408 
JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 
[ May 17 , i83->. 
of light turfy loam, sand, and peat, or leaf soil, suits the Cantuas admir¬ 
ably, whether grown in pots or planted oirt. 
THREE GOOD POTATOES. 
It may be late to write about Potatoes after the planting is practically 
completed, still there is time for planting for raising a stock of tubers in 
the autumn, not for us“, but further planting : therefore a brief record 
of experience with three of the newer sorts may just be in time to be 
useful. 
On light soils M.P. is one of the best second early varieties th.at can be 
grown. Planted with the main crop of ilyatt's it is ready to dig and be 
eaten when they are ready. When large enough, even before the skins 
are set, it is highly present.able when cooked, being very white, mealy, 
and in quality all that e,an be desired. Last sea.son it cropped heavily 
with us, and although the haulms were dead before rain came there 
were very few small tubers. This should prose valuable for market 
purposes. Although ripe and ready for use early in the season it is 
perfectly good until the end of the year. 
Welford Park, a very strong-growing late kidney v.ariety, cropped 
heavily with us. The tubers are excellent in quality, and the ground was 
full of them, the rows 2 feet 3 inches apart, and the sets a foot asunder. 
Chiswick Favourite, if I judge rightly, has a future before it, and 
will, I venture to predict, supplant for field culture the well-known and 
largely cultivated Scotch Champion. It is too robust in growth for 
small gardens. The crops were heavy, tubers large, round, and the eyes 
shallow. The quality is all that can be desired, and although the tubers 
have grown large I have only cut one that showed the least signs of 
being hollow in the centre, and nearly all are well-shaped. 
The last season pointed out valuable lessons, and the observant may 
and should profit largely in the future. Those who worked the land 
thoroughly and applied manure liberally had the best of it last year, for 
high-class culture showed itself unmistakeably in both the field and 
garden. We had nearly double the weight of Potatoes from land that 
had been trenched over that wliich had been dug only one spit deep, 
though the last had the benefit of position. Both were planted at the 
same time with seed of the same variety. The contrast was so striking 
that we trenched deeply for the next autumn crop. For cropping with 
Potatoes more of the bottom soil may with advantage be brought to the 
surface than would be wise for many crops. A crop of Potatoes with 
Brussels Sprouts, or Autumn Giant Cauliflowers, planted between the 
rows gives the soil turned to the surface every chance of being sufficiently 
enriched and in good condition for any crop in the following vear.— 
Wm. Bakdney. 
ARTIFICIAL MANURES. 
I CAITNOT refrain from congratulating Jlr. Coomber on the evident 
earnestness with which he has set about clearing away some of the dust 
that for a time obscured the main points of this controversy, and as he 
has fully impressed upon my mind the importance of tracing every effect 
to its cause, I will endeavour to bring that principle into action by trying 
to find out the cause of so much *• dust arising.” After duly considering 
the facts of the case I come to the conclusion that in this instance the 
cause is the inconsistency of some of his statements in the first place, 
and also bj^ the placing of too high a value upon a rudimentary know¬ 
ledge of chemistry, his observations conveying the idea that a smattering 
of chemistry is more to be depended upon than a large amount of experi¬ 
ence. I fully believe in the principle that competition and legitimate 
criticism are often the incentives to progress, and I trust tliat this con¬ 
troversy has caused us to reflect more thoroughly on the means we take 
to obtain the object in view, and ascertain by the help of hard facts how 
far theories can be reduced to a practical system having advantages over 
practice already proved to be good. Now. my opponent and myself are 
travelling in the same direction, as I fully recognise the importance of 
chemic.al knowledge in our treatment of plants and crops, but we differ 
considerably in our manner of putting that knowledge into practice. I 
am perfectly willing to abandon the well-tried method of giving jdants 
at certain times a change in the form of the manure supplied to them, 
provided I have absolute proof that I can obtain better results by other 
means, and I hold it is altogether illogical to do so until then. My views 
are perfectly in accord with his when he saj^s I oppose being contented 
with such clumsy and blind methods of supplying plant food. But I 
think it will serve no useful purpose to aim at such nicely jiroportioned 
chemical combinations as my opponent advocates, as scientific research 
has proved that in some ca.ses only 10 lbs. and in others 50 lbs. of phos¬ 
phoric acid put into the soil is taken up by a given crop, and it is quite 
unknown why this is so. It also .shows that it is not necessary to 
measure out phosphoric acid and pota.sh, for reasons I shall presently 
explain. 
Your correspondent asks, Poes the constitution of a plant improve 
because its bulk increases ? My answer is. Yes, provided that plant ha.s 
within its reach a sufficient quantity of the principal solidifying agents, 
such as phosphoric acid, potash, &c., to supply the drain that is made 
upon its resources when building up that growth, and also that the 
weather is favourable for ripening it. This is, I consider, the rock on 
which the arguments of my opponent split. He does not take into con¬ 
sideration the various stages of growth that plants pass through, and 
the condition they arc in at the time manures are applied, and this is 
quite as important as placing the right kind of food within their reach. 
