058 
June 18,1896 
THE GARDENING WORLD. 
better to wait until they have somewhat dried, and 
after they again become moist, they. will crumble 
down with very little labour ; but while dry, they 
are well nigh as hard as bricks. These clay soils are 
well adapted for the growth of most of the Brassica 
family of vegetables, producing very heavy crops. 
Loamy soils. 
These also vary considerably in their composition, 
but, contain less clay, and generally more sand; 
and when deeply worked form very good garden 
soils, in which most fruit trees succeed, especi¬ 
ally if they are what are termed sandy loam. 
This kind of soil is much better to work, is not so 
retentive of moisture, and requires little else than 
properly manuring, to make it produce excellent 
crops of fruit and vegetables of most kinds. In some 
localities these loamy soils run to a great depth, 
these being well suited to the growth of roots, such 
as Parsnips, Beet, etc. 
Sandy or gravelly soils. 
If these contain but a small percentage of clay, 
humus, or lime, they are extremely porous, and not 
so fertile as those of a more loamy character; 
affording as they do such a ready passage for the 
water, any manurial matter supplied to them is soon 
washed through. They are, however, suitable for 
some classes of plants, especially such as the Carrot, 
which comes very healthy and clean out of such 
soils; but for the generality of garden crops they 
require the addition of clay, chalk, and humus, to 
make them capable of retaining more moisture and 
manurial matter that may be applied to them. 
Unlike the heavier kinds, sandy soils may be worked 
upon almost at any time, and although exposure to 
the atmosphere is desirable at all times when not 
under crops, it is not so imperative as in the case of 
clay soils. Some sandy soils are very shallow, and 
often found resting upon a bed of gravel. Trenching 
in this case is not to be recommended, and the best 
method of improving it is to add as much as circum¬ 
stances will permit of any kind of better soil, so as to 
increase its depth. If a good coating of clay could 
be supplied, and allowed to remain on the surface 
during the winter, it would get well pulverised by 
the action of frost, and admit of being well mixed 
with the soil in the process of digging, which would 
have a lasting beneficial effect. It would then be 
rendered better suited for the majority of garden 
crops generally. 
Marly soils. 
These are a combination of various other kinds of 
soil, and are termed clayey, loamy, or sandy marls, 
according to their containing a larger or smaller pro¬ 
portion of one or other of these respective ingre¬ 
dients. They are generally very fertile and form good 
soils for most fruits, especially stone fruits, contain¬ 
ing, as they invariably do, a fair percentage of lime, 
which is indispensable for that class of fruit. Deep 
cultivation and a moderate use of manure will render 
them capable of producing very heavy crops of good 
quality. They are not so retentive of moisture as the 
clayey soils, neither are they so porous as the sandy 
soils. 
Calcareous Soils. 
These contain a large percentage of lime, and vary 
considerably in their other constituents. Some 
contain a large proportion of clay; in others sand 
predominates; and in some, loam forms the staple. 
In the latter case they are usually fairly fertile, but 
they generally require to be highly manured to insure 
their producing good crops. 
Humic Soils. 
These consist of decayed, or partly decayed vegetable 
matter, and are mostly of a dark brown or black 
colour. The peat or bog soils are the growth and 
accumulation of certain plants and their roots, which 
have undergone a peculiar change. Mosses con¬ 
tribute largely to this class of soil, which in some 
localities has acquired a depth of many feet. In 
some parts of Lancashire, many hundreds of acres 
are to be found, and in some swampy places it is 
dangerous for cattle to walk upon it or even for 
human beings; it, being so soft and spongy, will not 
support any great weight. A great deal of it is cut 
and dried, and used for fuel. Rhododendrons 
flourish amazingly in this kind of soil, and make a 
very rapid growth, acres of them growing in a wild 
and natural state, and forming, when in bloom, a 
beautiful and interesting sight. The peat proper, is 
a different substance from the moss or bog, and 
greatly resists decomposition, being composed of the 
growth of heaths chiefly, together with cryptogamic 
plants. In some cases it contains a large proportion 
of sand, while in others very little is found. Many 
kinds of vegetables will grow well on peaty soils, 
such as Carrots, Celery, Asparagus, Turnips, and 
Potatos. 
