November lr, 1881. ] JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 443 
ingredients are therefore being drawn from the soil year after 
year. First of all we lift the annual crop of from 1 to 3 tons of 
fruit per acre ; next we annually lift, say, double that weight of 
runners and weeds with adhering soil; then lastly, at the end of 
the rotation, we remove all the old plants, say 10 tons per acre. 
This constant drain upon a thin stratum of soil must in a few 
years render it incapable of further production, unless we can 
contrive to restore a full equivalent. It is evident that we 
simplify the problem by first of all restoring the weeds and 
plants in the form of a decayed compost, leaving only the equiva¬ 
lent for the fruit to be considered. Some growers in their ignor¬ 
ance burn all weeds, reducing the equivalent of a ton of soil to 
1 or 2 cwts. of sand with a slight admixture of potash and other 
minerals ; and, as if even this were of no value, neglect to return 
it to the land, or only scatter it about the spot where it was 
burned. In this way the body of the soil is reduced, and the 
valuable volatile products of the plants dissipated in the air. 
In the early days of sugar cultivation in the West Indies it was 
usual to employ as fuel the magass, or refuse cane from which the 
juice had been extracted, the ashes being carefully returned to 
the land. Gradually but surely the fertility of the soil diminished. 
Experts recommended various animal and mineral fertilising 
agents, but the full powers of the soil were not recovered until 
the megass was replaced by coal and returned as a top-dressing to 
the land. The humus was being surely exhausted, and no mineral 
matter could take its place in enabling the soil to retain sufficient 
moisture to render soluble the food ingredients contained in it. 
The case is very similar to what is now before us. The ripe fruit 
of the Strawberry, like the expressed fruit of the sugarcane, con¬ 
tains little else than water, and its removal from the land only 
slightly impairs its powers. The more solid parts of the plants 
and weeds rob the soil to a far greater extent, and the first con¬ 
cern of the grower should be to return these in the form best 
fitted to repair the loss. This brings us to that most valuable 
adjunct of the Strawberry farm, the compost heap. Thither all 
refuse from the land should be carted and stacked in neat heaps 
4 or 5 feet deep. Some at once mix the rubbish with quicklime 
to hasten decomposition, but it is better to allow the heap to fer¬ 
ment, which it will speedily do if stacked when somewhat dry. 
We believe in using as little lime as possible, and find that 1 cwt. 
to the ton of rubbish is quite enough if the heap be first allowed 
to heat for a month or two. 
After turning and mixing with the lime and any road-scrapings 
or ditch-cleanings that maybe available the heap is again allowed 
to ferment for a month or more, when, as fast as good barnyard 
manure can be obtained, it is turned over by degrees and well 
mixed with the manure. The latter is used as fresh as possible, 
and in quantity sufficient to heat thoroughly when mixed. This 
heating effectually destroys the vitality of any weeds or seeds 
that might afterwards become troublesome. From time to time 
the contents of the wash-tank may be thrown over the heap, and 
by the time the season for top-dressing comes round the whole 
should appear a mass of fibrous soil. We recommend its use 
mainly as a top-dressing for all plantations that have yielded a 
crop. Young plantations well laid down ought to do without 
dressing till they have yielded a full crop. The compost is spread 
along the rows of plants on the approach of winter, and besides 
affording nourishment in the most suitable form helps to protect 
the crowns from frost. The rows are then slightly earthed up 
with the plough. The portions of plantations nearest the build¬ 
ings may have the contents of the wash-tank given them instead 
of top-dressing during the winter. Such is all the assistance in 
the way of manure that the most successful growers in this quarter 
give their plants, and nothing else seems requisite. We thus 
return all we take from the soil, the added manure being con¬ 
sidered a full equivalent for the fruit sold off. 
Artificial manures have been tried, though in a haphazard way, 
but 1 have not been able to trace any distinct benefit from their 
use ; notably, some of the farms mainly employing them give 
every sign of exhaustion, especially where combined with the 
plan of burning the rubbish. I therefore avoid giving any direc¬ 
tions as to such manures. To be applied at all with certainty of 
advantage we should require a careful analysis of soil, plant, and 
fruit, and this I cannot afford. Were such an analysis taken, say, 
of soil producing the highest quantity of fruit (and there are 
instances of 4 tons to the acre in this locality), one might have 
data on which to decide with certainty the kinds and quantities 
of artificial manures necessary to maintain the fertility of our soil, 
or to render other localities suitable for this valuable crop. Mean¬ 
while I find that the course I advocate is eminently successful.— 
William Raitt, Blairgowrie. 
Note.—T he annual growth of spongiolous roots on or near the 
surface renders surface-dressing almost a necessity ; and if, as I 
- . - 
venture to think, these roots are the main feeders of the fruit, 
while the older and deeper roots are the feeders of the plant itself, 
there is a ready explanation of the excellent effects of such dress¬ 
ings when applied so that they can be readily assimilated.— 
W. R. 
CELENOSTOMA HISPIDUM. 
The genus Chaeuostoma, though including more than twenty 
species, is not largely represented in English gardens, for few spe¬ 
cies besides C. hispidum and C. polyanthum are in cultivation, 
and these are rarely seen except in a few large and choice collec¬ 
tions, such as those of the leading botanic gardens. They might, 
however, well receive more attention, as dwarf compact plants 
that possess any pretensions to beauty are always useful for deco¬ 
rative purposes, especially in greenhouses or conservatories, where 
the want of sufficient diversity in the plants suitable for the front 
row on shelves and stages is frequently experienced. C. hispidum 
(fig. 72) is particularly useful for this purpose, as neat compact 
little bushes 6 to 9 inches in height may be obtained in 60 or 
43-size pots ; and though the pinkish white flowers are small, they 
are produced in great numbers and continuously over a good por¬ 
tion of the summer, sometimes quite concealing the foliage, the 
plants resembling compact masses of flowers. A compost of light 
loam, peat, and sand suits both C. hispidum and C. polyanthum, 
the latter differing from the former chiefly in its more straggling 
habit, and in its flowers being mauve or lilac-tinted. Propagation 
may be effected either by seeds or cuttings in spring, though 
cuttings may also be inserted in early autumn.—L. C. 
GARDEN POTATOES. 
Will you let me point out that “ Single-handed’s ” first pro¬ 
position on page 371, that “ Potatoes on rich old garden soil pro¬ 
duce much greater crops of haulm than of tubers,” is hardly 
correct or to the point ? The expression is vague, misleading, 
and unscientific, especially coming from such a writer. Had he 
said that “ haulm was produced at the expense of tubers in soils 
over-rich in soda and lime, and deficient in potash,” he would 
have conveyed a distinct and plain meaning ; and had he added 
that the continual application of farmyard manures tended to 
produce this state of things, it would have expressed all he 
wished. Rich old garden soil is produced m most cases by the 
application of stable-yard manure which the gardener is usually 
allowed, and this, together with the returned vegetable lefuse— 
if in a green state all the better—will keep a garden fertile for 
