August 20, 1898. 
THE GARDENING WORLD 
805 
Too much Expected.—Clergyman to groom-cowman- 
gardener who has brought a dirty trap to the front 
door: “Johnson, I must insist that you keep the 
pony and trap cleaner." 
Johnson: “Well sir what with ’ortayculter’and 
the cow I ain’t got much time for ’ossyculter’."— 
Punch. 
Scottish Sporting Rents annually amount to a very 
respectable figure. The seventy estates upon 
which red deer are to be found, and of which the 
shooting rights are to be purchased represent an 
aggresate rental of /ro9,30o from last year’s 
returns. In the county of Inverness alone the 
sporting rents of the first twenty estates on the lists 
of one of the large agents reached /V,o,ooo, whilst 
the first ten estates totalled a value of £ 26,000. 
The Queen Elm of New England, so named by 
Oliver Wendell Holmes, was one of the handsomest 
in Springfield until it was killed by gas or the steam 
heating pipes. The tree stands in front of Elm Tree 
School, and was taken possession of recently by a 
swarm of bees. It is very unusual for "bee trees ” 
to be found so near civilisation as the heart of the 
city. The intention is to have the defunct tree cut 
down in the autumn. 
Haymaking in a Wet Season.—The methods of 
making hay pursued by our farmers do not vary to 
any extent whether the season be wet or fine, bad or 
good, for it has been proved through long years that 
we generally get enough of sunshine to admit of the 
hay being properly cured under the working of our 
present system. In Norway and SwedeD, however, 
according to Mr. John Speir in " The Transactions of 
the Highland and Agricultural Society other methods 
are followed, and good hay is thereby procured in 
these northern latitudes even in the wettest season. 
When the hay gets to the stage at which, in England, 
it is “ cocked," the Scandinavians erect rows of 
poles at convenient places in the meadows and by 
means of ropes tied to these uprights the bay is 
suspended in layers of about 18 in. in depth, one 
above another. The ropes are so arranged that the 
layers just touch each other, and thus while rain 
is excluded air is freely admitted. Mr. Speir has 
tried the method and found it answer capitally, not 
only for ordinary hay but also for making sewage- 
dressed grass and the second cut of Italian Ryegrass 
into hay. He therefore recommends farmers to 
have recourse to this method in wet and unfavour¬ 
able seasons. 
-- 
SIDBURY MANOR, EAST DEVON. 
Situated on the summit of a hill commanding ex¬ 
tensive views on either side, four miles from the sea, 
stands this well built mansion, almost surrounded by 
a little town of glasshouses, which can be seen for 
miles, especially when the sun is shining. The wind 
from the north-east is very treacherous at times here, 
blowing right out to sea, some of the Conifers ex¬ 
hibiting signs of distress from this quarter. The 
putting out of summer bedding plants cannot be 
taken in hand until the month of June, as with us, 
and the soil being of a heavy texture it takes some little 
time ere the plants take kindly to it; but when once 
the plants are established it withstands the drought 
better than soil of a lighter nature similar to ours at 
Bicton. We patrolled the houses first, where all 
was thriving and clean. Tidiness was the order of 
the day in each department. One house was filled 
with Challenger Tomatos in 9-in. pots, heavily laden 
with fruit, some few clusters carrying as many as 
twelve and fifteen in various stages of maturity. 
The early vinery had just been cleared of its crop, 
and the hard, nut-brown wood indicated that some 
good bunches (Hamburghs) had been taken from 
the Vines. Against the back wall two good plants 
of Pelargonium Raspail and Candidissimum plenum 
that had been in flower ever since March, and still 
in the middle of July are in full bloom. They are 
very useful to cut from in early spring, where double 
flowers are not objected to. The Muscats were 
extra fine in bunch and berry. Madresfield Court 
has medium-sized bunches with good berries, jet 
black, and not one showed the least sign of splitting. 
What do growers say to this who tell us it cannot be 
grown to perfection unless given a house to itself ? 
The late Hamburgh house, just beginning to colour, 
had a heavy crop of medium-sized bunches. Tke 
latest house contained nice bunches that had every 
appearance of finishing up well, the varieties being 
Gros Maroc, Gros Colman, Appley Towers, and 
Lady Hutt. The two last-named are thought 
highly of by Mr. Reynolds, the gardener. 
