54 
JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 
[ July 19, 1883. 
took the lead with a beautifully arranged stand, which included fine blooms 
of Alfred Colomb, Devoniensis, Duke of'Connaught, Fisher Holmes, Catherine 
Mermet, Marie Baumann, and Marquise de Castellane. Mr. James Smith 
was a very good secdnd, his best blooms being Marie Baumann, La France, 
Alfred Colomb, and Mardchal Niel. Mr. C. A. Bleech took the third prize. 
'Mr. Scott was also first with twelve single trusses, distinct, among these 
being good examples of Duke of Edinburgh, A. K. Williams, Charles Lefebvre, 
Captain Christy, Louis Van Houtte, and Devoniensis. In the second-prize 
stand, exhibited by Mr. P. Gruff, were fine blooms of Marie Baumann, 
Mardchal Niel, and Louis Van Houtte. Captain Helme occupied third place, 
but his blooms were too forward. In the class for six trusses, distinct, Mr. 
■J. Hinton staged good blooms of Captain Christy, Marechal Neil, Triomphe 
de Rennes, Duke of Connaught, Marie Baumann, and Baronne de Rothschild, 
and was awarded the first prize. Mrs. Tarrance followed with .a creditable 
stand, which included good examples of Francois Michelon and Marie 
Baumann. The best six Teas were staged by Mr. Hinton, these consisting 
•of beautiful blooms of Madame Bravy, Triomphe de Rennes, Marie Van 
Houtte, Jean Ducher, and Niphetos. Mr. J. Scott was a close second, his 
best blooms being Catherine Mermet, Marechal Niel, and Souvenir d’un Ami. 
■Captain Helme won the first place for twelve single blooms, any one variety, 
with large fresh blooms of Edward Morren, and in the corresponding 
class for six blooms Mr. P. Grubb was first with Marie Baumann in good 
-condition. 
Messrs. Keynes & Co., Salisbury, exhibited, not for competition, several 
■excellent stands of Roses, of which the most noteworthy were Beauty of 
Waltham, A. Colomb, Marie Baumann, Auguste Rigotard, Marie Van Houtte, 
La France, Reynolds Hole, Penelope Mayo, Star of Waltham, Dr. Andry, 
Francois Michelon, and Duchesse de Vallombrosa. Mr. Wheeler, Warminster, 
also staged stands of fairly good Roses, and Dr. Hitchcock some excellent 
Carnation blooms also, not for competition. Strawberries, both for size and 
-quality, were extensively shown. The weather proved favourable, and the 
attendance of visitors good. 
GARDEN CHEMISTRY—PHOSPHATES. 
( Continued from page 23.) 
Garden crops, almost without exception, make large demands 
upon the phosphates in the soil, but garden manures (those that 
come from the stables or are made out of collected leaves) are 
anything but rich in these. Owing to this very much larger quantities 
of manure have to be used than would be necessary were phosphates 
applied. Nearly always they are the weak link in the chain, and 
were this link alone made stronger much less ordinary manure would 
.give results equal, if not superior, to what many gardens now 
produce. When a Vine or Peach border, or the mixing of potting 
soils are in question, phosphates are generally given ; but in the case 
of vegetable quarters or flower beds this is seldom the case. The 
reason for this is, that bones—for it is in this form phosphates are 
.generally employed—are lasting manures, and the good they do is 
attributed, not to the chemical virtues, but to the fact that they last. 
That they are not more generally employed otherwise is because for 
■other purposes less lasting manures are supposed sufficient. It is not 
because ordinary manures are not lasting enough, but because they 
-are wanting in what they should be rich, and rich in what is not so 
much wanted, that so much is required. 
Combined with readily available nitrogenous matter phosphates 
alone have a wonderful effect on the members of the Brassica tribe. 
'Cabbages, Cauliflowers, Turnips on any ordinary soil thrive wonder¬ 
fully on such applications alone. Even without the nitrogen the 
Turnips do well ; if they do not make such a rapid growth they make 
firmer bulbs of a finer quality, which keep better than if “ forced ” 
by too much nitrogen. While the leaves of the Cabbage family 
•contain from 10 to 15 per cent, of phosphoric anhydride, the heart 
of the Cauliflower has as much as 25. This will partly explain the 
wonderful effect of phosphates in the production of fine Cauliflowers. 
Grapes (the ash of) contain from 17 to 23 per cent., and the finest 
Grapes invariably show the higher per-centage ; the ash of the wood 
-contains 15 to 19, the ash of Grape stone as much as 27, which fact 
may throw some light on the setting of Grapes. But experience 
proves that the application of phosphates to these and other garden 
■crops has an effect quite beyond what such figures indicate, very 
probably because of their being scarce in the soil. When this happens 
•the addition of phosphates alone may be quite equal to a heavy 
manuring of ordinary manure. 
