378 
February 10, 190C 
THE GARDENING WORLD 
timbers might also be mentioned. About one-half 
of the fallen trees died after they were blown over, 
and the other half is still quite green and growing 
vigorously. The main stems or trunks of the young 
trees (the Pines) are completely rotten and absolutely 
useless ; the Spruces are still sound, and could be 
used for light work ; and the Larches, although hav¬ 
ing lain five or six years and are quite dead, are still 
sound and durable, and quantities are being taken 
out and cut up for fencing purposes.— John Peebles, 
Craigisla House, N.B. 
[A bundle of last year’s shoots, consisting of the 
leaders of Larch and Spruce trees, was sent us by 
Mr. Peebles, quite confirming his statements as to 
the remarkable growth of the trees blown down by 
the hurricane mentioned. The leading or upright 
shoots of the Spruce were 30 in. to 31 in. long, 
perfectly healthy, as straight as an arrow, and of 
most wonderful vigour. The Larch leaders were 
30 in. to 34 in. in length, and, though not so thick as 
those of the Spruce, were otherwise a standing 
testimony to the suitability of the soil and climate 
for these forest trees.—Ed.] 
-,5,. . — 
NOTICE OF BOOK. 
Garden Lawns, Tennis Lawns, Putting Greens, 
Cricket Grounds. By Sutton & Suns, Read¬ 
ing. London : Simpkin, Marshall, Hamilton, 
Kent & Co., Ltd., 1899. All rights reserved. 
Price 2S. 6d. Without illustrations, and in 
paper covers, is. 
The two books are one book, so to speak, the text 
being entirely the same in both; but the smaller one 
is in paper covers and without illustrations ; while 
the larger edition is bound in very pale green, cloth 
boards, and is interleaved with half-a-dozen illustra¬ 
tions. The latter consist of reproductions of photo¬ 
graphs of scenes in the grounds of private establish¬ 
ments, and represent expanses of well kept grass, 
having a background of tall, umbrageous Cedars, 
Spruces, Sequoias, and other Conifers, as well as 
masses of deciduous trees in their full summer garb. 
They are done in two or more shades of colour 
printing ; and some of them contain views of orna¬ 
mental water away behind the trees. 
The aim of the book is not the discussion of the 
beauty or utility of well-kept lawns and pleasure or 
recreation grounds, but to elucidate the best and 
least expensive method of producing a smooth and 
velvety turf that will be soft and elastic to the tread, 
and to suggest the means by which they may be kept 
in good condition. There are two well-known 
methods of making a lawn, and these are to lay 
turf or sow seeds. By the former method a green 
sward may be got ready for use in a little less time 
than it takes seed to develop to the same stage. The 
questions that arise in connection with the former 
are the possibility of obtaining turf, its cost, and 
condition. The latter is, perhaps, the most serious, 
because in a state of nature there are generally bad 
weeds in the turf, and coarse grasses to disfigure it 
as well. The trouble and expense of rectifying these 
evils afterwards more than counterbalance the 
advantage of an earlier use of the ground by em¬ 
ploying turf. An acre of ground would require 
nearly 15,000 pieces of turf, each 3 ft. by ift. in 
dimensions, so that the cutting, carting, and relay¬ 
ing the same are calculated to reach nearly/100; 
whereas seed of the best quality to sow that area is 
procurable for £5, or £7 10s. at the most. Where 
any appreciable area of land has to be turned into 
green sward, the difference in the item of expense 
between the above two methods is obvious. The 
initial cost of levelling and otherwise preparing the 
ground to be turned into grassy sward would be the 
same in both cases. 
- The book is mostly taken up with the operations 
necessary to prepare the ground, so that, when 
covered with grass, a minimum of labour will be re- 
■ quired to maintain the turf in good order. Soils 
vary in their capabilities of retaining a sufficiency of 
moisture, and so does tbe slope. The ease or diffi¬ 
culty of maintaining a green sward during the sum¬ 
mer months also varies, and is vastly influenced by 
the character of the season. The skill of the land¬ 
scapist will best be shown by his making the most 
of the natural advantages at his command There 
are articles on grass slopes, drainage, preparatory 
work, weed seeds in soil, enriching the soil, surface 
preparation, selection of seeds, quantity of seeds, 
sowing, worm casts, water and shade, bird scares, 
mowing, rolling, destruction of weeds, improving old 
lawns, moss in lawns, &c. The article on "weed 
seeds in soil," refers to the need in some cases of get¬ 
ting soil elsewhere to fill up hollows in the ground. 
