April 21,1887. ] 
JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 
311 
where the best place is for the outlet of drains, and let it be if 
.possible at the lowest part of the ground. The depth of the drain 
will have to depend on circumstances, and it should consist of 4-inch 
round tile pipes, and, ordinarily, should be from 3 feet to 4 feet in 
depth. The secondary drain pipes should be from 15 feet to 18 feet 
apart, running parallel with each other, but in very heavy clay soils 
I prefer them 15 feet apart ; they should be from '2 feet 6 inches to 
3 feet in depth, and have a fall a quarter inch to the yard, and more if 
the ground will allow. They should consist of round tile pipes, 2^ 
or 3 inches in diameter, and in filling the drain I would recom¬ 
mend that they be filled for 12 inches to 18 inches depth with ashes 
.such as come from our mill boilers, or with clinkers from the stoke¬ 
hole, rough gravel, and failing these rough brashwood, as these have 
a tendency to keep the drains open, and they draw the water from 
<he soil more effectively than by the old method of placing the clods 
•over the pipes and filling with the material taken out. Some years ago 
it was necessary to cut through a drain such as I have, recommended, 
«nd we found it as clear as on the day it \vas put in, and doing its 
•work effectively. w 
Another means of improving soils is by the use of lime. Lime 
has the property of loosening the texture of the soil, of driving off 
offensive matteiufrom the soil, and also of releasing the plant food 
stored up in the soil. The best way of using lime is to work fresh 
lime from the kiln in the soil while digging. I have seen old gardens 
very much improved by an application of fresh lime used as above. 
Professor Donaldson says :—“ A loamy soil of the richest kind will 
be formed by the mixture of clay lands with lime, as the aluminous 
earth affords a strong durable base for the constitution of the soil, 
day is the chief element in the composition of all rich lands ; in duo 
proportion it imbibes and retains the necessary moisture, and the 
(presence and action of the other ingredients prevent the hurtful 
•excess, husbanding the use and regulating the expenditure.” Cal¬ 
careous matter is also an essential ingredient in soils, and it will be 
.■supplied by the lime that is used to effect the new formation. By 
this process a most productive soil will be produced. Although clay 
in superabundance is by no means a good soil, yet clay and lime 
when mixed tend to form an artificial marl, of which, when occurring 
Jiaturally, the fertility' is well known. The nearest artificial approaches 
to it are made in the way now recommended. 
Burning is another mode of improving clay soils, but not having 
had any experience in the matter I cannot speak about it. Thompson, 
an his “ Gardener’s Assistant," says :—“Burned clay is extensively 
csed in the heavy lands of Essex, Suffolk, and other parts of England, 
®nd the practice is attended with great success. The beneficial action 
«f burned clay is chiefly due to its altering the texture of the soil, 
rendering this less compact, and consequently more permeable to air, 
water, and the roots of plants ; and to the burned clay containing a 
ouch greater proportion of soluble alkalies, more especially of potash 
and soda, than unburned clay, a considerable portion of the alkaline 
eubstance contained in the latter being rendered soluble in the process 
of burning. Burned clay, by improving the texture of the soil and 
supplying a greater amount of alkalies to plants, must prove beneficial 
to all crops, but it is more especially on Turnips, Carrots, and Pota¬ 
toes, or on plants requiring a large amount of potash, that the 
beneficial effects of this manure are visible. 
Sand should also be used, but not alone. There should be plenty 
•of manure used, horse manure being the best ; it prevents the sand 
•and clay from forming into a kind of mortar, which they would do 
if sand alone were used ; besides, the manure lightens the ground as 
well as fertilising it. I also get all the sweepings from the gravel 
walks, weeds, Cabbage-stalks, and any refuse from the kitchen garden, 
cuttings of grass, old soil from the potting bench, in fact any rubbish 
of this description is put in a heap and kept turned over and allowed 
to decay, and this would be improved by the mixture of quicklime, 
lu frosty weather this is wheeled on the ground, and afterwards dug 
in ; and I have also used fine coal ashes, in fact anything which 
would tend to lighten or improve the soil by making it more 
porous. 
Working the soil is a very important factor in the successful 
management of these soils. It used to be the custom for a man to 
dig with a spade roughly, and it was a sign of his skill in this work 
to arrange each spadeful in rows perfectly level and straight, or to 
illustrate it like 60 many bricks placed on end in a row, leaning 
-against one another. I think that this is one of the worst ways of 
working clay soils, especially after it has been trodden and made 
solid in the previous year, for by thus simply delving it over with a 
epade you are only turning it over top to bottom without working it 
up and disintegrating the solid lumps that have just been turned over. 
Another way is to ridge it in rows in autumn as soon as the 
ground is cleared, and then in the spring to fork these down and 
■dig in manure where wanted. I have tried this plan, but the 
better method is, I think, to form a treneb, say 2 feet wide ; I then 
get a 6tout fork and raise up the subsoil; I then turn the soil with 
forks, only using spades for throwing out the loose soil at th 
bottom of the trench, and then forking up the subsoil as before. B 
this means the soil is thoroughly broken up, thus admitting air t 
the soil, and you can better work in manure and other ingredients. 
