174 
JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER, 
f AttgtfSt £9, 188C. 
the scientific,” bad limited his advice to the proper storage of stable 
manure and the best means of utilising it in the growth of plants, 
in which doubtless he is thoroughly experienced ; hut notwith¬ 
standing his repudiation of scientific knowledge he devotes the 
principal part of his article to a description of chemical actions and 
reactions which is certainly not in accordance with the recognised 
authorities on the subject. The confusion in his statements is 
so extraordinary that it is difficult to disentangle and deal with 
them directly without entering into details too long for a letter ; 
but one or two of them may be selected in justification of my 
criticism. 
He states that “ the nitric acid formed from artificial manure 
unites with the bases in the soil and forms nitrate of soda, 
magnesia, and potash, &c.” As the nitric acid in artificial manures 
is almost always in a neutral state, combined with soda and potash, 
it is difficult to understand how it can recombine with those base3 
in the soil. Then, again, he states that “ carbonic acid is abundant 
in all manures from stables and cowsheds, and is also deposited on 
the surface of the soil as carbonic di-oxide, which is taken in 
direct by the plant.” Carbon di oxide is merely the chemist’s 
name for carbonic acid, and is not deposited on the surface of the 
roil, and even if that were possible it would be useless to the plant, 
as the enormous quantity of carbon, about half of the whole sub¬ 
stance of the dried plant, is derived from the carbon di-oxide of 
the atmosphere (Sachs), and not from manure, stable or artificial. 
Mr. Bishop instructs us that “ there are four principal elements of 
plant life—potassium, calcium, magnesium, and iron.” Consider¬ 
ing that phosphorus is present in every plant, and without it 
growth is impossible, and, further, that annually hundreds of 
thousands of pounds are expended on it as a manure and com¬ 
paratively little on calcium, magnesium, and iron, phosphorus 
might be considered a principal element. Mr. Bishop divides soil 
into “three different forms of constituents—the active, the 
dormant, and the inactive.” The active ready for the service of 
the plant; the dormant has to be roused by some of the constituents 
of the manure applied or by the oxygen of the air ; and the inactive 
is only made active by long cultivation or the application of strong 
manures. What are the strong manures? Surely Mr. Bishop, 
who despises artificial manures cannot refer to them ; but his 
division of the constituents of soil is not scientific. He omits the 
largest division, about 95 per cent, of the whole, consisting of sand, 
clay, gravel, &c., which give only mechanical support to the plant 
and afford absolutely nothing to its nutrition. His last two 
divisions should be only one, consisting of humus, organic detritus, 
and undecomposed minerals, which by the united action of cold, 
heat, carbonic acid, and oxygen are first disintegrated and then de¬ 
composed, when hiving become soluble they are capable of 
absorption by the plant. 
He says, “ the only practical advantage artificial manure has 
over natural is that nitrogen is retained in the former.” Is it of 
no advantage to know the exact composition of the manure, and to 
be able to economically apportion its ingredients to the actual 
requirements of the several crops, and secure that each plant shall 
have a sufficient supply of its dominant constituents? For instance, 
an extra proportion of potash for the Yine and Potato, and of soda 
and lime for the Apple, &c. Is it no advantage to be able to effect 
with a handful of properly compounded artificial manure all or 
more than could be done with a barrowful of stable manure, the 
value of which, according to Mr. Bishop, is very uncertain ? Then, 
again, stable manure is not always procurable, while artificial can 
be had at any time, and its carriage is much less costly, as 1 cwt. of 
the latter is at least equal to 2 tons of the former. 
It is only possible to approximate a sound conclusion by giving 
full consideration to both sides of a question ; the relative value 
of stable and artificial manure is well worthy of this consideration, 
but before Mr. Bishop again attempts to depreciate the value of 
artificial manures I recommend him to consult the authorities on 
the subject, some of whom have devoted their lifetime to its study ; 
and before he again essays to teach the chemistry of manures to 
endeavour to acquire some knowledge of the rudiments of the 
science, otherwise to follow the good advice in the old adage, 
Ne sutor ultra crepidam. — Edmund Tonks. 
NOTES ON PEAS. 
During the present season Peas have given more than ordinary 
trouble with many growers, from the earliest to the latest sowings. 