The seeds of pernicious weeds may be introduced in 
this way. The chief remedy advocated is to burn 
such strange soil before using it. The burning of 
clay land or a portion of it is an excellent hint for 
improving the qualities of land either for the benefit 
of grass, or flower gardening, as we have had oppor¬ 
tunities of observing. 
Special information is given for the making of 
putting greens and cricket grounds; so that those 
who contemplate the formation of lawns would do 
well to arm themselves with the information here 
placed at their disposal. 
-- 
CHEMISTRY FOR THE GARDEN. 
III. Gases—(Continued.) 
(Continued frem p. 363 ) 
Hydrogen, in addition to the portion it forms of 
water, is also found in all vegetable and animal pro¬ 
ducts. It is what none of the previous gases are— 
inflammable, burning with a pinkish-blue flame when 
ignited. It is easily prepared, but, owing to its 
highly explosive nature when mixed with air, care is 
required when it is ignited that all the air contained 
in the vessel in which it is generated should be ex¬ 
hausted, otherwise a very serious explosion may 
happen. Hydrogen has a great affinity for carbon. 
They are, in general, co-operators. Where there is 
flame they are working in unison in the performance. 
Hydrogen is only inflammable in the company of 
oxygen ; and any flame is just no more nor less than 
hydrogen oxidised, resulting in the formation of 
water, the oxide of hydrogen. A somewhat similar 
process takes place in the animal lungs, when the 
hydrogen of the food combines with the inhaled 
oxygen. The action results in heat, of slower com¬ 
bustion, of course, than that which takes place in 
flame. By mixing hydrogen and oxygen in the pro¬ 
portions already mentioned, and igniting the mixture, 
a sharp explosion occurs, and water is formed. 
Water can also be decomposed into these gases. 
This is done by electricity. Plants do this feat con¬ 
tinually without any apparent difficulty. 
Ammonia Gas. —This substance is a compound of 
nitrogen and hydrogen, and, as its behaviour inform¬ 
ing compounds, resembling those of metals, led the 
older chemists to place it among the metallic ele¬ 
ments, the hypothetical name Ammonium was given 
to it. However, little foundation for any suspicion 
in that direction has yet been discovered. It belongs 
to the alkaline group of chemicals, having the same 
natural causticity as lime, potash, and soda, but, 
unlike these, ammonia is extremely volatile. Our 
dung heaps, stables, urinals, &c., where great quanti¬ 
ties of this valuable substance are generated, readily 
give indication of its presence by the pungent odour 
as it escapes into the air. Although the atmosphere 
contains but a small proportion of ammonia, it can 
be produced from various other sources where its 
component parts act an important part. It is 
abundantly formed in the distillation of shale, coal, 
and animal matter, as well as in the ordinary putre¬ 
faction of all animal matters. If urine is exposed to 
the influence of the air till it gets into a state of 
putrefaction it is very rich in ammonia. 
The student can satisfy himself of this by dis¬ 
tilling the putrid urine, along with caustic lime, into 
a receiver with pure water, when he shall have a fair 
sample of liquid ammonia or hartshorn, properly 
speaking, carbonate of ammonia. This form is also 
volatile, and, for manurial purposes, except for im¬ 
mediate use, is useless till it is fixed into the sulphate, 
which binds the ammonia so that it is unable to fly 
away into the atmosphere. This gas has a strong 
affinity for water, hence it is a judicial thing when a 
large body of stable or other manure is in the process 
of fermentation, to use water pretty liberally ; for it 
absorbs a large quantity of the ammonia that other¬ 
wise would escape into the air. This essential is 
neglected to a shameful state among many farmers 
who, we suppose, are quite ignorant of the fact that 
their gold thus evaporates, before their eyes, into the 
air. 
