December 2,1880. ] JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 
503 
Isolepis, was very beautiful. These vases are suitable alike for rooms 
and conservatories, and the water can be drained from them without 
touching the floor or carpet. Mr. Cannell had a brilliant stand of 
Zonal Pelargoniums in superior varieties, and some very rich Primula 
blooms. Mr. Taylor, gardener to J. Evans, Esq., Hammerwich, Lich¬ 
field, exhibited an extraordinary Cineraria to show the efficacy of his 
new plant manure.” This plant was stated to have been raised 
from seed sown on April 30th ; it was 2j feet high and the same in 
diameter, with vigorous branching growths, thick dark green foliage, 
and large flowers. Mr. Latham, Mr. Redfern, and other officials 
rendered the Show as pleasant as it was successful. 
OXFORD. 
This Society held its annual Show on the 23rd and 24th nit., in the 
spacious Corn Exchange, Oxford. The exhibits were numerous. Most 
of the plants bore good blooms, although, as elsewhere this season, 
many incurved varieties, especially of the Rundle type, were not first- 
rate. One specimen of George G-lenny had about forty-five blooms. Cut 
blooms were not largely shown, but some excellent stands were 
staged. A special feature in this Show were the grafted trained 
standards of four or more varieties in one plant, some of them ex¬ 
ceedingly handsome. The Oxfordshire Society is almost entirely 
composed of amateurs, and has about 250 members, from the shoe¬ 
maker to the Oxford professor. The Society enjoys good patronage, 
and gives very substantial prizes. The Duchess of Marlborough 
visited the Show during the day, and the Exchange was very crowded 
all day, and altogether the Show was a great success and excellently 
managed by the Secretary, Mr. A. Greenaway. The Judges were Mr. 
C. Hill, Oxford, and Mr. N. Davis, Camberwell. 
HOW I FAILED TO GROW GOOD ASPARAGUS. 
Asparagus is one of the most important vegetables grown in 
the kitchen garden, as it comes into season at a time when vege¬ 
tables are very scarce ; it is therefore rather serious for the gar¬ 
dener when the crop fails, yet I have failed to grow good Aspa¬ 
ragus, and will point out what my system has been. The soil in 
the garden under my charge is a stiff shallow loam ; the subsoil is 
a kind of shale, and rock beneath. Most vegetables, Strawberries, 
Peach, Nectarine, Apple, and Pear trees, all succeed well. The 
piece of ground where I intended to make the beds was rather wet, 
so in October I marked out four beds and two ridges. The soil was 
removed and 6 inches of clinkers placed at the bottom, which were 
covered with fern to keep the drainage clear of soil. Afterwards 
all the soil was returned and some well-decomposed dung was placed 
upon the bed. Trenching was then commenced by takiug out 
I yard width of soil and wheeling it to the other end of the bed 
to fill up the last trench. I placed in 3 inches depth of well-de¬ 
composed dung and a sprinkling of inch bones, when the first 
spit of soil and shovellings were placed upon the dung. I then 
put a layer of dung, fresh loam, and bones well mixed together 
upon the first spit of soil until the trenching was finished. A 
covering of the same mixture as that over the drainage was placed 
on the surface. The beds were then dug one spit deep and thrown 
up into ridges a yard wide, which in March were forked down. 
Early in April they were again forked over and prepared for 
the plants. The beds were 4 feet wide with three rows of plants, 
in each 1 foot apart each way. The paths were 2 feet G inches wide. 
The Asparagus was planted as soon as growth commenced ; the 
line was placed the length of the bed in the centre, and with a 
hoe I drew the soil towards the edge of the bed. At the bottom 
of the trench a mixture of dung and loam was placed, and covered 
with sea sand. 'The roots were carefully spread out, a man fol¬ 
lowing to cover the plants with loam and manure. When all the 
beds were planted a slight coating of sand was thrown over them, 
raking, levelling, and edging them in the usual way. Owing to 
the mild showery weather at the time, the plants soon started and 
grew remarkably well for the first two years. The beds were kept 
free from weeds, and a small Dutch hoe was frequently run over 
the beds to keep the surface open. In November when the haulm 
was quite ripe it was cut down, and the beds were carefully 
pricked over with a steel fork, a dressing of fresh dung being 
placed on them. In March the dung was raked off the beds and 
dug into the paths. After two years’ growth the Asparagus was 
very fine and I expected a good supply in the spring, but time 
passed and no growths appeared. I then examined the plants to 
find that after all my trouble and care nearly half of them were 
dead. I felt quite disheartened, as the two ridges were in the 
same condition. I have planted at different times three or four 
sets of beds, but without drainage, employing the same compost 
as described above, but with more sand in the mixture, and the 
result has been a failure in each case. It is very remarkable that 
all the plants grew so satisfactorily for two years, and the third 
year nearly one-half died. I have tried seed sown in drills, the 
plants being thinned to 1 foot apart ; also plants one, two, and 
three years old, with no success. I shall be glad to obtain any 
information upon growing Asparagus in such soil as I have 
described. In sandy loam I have been successful with it, but a 
stiff retentive loam is very different.— John Nunns, Wimbledon. 