Two fine clusters of Bananas I noticed in two 
separate houses. A batch of trees of the recently 
certificated Orange, Edith Cave, was carrying many 
fruits which are used for dessert, and are much 
esteemed by Sir Charles Cave, Bart. The Cucumber 
and Melon house had excellent crops. The first- 
named had remarkably fine fruits of Rollinson’s 
Telegraph. Half a dozen Melon plants averaged 
five fruits on a plant of good size; the major part 
would average 6 lb. each, Earl’s Favourite being the 
variety. Peaches under glass are retarded as much 
as possible, a quantity being required during August 
and September. The Fig house looked promising 
for a second crop. 
A fairly good number of Orchids are grown here, 
Calanthes and Dendrobiums looking strong, and 
Oncidium jonesianum carrying a spike of fifteen 
flowers. One house is devoted to Crotons and Dra¬ 
caenas, and no shade is afforded. This treatment 
suits the Crotons, but evidently not the latter. 
Several Acalyphas enjoyed the full sun, being of a 
most lovely colour; while outside I remarked a fine 
batch of Kalosanthes coccinea, fifty pots carrying 
good heads just about to expand. The Chrysanthe¬ 
mums, to the number of 500, looked well, and should 
yield good returns later on. Celosias, too, are 
always well done here, and showy things they are for 
early autumn work. 
The kitchen garden had felt the drought, but was 
well cropped. The bush and pyramid Apples had 
an average crop, as well as Pears, principally against 
the wall. Plums and Peaches are scanty, though 
the latter look clean and healthy, and it is to be 
hoped the spring will be congenial to them another 
year when in flower. To show how mild the late 
winter has been two very large Ivy-leaf Pelargoniums 
against the gardener’s house, had stood out unpro¬ 
tected, and were a mass of bloom at the time of my 
visit.— J. Mayne, Bicton, East Devon. 
-*g-- 
. EMPLOYMENT OF MANURE IN 
HORTICULTURE. 
By Messrs. A. Herbert and G. Truffaut. 
The production of flowering plants and ornamental 
shrubs having become a regular industry the 
questions of time and yield are now of the greatest 
importance. To rapidly obtain fully developed 
plants employment of manure is indispensable, but 
not in excessive amounts, which would be injurious 
from the horticultural point of view. Thus the 
Cyclamen growing in moderately manured soil gave 
an abundance of well developed flowers, whereas the 
same plants grown in excessively manured soil 
degenerated, and produced leaves to the detriment 
of flowers. 
The authors employed manure in the culture of a 
good number of ornamental plants. Plants of 
Dracaena Bruanti were amongst the varieties giving 
the test results ; they were grown in pots, ten centi¬ 
metres high, containing 330 grammes of leaf humus. 
The experiment began with slips of twenty-five to 
thirty centimetres long. Only part of the plants were 
manured, the rest being kept for comparison. Pre¬ 
liminary analyses of these plants led to their being 
manured during the experiments with twenty-five 
grains of a mixture of nitrate of potash, ammonium 
chloride, phosphate of ammonia, sulphate of 
magnesia, sulphate of iroD, as follows:—Nitrogen, 
3 06 grs. ; sulphuric acid, 3 91 grs.; potash, 7 39 
grs. ; magnesia, 106 grs.; chlorine, o 72 grs.; oxide 
of iron, I’oSgrs. ; and phosphoric acid, 145 grs. 
The experiment lasted nine months (March to 
November), the plants being kept in a conservatory 
without repotting. The effect of the manure was 
clearly visible very shortly after the beginning 
of the experiment and became more and 
more marked. The plants were much stronger 
and more verdant than the others; their stalks 
more turgescent, harder and more woody ; the 
roots more developed but not proportionally with 
the aerial parts. The market value of the plants, 
which was about two francs, became double after the 
employment of manures. 
The weighings and analyses of both sets of plants 
gave the following average figures for centesimal or 
total composition of a plant. 
Dry extract 
per 100. 
Dracaena Dracaena 
not manured, manured. 
Total weight., — — 
Water . — — 
Dry extract .. — — 
Organic matter 82 50 8189 
Ash . 17 50 18 11 
Nitrogen - 2 20 2 72 
Centesimal Composition of Ash. 
