452 
THE GARDENING WORLD. 
March 18, 1393. 
FLORICULTURE. 
Auriculas.—Heat. 
The remarks of mine on Auriculas grown with the 
aid of artificial heat were based upon one made by 
Mr. James Douglas in one of the gardening papers, 
to the effect that Auriculas having begun to move, 
he had housed his plants, and that it would not be 
wise, now movement had set in, to allow the tempera¬ 
ture of the house to fall below 40°. Seeing that 
during the first two weeks in February there were in 
the neighbourhood of London 10 or 12 0 of frost, I 
wondered how the temperature of a house was to be 
kept at 40° without the aid of artificial heat, and I 
find myself still wondering. 
Mr. Douglas is candid in regard to his practice. 
He makes no secret of the fact that he employs arti¬ 
ficial heat when he deems it necessary. I have 
never had an opportunity of seeing under what 
conditions Mr. Horner grows his flowers at Lonsdale, 
but when he was at Kirkby Malzeard he certainly 
employed artificial heat in the house in which he 
grew his Auriculas, and those were the days when 
he held his own at the London shows ; and when the 
quality of his plants was equalled, it was only with 
others grown also with the aid of artificial heat. Of 
the Reading growers, Messrs. Henwood, Badcock and 
Walker have houses in which to grow their Auriculas 
that are heated either by a flue cr hot water pipes. 
I do not know under what conditions Mr. Wheel¬ 
wright grows his plants, probably without the aid of 
artificial heat, but he appears to be somewhat per¬ 
functory in putting an appearance on the exhibition 
table. Two other Reading growers—Messrs. Gibson 
and Fife—are excellent growers, but not having arti¬ 
ficially heated frames, they are not early enough in 
bloom to compete with those who have heated 
houses, and they therefore stand aloof from the 
Auricula Society. These facts are enough to sub¬ 
stantiate my point, that so long as all the classes in 
the Auricula Society’s schedule are open to growers 
who have the command of artificial heat, so long 
are the growers who do not employ it placed at a 
disadvantage, and it is useless to look for encourage¬ 
ment for such, under the present management. 
Mr. D’Ombrain, who has ample opportunity for 
orming an opinion, is evidently likeminded as my¬ 
self, for Mr. Horner brackets us together as if we 
were a pair of heretics guilty of floral heterodoxy ; 
and this fact gives us the spectacle of the chairman 
of the committee of the Auricula Society practically 
protesting against the practices of the leading 
growers on the committee, and he knows, quite as 
well as I know, that it is practically impossible for 
him to secure anything like fair play for growers 
under the cool system. 
I can now, without any feeling of embarrassment, 
reely criticise the practices of the Auricula Society, 
as I have placed myself outside it as a protest 
against the practice that now prevails of violating 
the privacy of committee statements. In 1891 a 
paid judge staged certain plants in a class or two, in 
which I competed, and judged them afterwards. 
This appeared to me to be such a monstrous departure 
from the usual rules and observances governing 
floral competitions, that I objected—and I think 
rightly—to this person being employed as a judge,and 
I gave my reasons for doing so. My objections as 
stated appear to have been conveyed to him by a 
member of the committee, and he writes objecting to 
meet me on the occasion of the annual exhibition of 
the Oxford Carnation Union, on the ground that I 
had made “malicious insinuations.’’ As he will 
neither justify nor withdraw this statement, I natur¬ 
ally enough strongly objected to this grower being 
engaged as a judge, holding that if invited by the 
members, they would be to all intents and purposes 
siding with my traducer against me, but he has 
been invited. It remains to be seen whether he will 
forego his two guinea fee by refusing to meet me as 
he did at Oxford, because I shall surely compete, 
though no longer a member. But my best and most 
effectual protest against such proceedings is by 
retiring from the membership of the society. 
The method of appointing judges at the Auricula 
Show is most objectionable. At the annual meeting 
the person I have alluded to is invited, his fee being 
two guineas. He is the guest of the secretary, who 
is the principal exhibitor, drives with him to the 
show' early in the morning, is present the whole of 
the time, assists as I have shown in staging, and after¬ 
wards judges. All this is decidedly contrary to the 
usual rules governing floral competitions. The other 
judges are appointed on the morning of the show day 
by the treasurer and secretary, both being large ex¬ 
hibitors No one knows who the judges are to be, 
and it not unfrequently happens round men painfully 
struggle in square holes, and all this pettifogging is 
in connection with a society that calls itself 
National ! Is it to be wondered at that it never rises 
above the low level of comparative obscurity ?— R. 