It is extraordinary that those who are in charge of 
these natural sources of this valuable fertiliser allow 
it, without a murmur, to be dissipated, when they 
pay so much money for the artificial product each 
year. There are several other things which can be 
used for fixing the ammonia formed in dung heaps, 
the weak solutions of sulphuric acid can be used 
with good results. Kainit also liberally thrown over 
the heap is said to be fruitful of gcod results. Wood 
charcoal, wood ashes, or any of the alkaline 
sulphates ought also to meet the required want. 
The oxidation which takes place when dung is 
undergoing fermentation results in the liberation of 
a great deal of heat, as mcst of us are aware. 
Ammonia in any form but that of the sulphate, on 
account of its volatile tendencies, as already shown, 
if not arrested, as we have above stated, will escape, 
and leave behind, sure enough, what is termed 
" well rotted ” dung, but of little more value than if 
the whole had been consumed by fire. The only 
difference, perhaps, is that such dung when in¬ 
corporated with soil makes it rich in humus, and 
humus is one of the best absorbents of ammonia 
from the air.— Oxygen. 
[To be continued.) 
-- 
ROSES IN THE GARDEN. 
In another column we briefly refer to the lecture 
given by Mr. Geo. Gordon, V.M.H., before the 
members of Ealing and District Gardeners’ Mutual 
Improvement Society. Mr.. Gordon's story proved 
to be thoroughly practical and useful, recalling to 
the minds of the audience the salient points neces¬ 
sary all along the line of cultural routine. Poetry 
was sandwiched with practice, the result proving 
highly acceptable. Our notes must be condensed 
merely to a summary, the outstanding points alone 
being recorded. 
Citing the case of amateur gardeners and their 
purchase of varieties, especially where they desired 
and chose standard trained Roses, they frequently 
erred by compiling a selection of varieties from the 
first prize show collection. Often enough they 
chose weakly growers. The following H.P.'s were 
recommended for standards as being vigorous as well 
as beautiful:—Alfred Colomb, Augustine Guinoisseau, 
Baron de Bonshetten, Duke of Edinburgh, General 
Jacqueminot, Mdme. Victor Verdier, Margaret 
Dickson, Mrs. John Laing, Paul Neyron, Clio, 
Thomas Mills and others. The choice of suitable 
varieties forms the foundation of satisfactory results. 
Of H.T.’s for the same or other purpose, being 
vigorous and good, the following were named:— 
Caroline Testout, Kaiserin Augusta Victoria, La 
France, Mrs. W. J. Grant; while of Tea-scented 
varieties enumerated as suitable for standards were 
Bouquet d’Or, Gloire de Dijon, Mdme. Marie Hoste, 
The Bride, Aimee Vibert, Fe'.icite Perpetue and 
William Allen Richardson. 
A strong point is to give plenty of room for the 
spread of the heads and to keep the stems clean and 
unencumbered by climbers. The three varieties last 
mentioned should be budded at a height of 6 ft. or 
8 ft. As stocks, the cutting Briers were preferred to 
the seedling Briers from the bad habit the latter has 
in producing suckers. The wild Brier again becomes 
too rank rooted. The Manetti makes a larger plant 
in a shorter period, but its qualities are not so 
lasting. A selection was given of the Polyantha 
section so useful for edges or margins to broad walks. 
The Japanese Rose. R. rugosa, is very desirable for 
the forming of loose hedges and for massing in 
groups. In autumn its fruits are a beautiful and 
attractive feature. Far more might be and ought to 
be done in garden ornamentation by employing 
climbing Roses for pillars, bowers, tree trunks, 
sloping sunny banks, pergolas, trellises and 
arches. The selection of lovely varieties is replete 
enough, and once planted very little after care is 
demanded. 
Mr. Gordon referred to suitable soils, manuring 
and mulch both in autumn and again in summer; 
abundance of feeding Roses enjoy, and a deeply 
worked well drained soil must always be given, 
guanos, superphosphate and other fertilisers being 
helpful. 
In regard to pruning he advocated what we our¬ 
selves and all others, who use reason, practice, not 
to prune hard back. For first-class exhibition 
blooms certainly prune back to one or two buds, but 
for a wealth of garden Roses, why sever the loads of 
well-ripened strong and fertile shoots which from 
. most gardens are yearly extracted ? Unripened ends 
and weakly shoots only should be cut in. Lists of 
climbing Roses as Cbeshunt Hybrid, Reine Marie 
Henriette, Gloire de Dijon among Teas, and Reve 