Hence ihe soil is in a better condition for supplying the plants with 
a constant supply of that food which is so nectssary for the health of 
plants. I think that forks ought to be more used in our kitchen 
gardens than they are; they are far better in working soils of a heavy 
nature, and spades ought not to be used only in cases where we 
cannot use forks. 
In conclusion, I would recommend that in this class of soils too 
early a sowing should not be practised. Take Peas for instance ; I 
never sow before the first week in March, yet I have gathered Peas 
before those who have sown a month earlier. By being planted under 
more favourable conditions seeds sown in this way have fewer checks 
and are not 60 liable to injury by frost or damp as those sown earlier, 
and they grow stronger and give better results. 
INDIAN EXPERIENCES. 
(Continued from page 291.) 
Bombax malababica is a tree of enormous size, throwing out large 
buttresses from the lower part of the stem, and producing the valuable 
silk cotton of the bazaars. When covered with its bright scarlet 
blossoms, in some cases 6 to 8 inches in diameter, and towering above its 
forest companions, it forms a truly striking feature in the jungle. There 
are several species of Eleocarpus, mostly of low stature, but conspicuous 
from their wealth of white and pink flowers. Of Leguminosse there are 
numberless examples; two, Buteafrondosaand Erythrina indica,making 
the jungle blaze with their masses of orange-scarlet flowers. Pterocarpus 
marsupium yielding the kino of commerce, Acrocarpus fraxinifolius, 
Albizzia Lebbek, and many others. Eugenia jambalana producing large 
quantities of fruit, about the size of small Damsons. Bassia elliptica 
and many other trees of great value on account of their timber and 
other products. Teak and Sandalwood trees abound on the confines of 
the Mysore Territory, and are the only two kinds of timber monopolised 
by the Government; other timbers are very seldom exported, owing to 
the difficulty and cost of carriage. 
Ferns in great variety abound all over the district, from the tiny 
Hymenophyllum on the rock to the Alsophila or Tree Fern. Lygodium 
scandens grows amongst low scrub on the borders of Rice fields and 
swamps, climbing up the bushes and covering them with its graceful 
fronds, keeping bright and green all the year round. Drynaria 
quercifolia is found abundantly clinging to the branches of large trees, 
overhanging rivers, and is a magnificent plant when seen just after the 
rains. Osmunda regalis grows in thick masses on the muddy banks of 
the large rivers, and during the monsoon is completely submerged, the 
rivers rising from 20 to 30 feet above dry weather mark. On the water 
subsiding the Osmunda at once throws up an abundance of its pale 
green fronds, which quickly fringe and beautify the river banks. Tree 
Ferns are only found in the Ghaut forests and the higher range of the 
Bramagherry Hills. I have noticed that Ferns in the Wynaad country, 
with such exceptions as Lygodium scandens, which revels in the bright 
sunshine, and one or two species of Asplenium, which seek the darkenerl 
retreats of the deep st forest, where the sun’s rays never penetrate, are 
invariably found in greatest perfection where they are quite shielded 
from the direct rays of the sun, whilst at the same time enjoying an 
abundance of light. They are frequently seen in great beauty on road¬ 
side cuttings, overhung by jungle trees on the one side, but clear and 
open on the other. I have seen Davallia tenuifolia in large masses and 
with fronds a yard long under such conditions. Openings in the jungle, 
caused by the uprooting of large trees, or natural landslips, are also 
favourite haunts of Ferns, and are always seen in such situations at 
their best, the same conditions being present—viz., shelter from the 
direct rays of the sun and plenty of light. I cannot but think that the 
plan adopted at Kew and other places of using tinted glass in the culti¬ 
vation of exotic Ferns is a mistake. It not only gives to the plants a 
somewhat ghastly hue, but, I think, is not conducive to their well-being. 
Shading of some kind is doubtless necessary, but in this, as in many 
other things, Nature should be pretty closely followed if success in a 
high degree is to be attained. 
A few words may be said with regard to the plants not indigenous to 
the locality, but that have been introduced and are found growing 
luxuriantly in gardens and plantations. As hedge plants the Rose, 
Gardenia, Hibiscus, Lantana, and others are much used, and require 
little trouble in their culture, branches merely stuck in during the rains 
will immediately take root and grow. The double scarlet Hibiscus 
makes a splendid hedge, flowering profusely all the year round. Many 
others, both single and double, are common. The double scarlet variety 
is called by Europeans the “ Shoe Flower,” from the fact that the juice 
from the crushed flower is used as a substitute for blacking in polishing 
boots and shoes. It also gets the name of “Subaltern’s blacking,” the 
meaning of which term is obvious. Crotons and Caladiums flourish in 
the gardens, the latter being in perfection all through the heavy rains. 
They are also grown in pots placed in the verandahs of houses, and 
always grow luxuriantly with very little care, the colours coming out in 
rare beauty. Dracaena terminalis is a very common plant, and is won¬ 
derfully easy of propagation, branches simply lopped off and roughly 
inserted in the ground striking immediately. The colour of the leaves 
