar crop is steadily 
on the increase. For 1880 it was estimated to produce £00,000, and 
when fully developed, Mr. Horne estimates a possible yearly make 
of about 200,000 tons. Coffee trees thrive well, and the coffee ex¬ 
pert in time will be second only to sugar. Cotton is being displaced 
by the sugar cane. The trees yielding caoutchouc in Fiji are 
Apocynaceous, belonging to the genera Tabernremontana and 
Alstonia. The Fijians collect the juice, which exudes from the 
broken leaves and branches, in their mouths. Several mouthfuls are 
then rolled into a ball, and the juice congeals so quickly that it 
requires very little working with the fingers before it is dry and 
ready for the market. Samples sent to England were priced as high 
as 2 s. GcZ. a pound. Sandal-wood is becoming scarcer and dearer each 
year in Fiji; in 1878 it was worth £10 a ton. 
SELECT NARCISSI. 
Every cultivator of hardy plants includes amongst the most 
beautiful of his spring-flowering favourites some at least of the 
varied and numerous Narcissi, for though in colour they are re¬ 
stricted to shades of yellow with white, yet the flowers possess 
such diversified and graceful forms generally, in combination with 
a most agreeable fragrance, that they need only be seen to be ad¬ 
mired. From admiration arises a desire to grow them ; and here 
they possess another great recommendation to amateurs—very few 
are in the slightest degree fastidious as to the situation or soil de¬ 
voted to them, provided only that it be neither excessively wet nor 
dry. In shady sheltered positions where few other plants will 
succeed these will thrive luxuriantly, and even in exposed beds 
they will produce satisfactory results. It is not surprising that 
with so many admirable qualities to entitle them to attention that 
they gradually attained a foremost position amongst hardy spring 
flowers, and very few gardens where such plants are especially 
encouraged are without a typical collection, often including many 
rare and choice forms. 
Visitors to Mr. Ware’s nursery at Tottenham, or Messrs. Barr 
and Sugden’s at Tooting, just when the Narcissi are at their best, 
can form some idea of the number of varieties and hybrids now 
obtained, their several distinctive characteristics, and the general 
range of beauty in the Daffodils. There is only one difficulty 
