august 29 , 1889. ] 
JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 
173 
of crocks for drainage. The advantage of putting one crock only- 
in the smaller pots will now be seen ; the roots enjoy the coarse 
soil, and undisturbed the ball can be repotted entire. Ventilate 
freely night and day, pinch off blooms that occasionally appear, 
annihilate pests, and wait patiently for winter ; then, if the grower 
is not rewarded for his trouble and care with compact globular 
heads of healthy foliage from 12 to 15 inches through, and a pro¬ 
fusion of bloom for at least five months, particularly in February 
•and March, it will not be the fault of the plants. 
Cyclamens flower even more freely the second year with suit¬ 
able treatment. When the first season’s flowering is finished 
remove to the cool house again, but drying off must not be practised. 
As fresh young leaves are observed repot into 8 or 10-inch pots. 
The 7-inch pots ought to be full of active roots, and to dry off or 
■shake out under such circumstances is murderous treatment. If 
they are not well supplied with roots consign them to the rubbish 
heap ; let the foliage die off naturally, and repeat as previously 
advised. Three-year-old plants are disappointing. At no time 
■should too much manure be used with the potting mixtures, cow 
manure not at all. Feeding will not be required until the autumn, 
and must not be overdone then. Always keep the plants near to 
the glass. Direct sunshine distresses them, making the leaves 
flimsy ; this is not good, and should be avoided. I have seen 
several sowings advised, but one will be found sufficient for most 
.places, as the plants do not all flower at the same time.—S. Y. 
TREATMENT OF SOILS AND MANURES. 
( Continued from page 153 .j 
Each of the three parts of soil have their constituents in diffe¬ 
rent forms. The active is ready for plant life ; the dormant is 
principally composed of “ bases,” ready to unite with active acids ; 
the inactive part is a mass of elements in a latent state. The larger 
part of soil being inorganic proves that the mineral elements are 
far in excess of that required by plants. It is possible to exhaust 
'the soil of mineral constituents by heavy cropping without return¬ 
ing any of those elements to the soil. They can be reduced by bad 
cultivation, but not in that case exhausted, as the action of the 
rain and atmosphere, &e., would convert the dormant matter into 
active plant food. A farm has come under my notice where the 
land has not received a coating of manure of any sort for at least 
forty years, yet twenty to twenty-four sacks of corn per acre is the 
return each time of reaping—quite an “ Eldorado ” the farmers 
will say ; but the owner knows the value of the land, and farms it 
limself. 
The grand secret to reap all the benefit of the soil is good work¬ 
ing of the land, and any extra wages judiciously spent in tilling are 
saved ten times over, as the application of artificial manures will 
not be required. Take a small quantity of soil, place it in a glass, 
fill with water, and allow it to stand a while, then strain through 
an unsized piece of paper into a basin, and place in a position that 
the water can evaporate withoutany dust getting into it. You will 
have left a residue of active plant food. Again, add a little water 
to the soil left in the glass, and digest it in a hot oven, or even add 
a little cesspool water to it, filter again through the paper, 
and treat as before. This test will give a proof of the quantity of 
dormant matter capable of being made active by cultivation, or by 
natural causes in time. Apply diluted sulphuric or other acid, and 
"treat as before. This will show the result of longer cultivation, 
and with stronger acid some of the inactive portion of the soil will 
be compelled to yield some of its elements for plant food, as it 
would by long cultivation. The action of the air when the soil is 
turned up to its influence has the same effect as the weak or 
stronger acids have upon the so 1 tested, and acids put into the soil 
in manures have a similar effect upon the subsoil. I recommend 
that a portion of the subsoil, if only a few spadefuls in each trench, 
be thrown over the surface, to be exposed to the action of the 
frost, for by this means some of the essential elements will be 
brought within the reach of the plants 
I stated that cesspool water should be thrown over manure 
heaps in covered yards, but on most establishments more would be 
created than could be used in that way. When emptying cesspools 
the contents should be preserved in a heap of potting refuse and 
protected from the air and rain, and if turned over once or twice 
till it is dust dry it can be used as a top-dressing in rainy weather, 
and be more useful than any artificial manure. I remember 
*80 tons of spring Onions being grown on an acre of land with only 
the assistance of natural manures and not on rich alluvial soil, 
which they like. 
