392 JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. t October 2 e, isss. 
—for I ventured to taste it—well, just a little “fishy,” that 
was all. 
The matter precipitated at the bottom of the tanks—the mud— 
is pumped into a strong iron reservoir, and is then submitted to 
great pressure, the water passing out perfectly clear ; the solid 
matter, a compound of sewage and clay, being compressed into 
the form of oil cakes. These, which are quite inodorous, the clay 
acting as a deodorant, are dried, then broken, next crushed or 
ground, and this, “ the native guano,” is ready for use in farm 
and garden. During the entire process there is nothing even in 
the slightest degree offensive, in fact the air around is sweet in 
comparison with that floating over the Thames sometimes and 
other rivers that pass through towns. 
From a sanitary point of view it is difficult to conceive that any 
method of dealing with sewage can be found better than this ; 
indeed this was said in effect by the Lord Mayor after having 
made it his duty to become acquainted with the different processes 
of solving what is admittedly one of the problems of the age. He 
suspected that, after all the costly and elaborate methods of 
dealing with this subject, we must fall back on the simplicities of 
Nature, and separate the pure from that which is impure, sending 
the former into the rivers for the nurturing of fish, and placing 
the latter in the soil for the production of useful crops. As 
gardeners and cultivators generally always like to know as far 
as possible how the fertilisers are produced which they are 
invited to use, and as the whole question of sewage-disposal is so 
important to all, no apology is needed for devoting a little space 
to the matter, rather than by occupying it with a long list of the 
names of the individuals who have even had the honour of 
winning prizes for Turnips and Carrots. Most of these, therefore, 
will be passed in a brief reference to the Show. 
Whatever the object of the Native Guano Company may have 
been in the great provision they made for filling their tents, it is 
hoped, while they will rightly demand and will ungrudgingly be 
accorded justice where it is due, they will not expect nor receive 
unqualified praise where it is not deserved. The system of dis¬ 
posing of sewage appears a splendid success from a sanitary point 
of view, but whether the Exhibition equally displayed the potency 
of their manure is another question. But did not the products 
staged prove this ? They neither proved it nor disproved it. 
Granted the fine heads of corn with straw 6 feet long, the bright 
samples in sacks, the huge Turnips and Mangolds and Cabbages 
from farms, with the splendid collections of vegetables, the large 
Onions, huge Cauliflowers, good Potatoes, clear Turnips, Carrots, 
and Beet from gardens. Granted all this, we still know—all 
gardeners know—that equally good examples can be and have 
been produced on some soils where neither native nor exotic 
guano, or indeed any other so-called artificial fertilisers, have 
been employed. The native guano may be an excellent manure. 
It no doubt contains good food for plants—in fact, must contain 
it; yet we still want to know in what proportion it is used to 
produce given results, and also what other manurial matters the 
soil contains, before the true nature of the article under notice 
can be determined. Carefully conducted trials are needed in 
comparison with other fertilisers in different kinds of soils for 
testing its real worth. No doubt such trials have been made, but 
of these we have no record, and it is almost certain that this 
manure will be more largely tested. Let this be done systemati¬ 
cally. Trials of fertilisers in private gardens are often conducted 
in a haphazard manner, and in a way that is not fair to one or 
the other of them. To test the native against imported guano, for 
instance, using both in the same quantity—say at the rate of 
2 ozs. per square yard or 5 cwt. per acre—would be obviously 
handicapping the home-made article to a serious extent, for it is 
about four times less costly to purchase than the other. More 
than three times the quantity of the native fertiliser should be 
applied to the same extent of ground as the foreign, and to the 
same crops ; then if the returns should prove equal or nearly so, 
the former will have proved its value in a substantial manner, 
and the demand for it will compel the authorities of towns to 
seriously consider the advisability of adopting the ABC process 
of sewage-disposal, thus rendering the streams clearer and land 
richer, the air sweeter and crops better ; for at present the sewage 
of many towns and villages is worse than wasted, for too fre¬ 
quently it is allowed to ferment, and the disease germs that are 
then generated are distributed bv air and by water into British 
homes of every class. If it can be proved by results that, say, 
3^ tons of the native substance will produce as much food as 1 ton 
of the best foreign will, then neither special trains, lord mayors, 
nor sumptuous luncheons will be needed to bring the article into 
notice. 
