September 2, 1893. 
THE^GARDENING WORfLD. 
-■wRi A 
7 
ON LIGHT, SHALLOW 
SOILS. 
V 
Light, shallow soils are generally, to both farmers 
and gardeners, the most unsatisfactory to deal with, 
although at times, as for instance when we have an 
excessively wet summer, some such soils will vie in 
productiveness with those of deeper tilth and heavier 
staple, because from their porosity an excess of 
rainfall soon passes away and they are much longer 
before they get into a stagnant condition. Having 
had to deal with soils of this description for a 
lengthened period I will give your readers the benefit 
of ray experience, and state the methods of dealing 
with them which I have found successful in getting 
good crops and improving the staple. I advocate 
the trenching of such soils once in three or four 
years. I have trenched over a piece for Vegetable 
Marrows, putting in as the work proceeded a good 
thickness of fresh leaves in the bottom of a two spit 
trench, after the bottom has been broken up with a 
fork or a pickaxe if it had 
not been previously broken 
up or had not been so 
treated for a long time. 
We bring up only a little 
at a time of the rawsubsoil. 
A plot thus treated in 
1892 was a great success, 
yielding an abundance of 
Marrows ; but in order to 
keep the soil moist and 
the fruit clean we gave the 
surface of the plot a good 
mulching of half-decayed 
leaves. These serve to 
retain the moisture in the 
soil by checking the 
evaporation. When the 
Marrows are over, we 
clean them off, turn up the 
surface roughly,and in the 
spring or early summer 
get it ready for Celery by 
throwing out the trenches 
and burying in the best 
short manure we have at 
hand, taking care that it 
rests on the layer of leaves 
buried the year before, 
and avoiding their distur¬ 
bance. When the Celery 
plants make a fair start 
their rootswill soon spread 
laterally among this layer 
of half-decayed leaves,and 
in dryseasons like the pre¬ 
sent some may be tempted 
after a good watering 
to break down the sides 
of the trenches and partly 
earth up the plants when 
in a young state to keep 
them moist. Now this hot 
dry soil absorbs much of 
the moisture it is placed 
over to retain, and a far 
better plan is to put a good mulching of leaf-soil, 
spent hops, or other short litter among the plants 
and then well water them. This will keep them 
moist for a much longer time, and they often root 
into it very freely. In lifting the crop a good deal 
of the buried leaves will get mixed with the soil, and 
this, with the manure put into the trenches, has to 
serve, with the addition of a fair dressing of soot, for 
a root crop in the succeeding summer, consisting of 
Carrots, Onions, Beet, etc. After these are removed 
a good coating of manure is applied, and cows' is 
most preferable for these soils, as it retains moisture 
better than ordinary stable manure. 
I have found soot a valuable fertiliser on both 
light and heavy soils, for, besides its value as a 
manure, it is a great check upon insect life, and has 
a mechanical action on soils in rendering them more 
open and easier to work. After the root crops are 
cleared off I give the ground a good coating of 
manure, dig it well in, and plant with Cabbages, and 
these if left for the production of Greens, will occupy 
the ground till the end of the next winter and be 
cleared off in time for Potatos. After Potatos, leaves 
or manure are again trenched in, and the same 
rotation of cropping repeated. So far, we have made 
no provision for either Peas or Beans, Sea Kale, 
Asparagus or Strawberries, but these are provided 
for in another way. I begin with a plot of Sea Kale, 
of which I have annually grown some thousands of 
crowns for forcing. Our quarter of Sea Kale being 
generally about the same size as the Pea and Bean 
ground, last autumn the soil was trenched for 
this crop, and a good thickness of fresh leaves 
buried in. Shortly after planting a good sprinkling 
of salt was given, and this is the only stimulant it 
has had, yet it bids fair to yield a crop of splendid 
crowns. 
I have found it best to continually move 
this crop, as it keeps cleaner and healthier for it, 
and Peas and Beans of all kinds do well after it. 
The latter crops it has been our practice to well 
mulch and that quite early, for if delayed till the 
soil gets dry more than half the benefit is lost. In 
seasons like the present, when the soil was dry at 
sowing time I have well watered it and put on a 
thick coating of mulching material, allowing the 
Peas to grow up through it without moulding them, 
and in this way I have secured many a good crop of 
late Peas, when they were scarce and dear in the 
market. 