The decayed portion of plants such as leaves, or 
leaf soil, as it may be called, is a different substance 
to peat, and forms a highly fertile soil, especially for 
seedling and nursery plants, encouraging as it does 
the formation of roots. In old gardens which have 
been cultivated and heavily manured with garden 
refuse and farm-yard manure for a loDg period, a 
large amount of humus will have accumulated and 
formed a highly fertile soil. These humic soils are of 
very light character, but are not suited to the 
growth of some plants. Being of a non-retentive 
nature they may be worked upon almost at any time, 
and are mostly favourable for early crops. These 
kinds of soil may be very much improved by bringing 
to the surface a portion of the subsoil, which invari¬ 
ably contains but little if any of the humus which is 
so abundant nearer the surface. By so doing, the 
subsoil will act as a corrective to the humus, and 
increase the depth of fertile soil, thus allowing a 
greater range for the roots. The peaty and humic 
soils, being mostly of a dark colour, are rendered 
more favourable for early crops, inasmuch as they 
are more readily heated by the sun’s rays than are 
soils of a lighter colour ; but on the other hand they 
cool more quickly, as they have not the power of 
retaining the heat as those soils of a lighter colour. 
(To be continued.) 
-- 
VERNAL FLOWERS. 
(Continued). 
VIII.— Lily of the Valley.* 
(Convallaria majalis). 
Can the garden, grove or field, 
From its treasure flowerets yield, 
That with more delight we hail, 
That more sight and scent regale, 
Than the Lily of the Vale, 
With her little bells of snow, 
That in charming contrast blow 
Underneath their leafy screen, 
Lofty, large, and lively green— 
Emblems of some beauteous maid, 
Chaste and coy, in rural shade, 
Not unworthy to inweave 
The tresses of sweet Edens's Eve ? 
Oft amidst the wildwood race, 
Thee, fair Lily, could I trace, 
Favouring with thy modest graces 
Nature's lone and lovely places, 
Sought with all a florist’s zeal ; 
Oft thy sister fair—the * Seal 
Of Solomon’t—in searching round, 
On some enchanted woodland ground, 
With her pensile head, I found. 
Lurking in her kindred bower 
In luscious June's love-breathing hour! 
IX.— Water Lily.J 
(Nymphaea alba). 
Other flowers—a countless band— 
O’er the bosom of the land 
Their varied loveliness expand : 
Thou, fair Nymphaea, seems’t a daughter 
(Flora's naiad) of the water. 
While the Roses droop and die 
Beneath the fervours of July, 
Thou art bathing, ever cool, 
In thine own luxurious pool, 
With thy ample chalice white, 
And central crown of golden light, 
Breathing perfume exquisite. 
And thy large round leaves outspread 
On their smooth crystalline bed. 
Cowper wandering with the muse 
Alone, along the banks of Ouse, 
Wistful, eyed thy lovely glow, 
Won thee bv the zeal of Beau, 
And, in verse by millions priz’d, 
Beau and thee immortalis'd. 
Sweet Felicia too—whose mind 
Fancy, feeling, taste, combin’d— 
Hath on thee, fair flower, bestow’d 
Graceful and poetic ode. 
— Thos. Grinfeld, 5, Ellenborough Park, Weston- 
super-Mare, June 8th, 1896. 
*“ O sweetest fairest Lilj n"—Cymbeline, Act 4, Scene 2. 
tPolygonatum multiflorum. 
f“ Fresh Lily ! and whiter than the sheets ! Cymbeline , 
Act 2.’,Scene 2. 
Airs, Hemans. 
CAMPANULA PORTENSCHLAGIANA. 
