Febttury 11, 1888. ] 
JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDESER. 
105 
who do not know that the cause of their failure is due to the 
cause I tried to point out. 
I do not possess “ Warington’s Chemistry of the Farm,” but 
expect that the quotations given from it apply largely to agri¬ 
cultural soils, and what is the difference between these and the 
soil of a Vine border ? What is the per-centage of humus con¬ 
tained in the former compai'ed with that in the latter ? If the 
analysis of the ashes formed by burning the wood of Vines is 
any guide, it cannot well be disputed that lime is an indispensable 
article of food for them, as well as many other plants. If 
this is the case, then lime can be applied annually or periodically, 
as I explained, with beneficial results to them. It is indeed 
questionable if agricultural soils contain one-third, or even one- 
fourth, the humus of a Vine border. It is a very common 
practice to apply heavy dressings of manure annually, and of 
what benefit will this prove to the Vines when there is already 
abundance in the border that they cannot tike up or use ? To 
add animal or vegetable matter to a border of this description 
is only adding fuel to the fire, and this is being done every year. 
But if lime was applied, would it not set some of this mass of 
food that is lying dormant at liberty, so that it could be assimi¬ 
lated by the Vines for their support and that of the crop ? I 
think it will cljarly be seen that I only advised a certain per¬ 
centage of lime to be applied annually, and at the same time as 
much manure as would restore the amount of humus extracted or 
diminished. I am aware that it would be simply madness to apply 
lime to a Vine border already poor and containing practically 
little or no humus. Its power of decomposing fibre and other vege¬ 
table matter quickly had not been overlooked ; on the contrary, I 
was aware of this, and for this reason I advised its use so that the 
fibry loam and manure applied with it annually could soon be 
reduced to such a condition that Vines could utilise it for food 
in the manner they most desired. 
Now to turn to the kitchen garden to which I alluded, not a 
mere Cabbage bed, which had been heavily manured, and was so 
full of humus that plants would not grow in it, either Cabbages 
or any of the Brassicas. Two previous gardeners had con¬ 
demned this garden as worn out, and they appealed for a new 
one. The dressing of lime brought this garden into a fertile 
state ; not a mere sprinkling of lime, but it was applied at the 
rate of 250 to 300 bushels per acre, if that amount was not exceeded, 
I cannot now tell exactly without looking back for vouchers, 
which would give me considerable trouble. This was applied 
seven and eight years ago, and lime has since been applied, in 
fact, a little annually, but not in such large quantities, and the 
most beneficial results follow its application for the productive¬ 
ness of the garden is increased by its agency. The amount of 
humus in the best of agricultural soils cannot be above one- 
third what it is in highly cultivated kitchen gardens, neither is 
half the produce taken from the land. From my garden I re¬ 
quire and get two crops from the great part of it annually, and 
when this is done there is naturally something taken out of the 
soil, and I believe in putting something in. By this means, even 
if lime is freely and periodically applied, the fertility of the 
ground is not destroyed. It would be, 1 readily admit, if we 
applied lime and took all out of the soil we could get, and put 
nothing back again. I am afraid there is much agricultural land 
exhausted of nearly all the humus it contained without the 
application of lime to assist. On the best managed farms what is 
the amount of manure applied in comparison to what is the case 
in a garden, and therefore it is naturally less rich in humus. 
The renovation of the garden in question and its fertile state I 
attribute to a free and judicious use of lime. With the excep¬ 
tion of growing Parsley and Carrots, no one need desire a better 
piece of land. 
I noticed someone asking in the Journal what to do to prevent 
“clubbing.” My advice is to give a thorough good dressing of 
hot lime ashort time before the ground has to be cropped in spring. 
This proved an effectual cure in the garden to which allusion has 
been made. The best way of applying it is to dig deeply or 
trench the ground, and then spread it on the surface after it has 
fallen to dust, then dig it in. If the ground has been heavily 
manured none need be applied unless on the surface of the soil 
to be cast towards the bottom of the trench as the operation 
of trenching or digging proceeds.—W m. Bardney. 
Individual. —Surely for a writer who freely criticises others “ Thinker ” 
is too sensitive, and I am as much surprised as sorry that he should for one 
moment considered that my story was told as in any way applicable to him. 
I merely told it by the way, and if he reflects for a moment it will surely 
strike him that if I meant to imply that he corresponded to the burly 
Liberator,” I must have compared my excellent friend, Harrison Weir, to 
the Dublin “fishfag 1 ” It could have no point at all in reference to the 
m itter, for the point was that Dan’s antagonist no njore understncd the 
meaning of “ individual ” than if, in reference to the element from whence 
her wares were taken, he had called her a “ palufostboios thalasse.” I must 
utterly disclaim being regarded as a “ facetious man;” on the contrary, I 
am regarded as rather a btaid individual, who relishes a joke even when 
told against himself.—D., Deal. 
SCUTELLARIA MACRANTHA. 
Though less showy perhaps than some other of the Lipworts, many 
of the Skull-caps are very ornamental plants, and none more so than tho 
Scutellaria macrantha represented in fig. 18. 
This is a native of Eastern Asia, and appears to be widely spread 
extending, according to Sir William Hooker, to the great wall of Ch'na 
where it was detected by Sir George Staunton. As might have been 
anticipated, it is perfectly hardy and of easy cultivation and increase. It 
is an herbaceous perennial, scarcely exceeding 1 foot in heght, with 
angular, branching stems, and opposite, entire, lance-shaped leaves, and 
forming when sufficiently strong a spreading bushy tuft. The very hand¬ 
some purple flowers are produced in long terminal spikes, and are larger 
than those of any other species known to us. The plant seeds freely, and 
may be readily increased by these means, as well as by division of the 
roots, or by cuttings under a glass, either in the border or frame. Seed¬ 
lings usually flower the first season if sown early, and should be trans¬ 
planted from the seed pan while young, as they will suffer less from 
removal than at a more advanced state of their growth, when their tap¬ 
like root is more developed. 
With regard to soil, a mixture of good loam and decayed leaves or 
manure appears to best suit this plant, though it will probably flourish in 
any good garden soil ; for many hardy plants, like individuals, possess 
the happy faculty of adapting themselves to situations of diverse 
character, provided that they are not of too extreme a nature. 
It disappears so entirely during the winter months that it is advisable 
to mark its place in the border by a label of some description, for much 
injury in often done to p'ants of a similar character when the borders 
are dressed in spring, from ignorance of the precise locality of their 
roots. 
When first introduced this plant was recommended by Sir W. J. 
Hooker as a desirable one for planting in masses, and now that its seeds 
are readily procurable at a reasonable rate, its employment for this pur¬ 
pose may be fairly made the subject of experiment, as its flowering 
season is of considerable duration. The effect would probably be 
enhanced by planting it iD association with the yellow-flowered S. orien 