Very little has been said about the Show. It must suffice to 
say that in the fifty classes there were 400 entries and 7500 
specimens, that Mr. De Fraine staged the finest collection of 
vegetables that has probably ever been shown by a market 
gardener, everything in season being represented, the whole 
covering a space of 15 by 9 feet; that the amateurs’ and cottagers’ 
collections were of wonderful excellence, equalling those staged 
by gardeners at our great shows ; that Mr. Robins, gardener to 
E. D. Lee, Esq., won the chief prizes for collections of Potatoes 
with produce of unsurpassable quality; that Mr. Polley secured 
the first prize for the best bushel of round Potatoes with Arondi- 
nack, and the best bushel of kidneys with Pride of the Valley ; 
that Messrs. Robins, A. Blake, gardener to H. Cazenove, Esq., 
and W. Finlay, gardener to Col. North, M.P., were the successful 
exhibitors of Grapes; that Mr. Blake won the Hon. W. F. B. 
Massey-Mainwaring’s £5 prize for twelve stove and greenhouse 
plants ; that Messrs. Suttons’ cup for farm produce was secured 
by Mr. Beeson of Amersham, and Messrs. Carters’ by Mr. Howard 
of Drayton Beauchamp; and that the produce in all the other 
classes was good, in most cases superior, and that the Show alto¬ 
gether was a great one and a great success.—J. W. 
REMEDY FOR BLACK APHIDES ON PEACH TREES. 
The following I have found an effectual remedy for black fly 
on Peach and Nectarine trees :—1 quart of tobacco water to 
3 gallons of warm w r ater heated to about 120°; syringe thoroughly 
in the evening, and syringe with clear soft water the next morn¬ 
ing, and there will not be many insects alive. If the trees are 
badly affected syringe on three successive evenings ; but as pre¬ 
vention is better than cure, syringe once before the flowers open 
and again after they have set, and once again when the shoots are 
2 or 3 inches long. In this way I have kept black aphides from 
the trees entirely for the season, but if two or three were seen 1 
used to syringe at once. I am speaking of trees out of doors, as I 
was never troubled with fly in the houses ; but these remarks are 
equally applicable to trees indoors and out. I have seen whole 
walls of trees entirely destroyed by not attending to them in time. 
I had as good a wall of Peaches as anyone could wish to see, 
whilst our neighbours’ trees were destroyed with aphides.—G. G. 
CARTER’S NURSERIES, PERRY HILL, SYDENHAM. 
I had heard much of this nursery for some years, especially in 
connection with the periodical display of annuals shown by the 
firm, and as some hours remained after visiting the Holborn seed 
warehouses referred to on page 294, I went to London Bridge, 
whence Forest Hill station was reached in fifteen minutes, a few 
more minutes’ walk bringing me to the nursery. On my arrival the 
great speciality of the season—Petunias, had just passed their 
meridian beauty, but enough remained to afford me a rare treat. 
There were ten thousand alone in pots. There were single and double 
sections, with plain, and laced, or barred corollas, with even edges, 
or scolloped or fringed, some chastely veined, and others curiously 
spotted. Some were miniatures, while others might be readily mistaken 
for one of Jackman’s Clematis ; and last, but the class I liked best, 
were the maculated and green-edged forms, especially the doubles— 
perfect flaked rosettes. Almost every colour was represented. Many 
beautiful and distinct varieties were named. It would have been 
interesting to all who love showy and beautiful annuals to see such 
masses of flowers grown in 5-inch pots. Many were grown in open 
frames, some in pits, and a number in low houses, but all were fully 
exposed, sturdy, and vigorous, having been removed under glass for 
perfecting their seeds and to keep them more under control during 
the process of hybridisation. 
In the next house we came upon another present speciality of the 
firm—double Bouvardias, pink and white, Alfred Neuner and President 
Garfield. Remembering that the former was introduced and certifi¬ 
cated so recently, I was surprised to find a house 100 feet long filled 
with plants, while the pink variety is being extensively propagated. 
Wherever beautiful waxy-white or pink flowers that will last a long 
time are in request those will be valuable additions. Several cool 
houses were devoted to Primulas, but for those I was too late, except 
to note the seed-harvesting process. One structure was wholly 
occupied with the “ blue ” Primula Holborn Gem advertised last 
spring. Large space, too, is given to Cyclamens; and though the 
plants were in comparatively small pots the foliage was beautifully 
marbled, vigorous, and fleshy, showing numbers of flower buds, that 
must make them desirable for winter and spring decoration. The 
striped giganteum persicum and the purple variety seem very robust, 
while perhaps the most desirable of all, White Swan, a pure white 
strain, will prove most attractive for special purposes. Gloxinias 
were resting, but Tuberous Begonias of the Crown Jewel strain were 
beautiful, valuable alike for pots and bedding. 
Going out into the grounds and leaving a number of heated houses 
last, we wandered to a colony of succulents, which were as curious 
as they were beautiful, and which I was hitherto unaware were 
patronised here. Near these were some rare and hardy border 
plants, to meet the fashion in this direction. Here, too, was pointed 