GARDEN REFUSE AND ITS USES. 
Mr. Record’s remarks on this subject on page 476 were well 
worthy of a place in the Journal of Horticulture , as fortunately, 
or unfortunately as some may think, a rubbish heap or heaps are 
to be found connected with every garden. These are frequently 
much too conspicuously situated. In many instances there are 
two such heaps—one to which all rubbish from the pleasure 
grounds is taken, the other for that of the kitchen garden. Here 
we have three separate heaps, all of which in the course of twelve 
months become of considerable size, and eventually prove ex¬ 
tremely useful for various purposes. For the rubbish which 
accumulates in the pleasure grounds a large trench, from which 
fully fifteen loads of earth was taken, was cut at the back of a 
conveniently situated shrubbery. Into this trench, commencing 
at one end, all the sweepings, parings of turf, old bedding plants, 
weeds, and any leaves not good enough for hotbeds are thrown. 
In about two years the rubbish in that part of the trench first 
filled, to the extent of about one-third of the whole, is thoroughly 
decayed, and therefore iu a fit state for use. After being thrown 
out it is well mixed, all undecayed portions forked out, and then 
the mixture of vegetable soil and road grit (the latter comes off 
the paths) is worked into the strong heavy soil of the flower beds 
used with heavy soil when tree-planting, and is particularly good 
for stiff land intended for Potatoes. A few barrowloads of it are 
often useful in the frame ground and the potting shed should 
the ordinary leaf soil be scarce. The greater part of the grass 
from the mowing machines is taken to the farmyard, which I am 
inclined to think the best place for it. In some places it is given 
to the pigs, and is by them rapidly trampled into manure, and 
which is very effective on some soils. 
The heap of kitchen garden rubbish is not buried, as it is not to 
lay unmolested so long, and is more easily prepared above ground. 
To this heap all the sweepings from the houses and the rough 
rubbish from the potting shed is wheeled. This is kept squared 
up as neatly as possible, and once a year—usually about this time— 
is turned over, the roughest portion being thrown out and burned ; 
the ashes being stored away in a dry place, and are found of 
great service to the Carrot, Onion, and other crops. The heap of 
rich soil, which it must be admitted generally contains a great 
quantity of weed seeds, is usually distributed on the meadow 
land as an exchange for good fresh farmyard manure, which is 
employed first for hotbeds. If this exchange could not be effected 
I should unhesitatingly use the heap in the kitchen garden, as I 
do not believe in the possibility of growing good crops without a 
fair amount of manure, and during most seasons weeds can easily 
be kept down. 
The third heap is composed principally of old soil from pot 
plants of all descriptions, with siftings and other rubbish from 
the potting bench. This mixture, when well broken up and 
cleared of any rough material, is in the spring freely employed 
for potting all kinds of summer bedding plants, aud also proves 
almost invaluable in the frame ground. From the fact of its 
being rather light and sandy it is particularly suitable for early 
Carrots and Potatoes, and we also employ it with a little rougher 
soil added for Cauliflowers and Peas. After these crops are over 
much of it is again collected, and the next season is worked into 
naturally very stiff soil for early Potatoes and Carrots, to the 
great benefit of both crops. 
I have been asked by gardeners at our local horticultural meet¬ 
ings how I managed to obtain such early Potatoes as Mona’s 
Pride or Yeitch’s Improved Ashleaf of such good shape from the 
open ground. When informed that it is simply by freely using 
old potting soil the remark at once made was, “ Oh ! we haven’t 
time for such coddling.” Perhaps not, but at the same time I 
well knew that these men “coddled” with many things that 
neither my employer nor myself cared anything about. To have 
Potatoes fit to eat, and also good for exhibition, I here found it 
absolutely necessary first to bastard-trench the ground, and after¬ 
wards to work into the rows as much as possible of light sandy 
soil. The fact of having a large and good garden does not insure 
success. It is by attending to the smallest details that great 
things are accomplished. As it happens I have neither a large 
nor a good garden to manage, and what little I have achieved is 
partly owing to making good use of the soils obtained from the 
rubbish heaps. Call it “ coddling ” who will.—W. IGGULDEN. 
Brussels Sprouts. —To produce the “best of Sprouts” ought 
the crown of the plant to be cut out or not ? I find such diversity 
