484 
THE GARDENING WORLD. 
April 3, 1897. 
Blue Giant, Sirius and Imperator. Now 
these are all large Potatos, but of unequal 
cropping qualities, and therefore incompati¬ 
ble as a fair comparison by which the relative 
. fertility of the land can be tested. It would 
surely be germane to the subject to grow 
the same variety on the same land for a 
succession of years, so that the rise or 
decline of fertility could be seen by a glance 
at the table. We make no pretensions at 
knowing the whole aim and object of these 
experiments carried on by the Wilts County 
Council ; but we do think that one 
variety of Potato planted on the same piece 
of ground and fertilised by the same kind of 
manure for five or more years would afford 
several useful hints. It would show the 
state of fertility of the soil from year to 
year. Fluctuations would almost certainly 
occur, but might be traced to their cause. 
For instance, wet and dry seasons must 
have a different effect on the crop. 
Strangely enough the two heaviest crops 
recorded in this set of trials occurred in 
droughty seasons. Reading Giant in 1893 
yielded at the rate of 20 tons 16 cwt. per 
acre, and Imperator in 1896 gave exactly 
the same return. In 1892, the first year of 
the trials, Beauty of Hebron yielded at the 
rate of 13 tons 13 cwt. per acre. This might 
mean that the ground was but moderately 
fertile at that time ; but we note that the 
smallest return was given by Sirius in 1895 
—namely, 13 tons ij cwt. per acre. We 
have no hesitation in putting the difference 
down in the first place to the cropping 
powers of the respective varieties. The 
average of the whole seventeen perches for 
five years was at the rate of 17 tons 10 cwt. 
per acre. The trials with complete 
chemical manure during the same years 
gave equally varying results ; but Reading 
Giant in 1893 yielded at the rate of 21 tons 
16 cwt. per acre. The average for the five 
years of the seventeen perches was at the 
rate of 16 tons i7f cwt. Where no manure 
at all was used the yield of each variety 
except Sirius, was distinctly less. Curiously 
enough the land produced as heavy a crop 
of the latter variety without manure as it 
did with farmyard manure ; with complete 
chemical manure it produced a heavier 
crop by 1 ton 13I cwt. Clearly we have 
much to learn concerning the capabilities 
and behaviour of Potatos under different 
conditions. 
In another series of trials we note that 
the yield of nine perches fertilised with 
complete chemical manure at the rate of 8 
cwt. per acre gave an average return on five 
years of 14 tons qf cwt. Twelve cwt. of 
the manure only raised the crop to 14 tons 
9 cwt. ; and 16 cwt. under the same condi¬ 
tions only gave 15 tons if cwt. of Potatos. 
'The unmanured plots at the same time 
gave an average of 10 tons 17 cwt., thus 
clearly proving the value of the manure. 
As to whether heavy manuring as opposed 
to a moderate amount is deserving of 
extended use, will have to be determined 
by placing the extra cost in the balance 
against it. It may be interesting to observe 
that there is little difference between the 
weight of crops produced from whole and 
cut tubers, provided the sets used are of 
equal size or weight. Four ounce sets pro¬ 
duce much stronger growth than two or one- 
ounce sets. Three perches of land merely 
dug and otherwise accorded ordinary treat¬ 
ment, yielded at the rate of 18 tons 17 cwt. 
per acre, and when trenched by hand labour, 
the return was 20 tons 14 cwt. All these 
facts are useful if they be acted upon by the 
mass of cultivators ; and surely they will not 
be allowed to pass into oblivion. Interesting 
also are the trials to test the specific gravity 
of the tubers of different varieties. This 
depends upon the amount of starch they 
•contain, and would indicate their relative 
nutritive values. The report runs to forty- 
three pages, measuring 11 in. by 8J in., 
and is replete with facts from beginning to 
end, and given in succinct form. Printing 
and paper leave nothing to be desired. 
-- 
Mr. T. F. Conway, hitherto foreman to Earl Dysart 
at Ham House, Richmond, Surrey, has been 
appointed head gardener there in succession to Mr. 
G. H. Sage. 
A Fearless Blackbird.—Within two arms’length of 
the pathway in the greenhouse, No. 4, at Kew, a 
blackbird has built her nest in a bush; and is now 
sitting upon her eggs apparently unconcerned at the 
hundreds of people passing through the house. 
The Electric Plant is equally happy in the sfove, 
greenhouse or open air. Not everyone can grow it 
all the same—indeed, very few can, I should say, 
unless his employer has a long stocking, and is 
willing to shell out.— Snaggs. 
Goblins again —Amongst the goblins to be dreaded 
and avoided at the present day are green fly, mealy 
bug, scale, thrips, and red spider. Some might 
assert that these are only “ sucklins " ; but on the 
same principle the Vine Weevil, Pea Weevil, Bean 
Weevil, and all other weevils might be termed 
“ gobble-uns.” 
Devon and Exeter Gardeners have cause to regret 
the death of Mr. J. B. Lansdale, a vice-president and 
prominent supporter of the Devon and Exeter Garden¬ 
ers' Mutual Improvement Society. The particular 
hobby of this gentleman was Pansies and Chrysan¬ 
themums of which he was a successful exhibitor at 
more than one local show. 
The Cardiff Horticultural Society would seem to 
have taken a new lease of life by considerably 
increasing the number of prizes offered at their 
annual show on the nth and 12th August next. It 
has added a new feature by the creation of an indus¬ 
trial department as a test of technical education in 
Glamorganshire, and open to all in the county not 
exceeding eighteen years of age. 