Blood is often at the disposal of the gardener together with dead 
animals. The practice in this district amongst some—as blood can 
be procured here in any quantities for nothing—is to dig a trench 
at the foot of their Yine or Peach borders, and pour in the mixture 
in a crude state. The effect is that all the soil surrounding the 
blood, &c., is putrified, and no roots will enter it. A Yine border 
came under my notice which had been the cemetery for all the dead 
animals on the estate for years. In remaking the border I noticed 
a Vine root had been near the surface soil for a considerable time, 
but had gone down to seek food in the sweet sterile subsoil rather 
than enter the putrid mass. Blood is composed of phosphoric and 
sulphuric acids, together with phosphate of lime, sulphate of 
magnesia, oxygen, chlorine, and sodium ; or 100 parts of blood 
contain 80 per cent, of water and 20 per cent, of solid matter. If 
reduced or decomposed by fire the ash, which is 1 to 2 per cent., 
consists of half sea salt, the other half peroxide of iron, lime, car¬ 
bonic acid, sulphuric acid, together with magnesia, potash, and 
soda. All these useful elements being in blood, can anyone doubt 
chat it is a good fertiliser ? It is undoubtedly good, but often 
badly used. To reap the full benefit of its four-fifths of water, 
as well as the one-fifth of solid matter, level a portion of the waste 
heap, and throw over it the blood, cover it with soil, and repeat the 
process till a sufficient quantity is made. Keep it well covered 
from the rain, and when the blood is decomposed to a dry state 
have the heap repeatedly turned till it is properly pulverised ; then 
you will have a heap of manure superior to any bought material. 
I made a heap last year of about 200 loads, mixing with it lime ; 
but that requires great care, or all the ammonia may be lost. Lime 
is best put on the soil by itself to mix with the blood oxides there, 
by which means each application will improve the effect of the 
other as a source of plant food. 
Lime (calcic oxide) is often misapplied. Heavy dressings are 
given to light lands that are often very fertile, and rendered, there¬ 
fore, sterile. The effect is very rapid in taking into combination 
sulphuric, phosphoric, chloric, and carbonic acids, carrying them 
down into the subsoil, if they are not used at once by the plants, 
rendering the soil devoid of active matter to a certain extent 
before the ground can be again worked. The chemical effect of 
lime is more rapid on light and peaty soils, particularly if applied 
in a hot state. The best means to supply lime to boggy or very 
light soils is by an application of marly clay, which is rich in 
carbonate of lime and also alumina, supposing that to be essential. 
Clay improves the texture of the soil in retaining moisture, and 
consequently assists in supporting plants for a longer time. Tena¬ 
cious clays should be exposed to the action of the frost and pul¬ 
verised before being dug in. Garden soils are not often boggy, 
though sometimes very light, in which case it is preferable to burn 
the clay and apply the residue. Light dressings of lime to soils 
full of humus are very beneficial, and as lime is often easier to get 
than clay, I ask that it be used carefully, so as to give the expected 
benefit instead of causing failure. The application of lime to heavy 
soils is of more service ; it acts chemically upon the clay parts, ar.d 
assists in separating them so as to allow a freer current of air, 
which in its turn also assists in drying and severing the stiff parts. 
The first important thing, however, is to drain strong wet land 
before uselessly wasting money and energy in the forlorn hope of 
improvement. I may treat on this subject in some future paper, 
and will assume for the present that the subsoil is porous and only 
the surface needs improving. More often than not a layer of clayey 
loam, through which water can scarcely percolate, exists between 
the surface and the gravel subsoil. This impervious layer must be 
removed, or if only at a short distance from the top it may be 
worked with some burnt clay, gravel, sand, or light soil from other 
parts of the garden. If sand is close by place a foot or two at the 
bottom of the manure heap or yard, and apply this to the heavy 
part once or twice, or charcoal or cinder ashes can be used in the 
same way till the soil is in a condition to suit the gardener and the 
crops. 
Soot is so common that it is scarcely necessary for me to dwell 
on it at any length. Its component parts are carbon, ammonia, gyp¬ 
sum, nitric acid, &c. Carbon absorbs much oxygen with other gases, 
particularly the obnoxious ; in fact it sweetens the soil and abo 
improves its texture, especially if heavy, and gives off carbonic acid 
for the sustenance of the plants. The ammonia and nitric acid 
give nitrogen, and gypsum calcium, &c. Soot is one of the most 
useful of fertilisers, and can be used without much danger either 
as a top-dressing or mixed with the soil, or in the form of liquid 
manure. 
There are many other manures within the reach of the gardener 
upon which I feel competent to treat, and will continue the subject 
in a future issue. Two printer’s errors occur in my previous com¬ 
munication. On page 152 the sentence should have read, “ This 
dug (not dry) ground is helping the gardener,” and on page 15ft 
dry or trenched should have read “dug” or trenched.—G. A. 
Bishop. 
It would have been more prudent if Mr. Bishop, who admits 
that “ he does not feel equal to the work of giving instructions to 
