124 
THE FLORIST AND POMOLOGIST. 
[ June, 
It lias deep cisterns to draw from, that the other land wots not of. It can there¬ 
fore set all ordinary droughts at defiance. When the sun drains the surf ace, capillary 
attraction works on with increased energy, and sends up subterranean supplies. 
No sooner does the sun sink to rest, and dew begin to fall, than the whole sur¬ 
face begins to drink in water and hide it away in the roots or the ground, to 
fight the drought with on the coming morrow. This power of absorbing 
aqueous vapour, as well as the energy of capillary attraction, are greatest in 
those lands that are the most finely pulverized. The air, too, in such soils acts 
as a buffer against the fierce beating energy of the sun. The sun pursues the 
moisture of the earth with the thirst of a bloodhound after his prey ; but at all 
points the air within the soil beats back its fiery energy, and thus arrests the 
loss of water. 
With such tilths, stored with water in winter, drought may be set at defiance. 
We as a nation—and even some gardeners—only scratch the surface of the 
ground, and then expect it to carry good crops, and bear drought without flinch¬ 
ing. Were we to carry to our own gardens the question—How deep are your 
water-tanks, that is, tilths ?—most of us would be astonished at the answer we 
should receive. We should find that our water storage ranged from 6 in. to 
48 in., so that while the crops on some soils are ruined by the first drought, 
others go safely through every trying season without apparent suffering. In 
every garden there is nearly the same demand for water : they are cropped 
alike, and the yield is expected to correspond ; and yet the tilth varies from 4 in. 
to 40 in. or 50 in. Now, this tilth is not only the feeding-ground, but the 
drinking-cistern of plants ; and the first means of mastering drought is to deepen 
it, ready for the rains to fill. The highest success in vegetable-culture will never 
be reached, nor severe droughts set at defiance, until our gardens average 3 ft. 
of good, rich, moist root run. The roots, drinking from such virtually in¬ 
exhaustible fountains, will develop abundant produce, distinguished by size, 
succulency, tenderness, and sweetness.— D. T. Fish, F.R.H.S. 
SWEET-SCENTED FLOWERS. 
No. Y.— The Gardenia as grown in America. 
'UCH has been written on this old fashioned plant, but nevertheless a few 
lb notes on our mode of treatment may not be unwelcome. I shall only 
refer to Gardenia jlorida and G. radicans , without touching on their 
varieties, as these two sorts are the most common and the most useful. 
As regards propagation, both of them root freely from half-ripened wood, in 
a brisk bottom-heat, and rapidly make nice plants. 
Many growers recommend loam for potting Gardenias. No doubt a good 
loam is an excellent soil, and some loams might serve for growing heaths ; but 
the best-rooted Gardenias I have met with, and those with the best coloured 
foliage combined with free-flowering qualities, were grown in peat. We plant all 
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