Silica. 
71-50 
71 65 
913 
1699 
Chlorine .... 
271 
237 
o ’34 
056 
Sulphuric Acid 
Phosphoric 
344 
189 
043 
044 
Acid . 
2-98 
2 49 
0-38 
059 
Oxide of Iron 
210 
259 
026 
0'6i 
Alumina .... 
0 05 
051 
0006 
OI2 
Lime. 
604 
683 
077 
1 62 
Magnesia .... 
1 40 
1 05 
OI7 
O24 
Potash . 
8-70 
870 
III 
206 
Soda . 
Oxide of man- 
0 68 
127 
008 
060 
ganese .... 
traces. 
traces. 
traces. 
traces. 
The centesimal composition of the manured 
plants and others is exactly the same except for 
sulphuric acid, alumina and soda; but the final 
weight doubled in manured plants, both in the 
mineral and organic substances built up by the 
plant. Assimilation did not change relatively, but 
doubled absolutely. All the constituents of the 
manure improved the plant except sulphuric acid, 
which seems of slight importance. The plants 
bavmg their subsistence amply assured were able to 
assimilate more silica, alumina, lime and soda, 
elements contained in excess in garden soils or water 
supplied to the plant. This example clearly illus¬ 
trates the increased production to be obtained by 
judicious employment of fertilising substances. 
Similar experiments give equally good results with 
the following plants :—Chrysanthemum, Hortensia, 
Ken'.ia belmoreana, Adiantum, Corypha austral’- 
LataDia, Anthemis, Dracaena (various), Medec 5, 
Areca sapida, Ficus elastica, Pandanus u-.iiis, 
Asparagus (various), Fuchsia, Phoenix, Begonia 
Rex, Heliotrope and Rose trees. 
- - 
Composition of 
an entire Dracaena. 
not 
' 
manured. 
manured. 
260 
480 
187 
349 
73 
131 
60-23 
10728 
1277 
2372 
7 60 
3'56 
FRUIT GROWING AND JDY IN 
VICTORIA. 
Mr. Hamish W. Russell, at present studying horli- 
culture, but particularly fruit growing, at the Govern¬ 
ment Horticultural College at Burnley, Victoria, is a 
grandson of the late Mr. James Russell, for a long 
time gardener at Poltalloch, Lochgilphead, N.B. In 
a letter, amongst other things, he writes to us as fol¬ 
lows, showing the great necessity for untiring in¬ 
dustry even in that comparatively young country : — 
“ I recently built a dingy in which I go to the outer 
reefs for shell-fish and do a little fishing. I never 
saw one being built. A general all round knowledge 
is what is required here. 
“ You are aware that I attend the Government 
Horticultural College at Burnley. Mr. Luffmann is 
our curator; Mr. McAlpine, Government patho¬ 
logist; Mr. French, Government entomologist; and 
Mr. Pearson, Government agricultural chemist. 
During the morniDgs students do practical work, and 
in the afternoons attend lectures given by either of 
the foregoing, or Mrs. Luffmann, who takes a great 
interest in the ‘boys,’ and gratuitously delivers 
lectures and gives instruction in different subjects. 
“Our daily duties are ‘listed,’ and arranged so 
that we may each acquire a thorough knowledge of 
practical work, which is explained and supervised 
(under Mr. Luffmann's directions) by a practical and 
experienced gardener. One of the men is a son of 
the late curator, Mr. G. Neilson, Government fruit 
expert. Digging, trenching, ploughing, making cut¬ 
tings, budding, grafting, inarching, pruning, planting 
trees, spraying, drying fruit, bottling fruit, packing 
fruit, examining fruit for export, fumigating diseased 
fruit trees, making cider and vinegar, grading, level¬ 
ling, draining, the proper application of manures, 
&c., are among our daily duties. 
" At present we are grading and levelling a part of 
the old orchard for a new Citrus plantation. The 
growth of the Citrus family is to have special atten¬ 
tion at the college, and it will be a grand object les¬ 
son for old students who took part in its formation to 
revisit the scene of their labours and note the 
advance made, and the result of experiments with 
different varieties and methods. 
"The Orange grows well in the colony of Victoria. 
In the Mildura and Wangaratta districts plantations 