Our crop following the Peas and Beans has 
generally been Broccoli, Green Kale, etc., upon the 
ground previously occupied with the earlier Peas, 
planting without digging it; while that carrying the 
Runner Beans and late Peas is broken up and left 
for Brussels Sprouts, Cauliflowers, Savoys, Kales, 
and Broccoli. I have always endeavoured to get 
these out early in case of an extra dry season, and 
this crop should if possible have a plentiful supply 
of manure, as the succeeding will be Potatos, the 
earlier varieties of which will come off in time for a 
sowing of Turnips. After this rotation has been 
gone through the ground may be again trenched and 
planted with Strawberries or Asparagus, the old 
quarters of which can be trenched up and treated in 
the same way for a rotation of Sea Kale, Peas, 
Beans, etc. 
A persistent following up of this course 
will in a few years do much to improve any light 
soils and increase their pro*ductiveness.— W. B. 
Glasscock, 7, Tamworth Road, Croydon, 
PLANTS RECENTLY CERTIFICATED. 
The undermentioned subjects received First-class 
Certificates when exhibited at Earl's Court on the 
23rd ult;— 
Dahlia Duchess of York.— The flowers of this 
Cactus variety are of a large size, and of a beautiful 
orange-scarlet. The florets are long, pointed, and 
slightly twisted at the tip. It is therefore a true 
Cactus type and not a decorative variety. The 
exhibitors were Messrs. J. Cheal & Sons, Crawley, 
Sussex. 
Dahlia Rowena. —This is a pompon variety of 
small size, neat, and suffused all round the margin 
with deep crimson on a yellow ground. It was ex¬ 
hibited by Mr. C. Turner, Slough. 
Gladiolus Sir Michael Culme-Seymour. —The 
blooms of this new variety are large, and eleven of 
them were fully expanded on the spike shown, while 
numerous others were in bud. They are scarlet with 
the two lower segments 
suffused and lined with 
purple on the basal half. 
The throat is purple. 
The exhibitors were 
Messrs. Kelway & Son, 
Langport, Somerset. 
Gladiolus Muriel.— 
The flowers in this case 
are crimson-red with a 
thin white midrib to each 
segment, while three- 
fourths of the lower petal 
are white. Exhibited by 
Messrs. Burrell & Co., 
Howe House, Cambridge. 
Gladiolus Fiametta. 
—Here the blooms are 
large and of a soft sal¬ 
mon,slightlystreaked with 
scarlet near the edges. 
On the whole it is a softly- 
coloured and beautiful 
variety. Exhibited by 
Messrs. Burrell & Co. 
Gladiolus Cartilda.— 
This exhibits an approach 
to yellow, inasmuch as 
the segments are sulphur- 
yellow with a red rib on 
each of three or four out 
of the six ; but sometimes 
several of the red bands 
may be absent. One or 
two of the lowest segments 
have alight purple pointed 
blotch or band on the 
basal two-thirds of their 
length. Exhibited by 
Messrs. Burrell & Co. 
Gladiolus Pessa.— 
The flowers of this sort are 
orange - salmon shaded 
with scarlet towards the 
margin; and the lowest 
segment is pale purple on 
the basal half. The throat also is purple. Ten 
large flowers were open at one time. Exhibited by 
Messrs. J. Burrell & Co. 
--- 
ISOTOMA AXILLARIS. 
The flowers of this plant are borne singly in the 
axils of the leaves, and should be pure white, but the 
great amount of sunshine and dry weather has not 
been without effect on the plant, for a large pro¬ 
portion of the flowers this year are pale pink ; the 
tube is long and greenish. The plant belongs to the 
Lobelia family and the species under notice is some¬ 
times met with under the name of Lobelia sene- 
cioides, probably on account of the leaves being cut 
in a manner resembling some of the Ragworts. The 
structure of the flower is not unlike that of a 
Lobelia, but the long tube of the flower carries us 
away to something else. The species is a native of 
Australia, and is properly a greenhouse perennial, 
although it may be grown and flowered satisfactorily 
in the open during the summer months, just as in 
the case of the Lobelias of the dwarf blue types. 
It might be worthy of the attention of horticulturists 
for growing in batches for conservatory purposes. 
Eucharis Lowii. 