There are, of course, exceptions to this rule, as is always the case, 
no matter what the weather may be, for whereas some have a 
numerous army of garden pests to deal with others are favoured 
only with a few. It is singular how in one season birds will prove 
so very persistent in their depredations, and perhaps the following 
year they cause no inconvenience whatever, this being more 
particularly noticed with sparrows and chaffinches. Early Peas' 
this year proved a source of great disappointment, slugs and birds 
proving alike troublesome. In our case sowing and planting had 
to be repeated three or four times, and then the rows presented a 
very thin and unsatisfactory appearance, caused by the young tips' 
being eaten off directly they showed above ground by slugs and 
birds, the former being more numerous than ever I can remember 
them before. Both these and mice have a singular partiality for 
some varieties of Peas, opportunities occurring for ampSe demon¬ 
stration this year in this respect ; Dr. Maclean and Duchess of 
Edinburgh proved victims, while Ne Plus Ultra, Magnum Bonum,. 
and Duke of Albany escaped almost untouched. Peas, too,, 
germinated badly, owing no doubt to the sunless season of last year 
proving insufficient for thoroughly ripening the seed. 
Lately there has developed among the Pea rows some kind off 
disease, which is even worse than bird or insect attacks, as in some 
of the late sown nearly or quite half of the stalks have collapsed, 
and as a consequence the crops are becoming light. I have; 
noticed the same thing in other gardens as well as our own, and 
perhaps some readers may be in a position to throw light on the 
subject. 
Second early Peas have continued to bear over a long period,, 
this being accounted for by the continued spell of dry summer 
weather followed by the frequent and abundant rains. The 
drought caused the growth and pod-production to cease prematurely,, 
while the change to greater humidity gave a stimulus to. new 
growth again—a fortunate event where later sowings are stricken 
with the aforementioned disease. Those who are favoured with a.. 
sufficiency of labour may be strangers to the scarcity of Peas or 
with disease, as when provided with abundant supplies of liquid, or- 
even clear water, the growth is not so subject to climatic influences, 
as they otherwise would be. All are not alike favoured with help,, 
and to these early mulchings are of the greatest importance i» 
conserving moisture in the soil.—W. S., Frome. 
PHAIUS MACULATUS. 
The genus Phaius is not a large one, but it includes several 
noble species, some of which bear ample dark green leaves an<3 
erect spikes of very bold and handsome flowers. These plants, irt 
recent times, have been too much neglected ; but many years ago* 
Phaius Wallichi was frequently seen at the Exhibitions at 
Chiswick, Regent’s Park, and other places during the months of 
May and June. It produced a noble appearance, especially when 
used as a back-row plant, with its large, plaited, dark green leaves,, 
and from ten to fifteen bold erect spikes of fine showy blooms- 
This species used to be so exhibited in fine condition by the late-- 
Mr. Ellis of Hoddesden, a keen lover and grower of Orchids, and 
also by Mr. Carson, from the famed gardens of Nonsuch Park, ins 
Surrey, and by various others. P. grandifolius was another species 
exhibited in the same manner in the olden times, which, although 
not quite so showy as P. Wallichi, was yet a very effective plant 
whilst yet more recently has been added P. Manni, which, whem 
established in cultivation, will be far the finest of the three. The 
majority of these plants are of easy culture, and may be success¬ 
fully grown in an ordinary stove with a mixed collection of plants, 
and if their wants are duly supplied they never fail to produce their 
stout spikes laden with large and showy flowers in abundance ~ 
There are some dwarf-growing kinds ; one of the most beautiful- 
although difficult plant to manage, is P. tuberculosus, a native of 
the Island of Madagascar, which was figured in the second volume of 
the “Album,” t. 91. P. maculatus has been neglected, but it may 
yet be found in many old collections of stove plants, where it grows- 
and blooms in great perfection. The plant here figured was intro¬ 
duced to cultivation about sixty-six years ago, having been brought 
from Northern India in 1823, and as the great aim and object of 
modern Orchid growers has been to secure new species, this old 
plant, like many others of the most beautiful Orchids, has been 
cast on one side for newer and, in many instances, less beautiful kinds- 
To all such movements, however, there usually comes resuscitation, 
and this appears now to be in force, for the old plants are being 
eagerly sought for, and amongst them P. maculatus. 
Phiaus maculatus is an evergreen, and is an extremely showy 
plant ; in many instances it is erroneously named Cal anthe Sieboldi, 
from which rare plant it is abundantly distinct. The pseudo-bulbs- 