Of the numerous species and varieties of the genus 
Campanula, none, perhaps, are better adapted for 
pot culture than the subject of this note. This 
species, however, is not one of the easiest for amateurs 
to take in band, as it is very liable to damp off 
during the duller months of the year. Judge, then, 
of my surprise the other day at Cookham to find two 
respectable 48-size pots full of its clear, light, blue- 
purple, bell-shaped flowers, growing in a cottage 
window in saucers full of water. I, therefore, began 
to look abcut for the owner of these really beautiful 
specimens—I wanted information, but unfortunately 
I failed to find him or her, so that I had to resort to 
philosophy, a poor substitute sometimes where 
plants are concerned, when a little practical detail 
might relieve the cultural incubus. To treat C. 
portenschlagiana—otherwise known as C. muralis— 
as a semi-aquatic seemed to me not only to belie its 
specific garden name, but to savour of barbarism. 
Yet it was evident from the specimens before me 
that the cottager in question possessed a " wrinkle ” 
not known to other men or women. Certain it is 
that the treatment accorded these plants was justified 
by the results. 
At Kew it is grown on the rockery with fair 
success, and also in pots and pans, between pieces of 
sandstone to prevent the possibility of moisture 
stagnating about its roots—a totally different system 
to the one adopted by the Cookham cottager. For 
my own part I imitate the Kew authorities, but with 
scant success, as suburban air does not seem to quite 
agree with it. Hence I conclude that it is not so 
much a matter of culture as of pure atmospheric 
surroundings.— C. B. G., Acton, W. 
- 
SHERBORNE AND DISTRICT GAR¬ 
DENERS’ MUTUAL IMPROVEMENT 
SOCIETY. 
Although this is not an old society, it is a most 
progressive and thriving one. It has a good number 
of members for a district of the kind. Evidently it 
has a good working committee. 
Recently I had the pleasure of lecturing there, 
and I must say I was agreeably surprised to see the 
meeting so well attended. Although the room is not 
a large one (it would be an advantage to the meeting 
and the speakers if it was somewhat larger, and this 
the more so when the weather is hot and the gas on, 
as it was on the night of my attendance), it was well 
filled. Many of the audience were amateur gentle¬ 
men from the town, who are evidently enthusiasts in 
gardening. And to the credit of some of the 
gardeners, I was told they walked several miles to 
attend these monthly meetings, showing that they 
derived benefits from the papers read, and the dis¬ 
cussion that followed. The latter is the source from 
whence the light is often derived. It was pleasant 
to me to have to answer so many questions. Many 
of these mutual societies would do well to encourage 
more discussion at the end. 
It may not be out of place here to remark that 
many would get more light from these meetings if they 
made a point of asking any question that might occur 
to them, arising out of the subject. Undoubtedly, 
in this case he that inquires much learns much. I 
consider no one shoald read a paper or give a lecture 
unless they are prepared to answer any questions 
that may arise out of the paper. 
It is gratifying to see in this and several other 
societies in the western district, that they have 
adopted the method of offering prizes for two or 
three kinds of either flowers, fruit, or vegetables. On 
the night of my visit the competition was good, and 
the material of a high order of merit. Some of the 
Parrot Tulips were remarkable. Regarding the judges 
I noted the society had a capital method—namely, at 
the close of each meeting the members selected 
judges for the following meeting by a show of hands. 
Added to this, several members brought objects for 
ornamentation ; and some grand herbaceous Calceo¬ 
larias were brought on the night in question, to 
which the members granted a First-class Certificate. 
It may not be out of place to add that this society 
has, this year, arranged for an exhibition, as you will 
see Mr. Editor by the enclosed schedule. At the 
close of the meeting on the 6th of May, it was sug¬ 
gested that an effort should be made to try and 
revive another exhibition on as large a scale as 
Sherborne used to be famous for, and which, it was 
regretted, had ceased. 