Dean. 
-- 
ON MANURES. 
At the monthly meeting of the Preston and Fuhvood 
Horticultural Society, held on the 4th inst., Mr. S. 
H. Stott, who presided, gave an address on Manures, 
from which we take the following:—Theoretical 
information is most useful, and especially so when 
given to those in a position to reduce it to practice. 
Farmyard manure is about the best fertiliser that 
can be secured, but it would be impossible without 
other means to secure the quantity that would be 
required for land under cultivation; its value may 
be greatly increased by mixing with it a very 
small percentage of sulphate of ammonia, kainit, and 
precipitated phosphate. I understand Mr. Bates 
held out a hope that shortly arrangements would be 
made in connection with the Harris Institute that 
samples of fertilisers would be analysed gratis. 
This will be very good, but I do not think it goes 
far enough; it is not only the fertiliser we require 
analysing, but the soil. Regarding fertilisers, no 
doubt a lot of rubbish has time after time been 
palmed off as genuine, and the sooner frauds of this 
description are exposed the better. Some time ago 
I was told tons upon tons of ground material were 
sent from Carnforth to mix with guano in Liverpool. 
Adulteration of this description not only handicaps 
the user, but is a national waste, the land being less 
productive than would have been the case had the 
article been genuine, resulting in loss of labour and 
money by the user. I stated it was the soil we 
required analysing as well as the fertilisers. County 
Councils throughout the kingdom make large grants 
for technical education. We all know certain corps 
in certain districts do much better than in others, 
climate and other circumstances being equal. 
Therefore, the importance to be attached to the 
analysis of the soil cannot be over-estimated. 
The chemistry of the soil in each district should 
be well understood, and this can only be arrived at. 
say in practice by results, and in theory by analysis, 
and a report stating in what the soil is deficient, and 
what the essentials to insure full crops of varied 
fruits and vegetables. I have experimented with 
most of the fertilisers in trade, and with very varied 
results. In the " Rosarian Year Book, 1889,” we 
have a very good article on artificial manures, by E. 
Tonks, Esq., B.C.L. In this article he asks the 
question what artificial manure is suitable for the 
Rose, and then asks a further question—what are the 
elements of which the Rose is composed ? Then he 
gives the result of an analysis of the ashes of the 
Rose ; he then pairs his formula, to give back in the 
in the same proportions, viz.: 12 parts superphos¬ 
phate of lime, ten parts nitrate of potash, eight sul¬ 
phate of lime, two sulphate of magnesia, one sul¬ 
phate of iron. This a guide in using fertilisers in 
most cases ; still the rule is not without its exceptions, 
as I have found by experimenting—(hear, hear). 
The depressed state of agriculture through which we 
are at present passing necessitates the most search¬ 
ing inquiry as to its cause and removal. The sub¬ 
ject of our discussion this evening I think of vital 
importance to agriculturists, viz.: “The Use and 
Abuse of Fertilisers.” It affects agriculturists 
more seriously than horticulturists. The farmer has 
to make a living and pay his rent, and has to com¬ 
pete with the produce grown from virgin soil,' and in 
many cases a much more favourable climate. 
The question of transit in times past in a measure 
protected him, but now this is reduced to a minimum 
the agriculturist is seriously handicapped. Still, as 
agriculturists, hortciulturists, and fruit growers, we 
have got to make the best of the circumstances. In 
the past we have been too easy, and gone too much 
by rule of thumb; in the future we shall have to 
treat all crops from a scientific point, if we are in 
any way to hold our own against increasing imports. 