As chemistry demonstrates v T hat materials best act on given crops, 
so she points out when best to find the materials. Among ordinary 
manures night soil ranks first in being rich in phosphates. Fowl dung, 
that from dovecotes or from rookeries, is also rich, not only in phos¬ 
phates but in nitrogen. For this reason the ammonia they contain 
■when only partly fermented and the nitric acid afterwards formed 
often prove destructive where these manures are employed undiluted 
or in too large quantities ; but if dry loam or clay be liberally used 
in deodorising and drying them, there will be no difficulty in distri¬ 
buting them evenly and profitably. One hundred parts of the ash of 
human excreta contain 37 of phosphoric acid. This is fully equal to 
phosphates from which phosphatic manures are made, and only 
second to the ash of bones themselves. But while these are con¬ 
sidered worth quarrying and carrying from distant lands, and there¬ 
after ground by powerful and expensive machinery, and, finally, 
dissolved by sulphuric acid, that nearest our hand, although it contains 
other valuable fertilising properties and requires neither carrying nor 
manufacturing, nor to yield profits on the way to numerous classes, is 
generally got rid of as if useless. Nay, more ; we pollute our 
waters with it, and leave the plants that are in want of just such to 
starve still ; and so we are punished by half crops, half rewarded 
labour, half return for capital, in addition to having a polluted land. 
When bones were first used they were found to produce a 
wonderful effect on land from which the phosphorus had been carried 
away in the bones of generations of sheep and cattle and in the milk 
of the cows. Just so they acted when applied to land from whence 
the phosphorus had been carried in the grains and dissipated, 
ultimately in the sea, and just so they act in vegetable crops, and for 
the same reason. 
At first they were applied crushed, but it was soon found that 
w 7 hen ground to meal the effect was more rapid, and, in one sense, 
economical. A great advance was made when, over forty years ago, 
the late illustrious Baron Liebig discovered that by treating them with 
sulphuric anhydride (vitriol) they could be rendered soluble, and so to 
act with still greater rapidity. Very shortly after Mr. (now Sir) 
J. B. Lawes made a more important discovery still, when in 1842 he 
showed that “ superphosphate ” made from mineral phosphates was 
identical and of equal value with that from bones. Later still Mr. 
Jamieson has shown that very finely ground phosphates are, under 
certain circumstances, equal to dissolved phosphates and considerably 
cheaper. 
Phosphates exist in bones, bone ash, coprolites, and in apatite in 
the form of tricalcic diphosphate (2 P0 4 Ca 3 ). In this form it is 
only very sparingly soluble in water. The manufacturers render it 
soluble by treating it with sulphuric anhydride, whereby it becomes 
“ dissolved bones.” This term is, however, incorrect. Perhaps the 
following table will render v r hat takes place intelligible. But first 
let us premise that the terms tribasic phosphate and monobasic 
phosphate so commonly used are wrong. All phosphates are tribasic. 
But soluble phosphate is monocalcic, while ordinary phosphate is 
tricalcic—in other Avords, three-limed. Phosphates in a raAv state 
consist of— 
Lime ) 
Lime > +Phosphoric acid = tricalcic phosphate (insoluble in water). 
Lime ) 
In the case of monocalcic—or soluble phosphate—it is as follows :— 
Lime ) 
Water j-Phosphoric acid = monocalcic phosphate (soluble in water). 
Water ) 
The change has been brought about by bringing the phosphate into 
contact with the vitriol. This strong acid has taken the part of the 
lime from the phosphoric acid, Avhich has had to content itself with 
water instead. The vitriol now in combination with lime has become 
calcic sulphate (gypsum or plaster of Paris—“ plaster ” of the 
Americans). 
The soluble phosphate, although soluble and fit for ready 
absorption, is a very acid salt, and Avhen applied to soil is either 
precipitated by the alkalis present, such as lime or potash, or oftener 
ferric peroxide, and thus becomes at once insoluble, or proves by its 
very acidity to be hurtful to \ T egetation. The present manner of 
valuing phosphates causes manufacturers to strive to ha\ r e as much of 
this soluble acid salt as possible, for it is alloAved a very much greater 
\ r alue by chemists than Avhat is insoluble. Yet precipitated phosphate 
is more valuable, being equally fit for use by the plants and less 
hurtful. Indeed, as we have said, the Soluble phosphate is at once 
precipitated or remains hurtful. 
Precipitated phosphate differs from either monocalcic or tricalcic 
phosphate. Monocalcic phosphate has one part of lime and two of 
Avater for its base. Precipitated or bicalcic phosphate has two of 
lime and one of Avater. When “ superphosphate ” lies for some time 
much of the monocalcic salt changes into the bicalcic ; but a better 
Avay of bringing about this result is to add bone dust to the super¬ 
phosphate. This gives up one part of its lime to the monocalciB salt, 
and both become bicalcic. Bicalcic phosphate, though not very 
soluble in Avater, is readily attacked by plants. 
There is another Avay whereby tricalcic phosphates are made readily 
a\ r ailable by being converted into bicalcic phosphates. When to 
ordinary soils bone dust or ground phosphates are applied the carbonic 
acid attacks the phosphate, and though unable to displace two 
molecules of the lime, it is capable of stealing one. With this it 
forms carbonate of lime (calcic carbonate), and the remnant of the 
phosphate becomes ready for use. This will give more satisfactory 
results than the more soluble salt. 
Fermenting bones causes them to assume the form of bicalcic 
phosphate ; and gardeners who study economy and have bones at 
command Avill find this way of preparing them well suited to their 
purpose. If the bones are crushed or broken with a hammer and 