There is a right and wrong time for applying certain portions of plant 
food. On these lines gardeners have been working in the right direc¬ 
tion when giving we.ak liquid manure at first, and gradually increas¬ 
ing its strength as the strain on the energies of vegetation becomes the 
greatest, and then gradually withholding it, or rather certain parts of it^ 
as that strain is lessened. The aim of gardeners is to produce the 
greatest possible bulk (consistent with good quality) in a given sjiace, 
and to do that we must have vigour, and th.at vigour should be limited 
in extent to the amount that can be pro[)erly ripened and solidified. 
This is not regulated by the influence of phosphatic substances alone, 
but also by the influence of light, air, and water, so that in addition to 
the food plants receive from the .soil they depend in a great measure 
upon light and heat. In wet cold se.asons garden and farm crops should 
not receive so much highly stimulating food as in bright ones, and if 
food is given upon the lines I am about to state this difference can be 
more easily .adjusted than by what I will call the “ properly proportioned 
combination theory.” The results of the latest .scientific investiga¬ 
tions show that the true .system of manuring plants is this , that wa 
should give to the soil phosphoric acid and potash, and all other soliilify- 
ing elements, p.aying the greatest attention to the two named, and in 
doing this no waste will result, because the soil has the power of retain¬ 
ing within itself for the use of future crops that portion of these ele¬ 
ments not required for the use of the jiresent one, and Nature has so 
ordered it that the amount of growth made by vegetation is regulated 
by the supply of nitrogen at its command ; but soluble nitrogen should 
be measured out to the plants, and not be given in excess, because the 
entire supply is at the disposal of the plants even in times of the 
greatest need. 
A knowledge of these facts enables us to supply plants with the right 
food at the right time, .and also shows us that such stimul.ants as nitr.ate 
and gu.ano and ammoniacal manures in general can be applied at the 
wrong time, as they are quick in their action on vegetation, and if more 
is given than the pl.ants can assimilate in a given time it is simply 
waste, as water soon washes it from the reach of the roots, and in cases 
where the soil is not kept moist it may kill many of the tender roo's. A 
want of nitrogen can be determined by the eye, as plants that have not 
a sufficient supply within their reach become pale and sickly in colour 
and stunted or feeble in growth; but such is an extreme case, and a 
supply of that element should be given whenever the result of daily 
observation shows that the tneouragement of more vigour is desirable ^ 
but how much more vigour is desirable, and what quantity of these 
stimulating substances is required, can only be determined by actual 
experience. Our aim must be to produce such vigour in each pai- 
ticular plant as we have seen attended with the best results, because the 
.amount of vigour from which the highe.st results are obtained are fixed 
by climate and weather, and therefore the varying conditions of these 
elements in each particular season must be taken into account. Here, 
then, is a simple and practic<al way of putting the science of chemistry 
into practical use in such a manner that the powers of keen observation 
with so much utility to gardeners can be brought into full play. 
ily views are fully in accordance with those of Mr. Coomber concern¬ 
ing the onward march of gardening, and I also fully recognise the 
importance of not being contented with blind and clumsy methods of 
carrying out our aims. But we must not go the other extreme and take 
it for granted that because theory tells us a certain thing should be so, 
that such is the case ; the true test lies in proving by the help of h.ard 
facts which of the two confers the greatest adv.antages. These experi¬ 
ments must to a great extent be c.arried out by special investigators, as 
it is too wide a field of labour for gardeners (their time is too much 
taken up in attending to and arranging the practical detatils of garden¬ 
ing), till the result of the experiments already pointed out can give 
them simple and sound principles to work upon. 
In support of his ideas my opponent puts forward the statement of an 
American cultivator of the Camelli.a, when he says th.at he has been 
using for some time a certain artificial manure for plants that have been 
in the same pots for ten years, and they are, he adds, as healthy and 
vigorous as recently potted plants, and .so long as they remain in that 
highly satisfactory condition no one would think of advising him to 
change, as there arc exceptions to every rule, which are often the result 
of Sfiecial circumstances of which we have not the full particulars. As 
a set-off against this I will give an instance in support of what he calls 
my '• pet theory.” I recently saw an account of the splendid Eucharis 
house at Gunton, where Mr. Allen grows these plants so well, and in 
the remarks on their cultivation it states they had been fed with liquid 
manure made from cow or sheep’s dung, and guano for a “• change.”' 
Mr. Coomber not having attempted to put forward a cogent reason why 
plants so frequently become candidates for the rubbish heap when 
they pass from the hands of the market grower into well man.aged 
private gardens, I will give my ideas on the subject. They are 
doubtless fed with strong stimulants regularly when in market growers’ 
hands in order to praluce plants of large size in small pots, and by the 
time they change hands they are quite dependent on these regular sup¬ 
plies of food ; yet in nine cases out of ten nothing but clear water is 
given without any gradual system of reducing such rich food being 
resorted to. The change is too sudden, and the result what may be ex¬ 
pected. 1 n my original article on this subject I pointed out the im¬ 
portance of gradually withholding stimulating manures from plants 
intende<I for decorative purjjoses. Before concluding I must touch on 
one other point. Does nitrate of soda leave the soil in an exhausted 
condition, as my opponent has contended throughout this discussion f 
This question has been dealt with in a work by Professor Paul Wagner, 
translated by G. G. Henderson, from which I will give an extract. 