I am so strongly convinced of this that I believe it 
will pay our large fruit and vegetable growers to first 
ascertain the nature of the soil they are w'orking, 
and then either mix or purchase specific manures for 
the varied crops he intends to cultivate. Failing 
this, he prefers practice to theory, maps out plots of 
same size, and tests with varied fertilisers, say sul¬ 
phate of ammonia, nitrate of soda, superphosphates, 
separately, and mixture of the same, and note the 
results in each case. Experiments in this system 
have been carried out in the Channel Isles, and tests 
have proved that by a judicious mixture of fertilisers 
crops of Royal Jersey Fluke Potatos planted 7th 
March, lifted 19th June, have been increased from 
nine tons to nearly seventeen tons per acre, and if 
results like this can be secured in one class of crop, 
so they can in others. The best results were secured 
by a mixture of blood manure, nitrate of soda, and 
phosphate. Still this mixture comes expensive, 
and a mixture giving near the same results at much 
less cost per acre seems to be all that could be de¬ 
sired, viz.: sulphate of ammonia and phosphate. 
For other crops varied mixtures should be used, 
say as follows:—Vines, dried blood and raw' bone 
meal ; hops, dissolved guano, containing 20 per cent, 
phosphate and 10 per cent, ammonia; Beans and 
Peas, phosphate and kainit; Cauliflowers, Cabbages, 
Onions, Turnips, and Carrots, kainit, superphos¬ 
phates, and sulphate of ammonia; fruit trees, 
muriate of potash, superphosphate, and sulphate of 
ammonia ; for the bulk of flowers, ammonia, kainit, 
and superphosphate. On good, rich soil either 
nitrate of soda or sulphate of ammonia will prove 
satisfactory ; if the soil be poor it will require the 
addition of kainit and superphosphate. On a clay 
sub-soil I think sulphate of ammonia preferable to 
nitrate of sodi, and always so in a wet season or on 
damp land. It is a little more expensive per ton, 
but it is fully 20 per cent, stronger, and is not so 
quickly w'ashed out of the soil. I used the words 
advisedly, the Use and Abuse of Feriilisers. A doctor 
gives you a bottle of medicine to be taken in certain 
quantities at certain times. A fatal mistake may be 
made by not following his instructions, so it is with 
fertilisers, either in solid or liquid form, and I say 
give rather under than over w'hat you are told to use. 
The vendors wish you to use as much as you can, 
therefore prescribe the extreme limit of what is safe 
to use. If this be exceeded the roots are burnt, and 
then comes the abuse of fertilisers. In conclusion, 
the result of the small scope I have had for experi¬ 
menting with varied products are that the most valu¬ 
able ior horticulturists are urine, dried blocd, sul¬ 
phate of ammonia, nitrate of soda, bones and bone 
products, basic slag, gypsum or sulphate of lime, the 
varied superphosphates, and nitrate of potash. This 
is most useful, but I have p aced it last, and I expect 
we can get as good result from kainit, which comes 
much cheaper. 
A lengthy and exceedingly interesting discussion 
followed, in which a number of gardeners took part, 
and for which we regret our inability to find room. 
-—*•- 
COB-NUTS AND 
FILBERTS. 
As there is every probability that we shall have a 
very abundant crop of small nuts, for the catkins 
have been as plentiful as beautiful, and the fertilising 
season is new past, I refer to the fact as having some 
prospective interest in that I have just been eating 
fine Cobs and Filberts given me last October, and 
which having been freed from their cups, were at 
once placed in a large jar, salted and so kept. Those 
I have been eating being the last, yet some five 
months after gathering, these nuts are apparently 
just as fresh and sweet to the taste as ever, and fulJy 
preserved. I see no reason why they may not have 
kept so in the salt for some time longer, if desired. 
It is worth knowing that really good small nuts can 
be thus well preserved. Of course, we are enabled 
to purchase excellent Barcelona nuts at almost any 
time of the winter, and these, it may be, largely 
discount our home-growm nuts. Still theie seems to be 
few nuts so sw’eet and nice as are home-grown 
Filberts. How abundantly also they may be grown. 
It is not at all essential tnat cultivation should be 
elaborate or pruning severe to secure good crops. 
The bushes from whence the fine samples I had were 
taken grow in a shrubbery and merely get occasional 
thinnings, yet every year do they fruit profusely, 
probably because they are sheltered from the north 
and east by high trees. Small nuts of the best 
kinds might be grown much more commonly than 
they are. Whilst our wild nuts are relatively so poor 
in quality, the best sorts cultivated are so good. 
That fact should afford special reason why they 
should be much more widely cultivated.— A. D. 
