16 
THE COTTAGE GARDENER. 
OCTOBKR 9. 
A Norfolk physician, who loves oilier arts anti sciences 
besides that immediately associated with “ The Gold 
headed Cane,” writes to us as follows :— 
“ Thetford may be considered a place with less quantity 
of rain than other localities. We are not a woody country ; 
besides the soil is light and porous, and evaporation rapid. 
This is shewn by the following table of averages for 1850:— 
Barom. 
Therm. 
Rain. 
January. 
.. 29-95 
. 354 . 
1-25 
February ... 
.. 29-60 
. 42| . 
•38 
March . 
.. 30-074 
. 41 . 
•93 
April. 
.. 29-87| 
. 504 . 
1-42 
May . 
. . 
2-25 
June . 
... 30-07| 
. 69 . 
•15 
July . 
... 30-024 
. 68 . 
3-03 
August . 
... 30-15 
. 66 . 
2-34 
September... 
... 29-95 
. 65J. 
1-00 
October. 
... 29-87-4 
. 67 . 
1-44 
November ... 
... 29 60 
. 454 . 
1-66 
December ... 
... 29-87 
. 414. 
1-39 
My experiments lead me to ask why you do not draw 
attention to the improvement of the growth of flowers and 
vegetables, by adding to the soil more of the elements of the 
plants grown. No one can excel the beauty of the Verbenas 
and Pinks that are grown here, which are produced by 
sprinkling a very little Nitrate of Potash (Saltpetre) about 
the roots. I am persuaded, if gardeners would ascertain the 
elementary constituents of their productions by chemical 
analysis, it would bring the objects of their industry to the 
highest pitch of perfection, and amply reward them for the 
expense. I find this by my little farming. I have not 
enough of manure, but supply the deficiency by elemen¬ 
tary substances, and I grow as good, if not better 
crops than my neighbours, at half the expense. It is 
difficult, however, to put any one out of his accustomed 
routine. I hear of some complaints of the potatoes; the 
peculiarity of the soil is the cause, and not the atmosphere ; 
the seed degenerates by frequent setting, and the exhaustion 
of the soil is the cause. I have lialf-an-acre of potatoes on 
a soil which has not grown them for years ; they look 
(August 20tli) well and healthy, and promise a good crop ; 
but my neighbour is troubled with the disease, the land 
being used to the crop.” 
We can assure our valued correspondent, who we 
hope will furnish us with the result of his experiments, 
that we are not unmindful of the importance of 
saline manures, and, indeed, formerly attributed more 
importance to them than experience has shown them to 
possess. Still, we can assure our readers that saline 
manures are most valuable assistants to vegetation, and 
why they are so is demonstrated by the following facts. 
The sap of all trees contains acetate of potash; Beet¬ 
root contains malate and oxalate of potash, ammonia, and 
lime; Rhubarb, oxalate of potash and lime; Horseradish, 
sulphur; Asparagus, super-malates, chlorides, acetates, 
and phosphates of potash and lime; Potatoes, magnesia, 
citrates and phosphates of potash and lime; Jerusalem 
Artichoke, citrate, malate, sulphate, chloride, and phos¬ 
phate of potash; Garlic, sulphate of potash, magnesia, 
and phosphate of lime; Geraniums, tartrate of lime, 
phosphates of lime and magnesia; Peas, phosphate of 
lime; Kidney Beans, phosphate of lime and potash; 
Oranges, carbonate, sulphate, and muriate of potash; 
Apples and Pears, malate of potash; Grapes, tartrate of 
lime; Capsicums, citrate, muriate, and phosphate of 
potash; Oak, carbonate of potash; and the Lilac, nitrate 
of potash. Let no one fancy that the salts are a very 
trivial proportion of the fabric of plants. In the Cap¬ 
sicum, they constitute one-tenth of its fruit; of carrot- 
juice, one-hundredth; of Rhubarb, one-eleventh; of 
Potatoes, one-twentieth; whilst of the seed of the Li- 
thospermum officinale, they actually constitute more than 
one-half. Their constituents are as follows:— 
Carbonate of lime (chalk).43.7 
Silica.16.5 
Vegetable matter, phosphate of lime, Ac.. . 39.8 
These amounts are nearly as much of earthy saline 
matters as exist in human hones; but if we turn to the 
marrow, it only contains one-twentieth of saline matters; 
the blood, only one-hundredth ; muscle, only one-thirty- 
fourth ; yet no one will argue that these saline consti¬ 
tuents, though smaller than those in vegetables, are 
trivial and unimportant. 
To supply those salts to plants saline manures are 
generally beneficial, and often essential. An important 
consideration, therefore, is contained in the answer to 
the query so often put—How should saline manures be 
applied ? Our answer is, that, when practicable, they 
ought to be applied frequently, in very small quan¬ 
tities, during the time of the plant’s growth. No 
plan can be worse than soaking a seed in a saline solu¬ 
tion, for the purpose of giving such salt to the plant of 
which it will be the parent. It is soddening the embryo 
with a superfluity totally useless to it, and if it does not 
injure the germination, most probably will be washed 
away before the roots begin to absorb such nutriment. 
GARDENING GOSSIP. 
The London Floricultural Society, on the 23rd ult., had 
an extensive display of Dahlias for competition in class¬ 
showing, and many of them were exceedingly well- 
grown. A fancy flower, exhibited by Dr. Bushell, was 
a far better variety than anything there of the class, 
and we fully expected it would have had a certificate, 
but it appeared that the Doctor declined the honour, 
perhaps because he, being an active member, might be 
supposed to be favoured. The trade is getting shy of 
giving large prices for new things, and as Dr. Bushell 
had no encouragement to sell the stock, he has adopted 
a step that will assuredly try a most important experi¬ 
ment—he intends to let it out himself at 2s. Gd., instead 
of the usual price of 10s. 6d.; this will try whether the 
public will appreciate, as it ought, a monstrous reduc¬ 
tion ; because this fancy flower, called, by the by, Comet, 
will be one of the best, and, to all appearance, the most 
certain. George Glenny and Yellow Standard maintained 
first places and second; in amateurs one was first, in 
nurserymen the other was first, changing places com¬ 
pletely; in whites, Snowflake was first; in orange scar¬ 
lets, Sir Robert Peel; in purples, Sir Frederick Bathurst ; 
in rosy lilacs, Fearless; in oranges, the Duke of Welling¬ 
ton ; a flower like Toisson (for, but an improvement, 
obtained a certificate; the eye is sunk, and there is a 
doubt of constancy, but as it was there, it was a beat on 
Toisson d’or. A number of seedlings, of no account, 
were exhibited. A neat and well-formed Hollyhock was 
shown, and a stand of single flowers. Pansies were ex¬ 
hibited in two collections 
The mode of class-showing 