Carnations in America.—A great show was held by 
the American Carnation Society at Cincinnati on 
February 18th and 19th. The flowers are cut 
with long stems and exhibited in bunches 
in long cylindrical vases or jars, much in 
the same way as they do over there 
with Chrysanthemums. Colour, size, stem and calyx 
have precedence in value to substance form, fra¬ 
grance, and colour, as fifteen to ten. 
Highgate Wood.—The committee appointed to 
secure the Churchyard Bottom Wood at Highgate 
for the use of the public, has been taking active 
measures for that purpose. About £15,000 remains 
to be raised to cover the purchase of the ground, and 
circulars have been issued to the public giving parti¬ 
culars of tbe project and appealing for aid. High¬ 
gate Wood in the opinion of the chairman of the 
committee is "one of the choicest and most sylvan 
pieces of woodland which is to be found anywhere 
within the five-mile radius of Charing Cross.” Mr. 
Lionel Curtis, 1, Great College Street, Westminster, 
is the secretary of the fund. 
M. Georges Ville, the eminent authority on 
chemical manures, died on the 22nd of February, in 
his 74th year. He carried out a series of agricultural 
experiments in the trial grounds of Vincennes, Paris, 
as long ago as 1867, and published a book entitled 
Les Engrais Chimiques in 1868. It has passed through 
seven editions at least, the seventh appearing in 1890, 
and has been translated into Italian, German, Polish, 
Russian, Spanish, Portugese, and English, a trans¬ 
lation being also made in the United States of 
America. The principles he taught or the views 
which he expounded have been generally accepted, 
and are advocated at the present day, including those 
relating to the fixation of the free nitrogen of the 
atmosphere by the bacteria in the nodules of the roots 
of leguminous plants. He was attached to the Museum 
d'Histoire Naturelle, Paris. 
In Germany capture plants are often cultivated in 
gardens infested with eelworms, and the ground is 
thus in time more or less cleared of these destructive 
pests. 
The National Amateur Gardeners' Association will 
visit Messrs. Barr and Sons, Daffodil Nursery, 
Surbiton, on Saturday, 10th April, leaving Waterloo 
(South Station) at 2.33 p.m. Return fare to mem¬ 
bers, is. 3d., on application to the hon. secretary, 
Leonard Brown, The Cottage, Seven Arches, 
Brentwood. 
Entomologists will have work for many years to 
come in naming and describing all the insects in the 
world, if Professor Riley is correct in computing 
the number of species at 10,000,000. Other authori¬ 
ties consider that the number is even larger than 
this. 
Fruit Prospects at Merrion. —The season of 1897 
promises well for fruit in Ireland. Fruit trees are 
well cared for at Wilton House, Merrion, which is 
under the care of Mr. R. Russell. His trees are 
dwarf, symmetrical, and literally laden with flower 
buds. Mr. Russell uses the knife very sparingly 
upon the branches, but resorts to root pruning, 
thereby checking superfluous energy in the produc¬ 
tion of wood. Peaches and Nectarines on walls are 
also well managed. 
Hamburg Horticultural Exhibition.—BaronJ. Henry 
Schroder has announced that he intends exhibiting 
at the spring show of the great Hamburg Interna¬ 
tional Exhibition, a large portion of his famous 
collection of Orchids at The Dell, Egham. They 
are to occupy a superficial area of sixty-four square 
yards of space and must present an imposing 
spectacle. Baron Schroder has an old fondness for 
Hamburg, hence his intention of sending such a large 
portion of his valuable and renowned Orchids. 
Spring flowers in Scotland.—Ten years ago,or there¬ 
by, the bulk of the spring flowers sold in the principal 
Scotch markets, was drawn from the Scilly Isles and 
the south of England. The supply from these 
sources is yearly becoming smaller, and is accounted 
for by the fact that the growers in the counties of 
Lanark, Stirling, Renfrew, and Perth, have been 
stealing a march upon their more southern neighbours 
by quietly extending and perfecting their own estab¬ 
lishments, so as to be able to meet the home demand. 
The quality of their flowers will bear comparison 
with any. A grower of Helensburgh has already dis¬ 
posed of 1,000,000 Tulips this season. Evidently the 
Scotch growers mean work first and talk afterwards. 
Irish gardening industry.—Mr. William B. Hart- 
land, of Cork, is a great enthusiast in his desire to 
benefit his fellow-men, or in urging them on to bene¬ 
fit themselves by pushing their various industries. 
Recently he wrote a practical letter urging his 
countrymen to take advantage of the assembling of 
the soldiers at the camp in the Kilworth Mountains 
during the season from April to October, by growing 
Potatos and other vegetables, as well as fruits and 
flowers, in order to supply the wants cf the camp. 
He would like to see a school of horticulture estab¬ 
lished in Munster, with i.oco acres attached to it for 
the purpose of training boys in the art of horti¬ 
culture and agriculture. 
Arbor Day in Kent.—The interesting procession, 
ceremony, and the planting of trees at Eynsford 
some weeks ago have caused a considerable amount 
of interest. Sir George Birdwood has recently been 
urging the Kentish people at Maidstone as the 
centre, not to rest satisfied with Arbor Day at Eyns¬ 
ford only, but to establish it throughout the county. 
He thinks that the County Council and the clergy¬ 
men should work hand in hand as pioneers in this 
interesting and useful work. Arbor Day in Canada, 
he bad been informed, was a Government institution. 
The first Friday in May is set apart by the school 
authorities throughout Canada for the purpose of 
planting trees within the village bounds, and in 
planting fruit and flowering trees in the school 
grounds. The climate o t the United States is so 
varied over that vast expanse of country that 
different days are appointed for the holding of 
Arbor Day in the various states, in order to make the 
time fit each respective latitude in the matter of 
climate. Millions of trees are thus planted annually 
in the United States. The example might wqll be 
copied in this country. 
