August 11, 1900. 
THE GARDENING WORLD 
787 
Early White Roman Hyacinths, 
Early Snowflake and Paper-white Narcissus. 
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BULB CATALOGUE FOR 1900 
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will be forwarded, post-free, on application. 
ROYAL EXOTIC NURSERY, KING’S ROAD, CHELSEA, S.W. 
Cacti, Hardy Herbaceous Plants, Greenhouse Plants, &c. 
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‘ Gardening is the purest of human pleasures, and the greatest 
refreshment to the spirit of man " —Bacon. 
th* IfNw 
Edited by J. FRASER. F.L.S. 
SATURDAY , AUGUST nth, 1900. 
NEXT WEEK'S ENGAGEMENTS. 
Tuesday, August 14th.— Royal Horticultural Society, Drill 
Hall, Buckingham Gate, Westminster. 
Thursday, August 16th.—Ladywell, Lewisham, and District 
Cottagers’ Flower Show (2 days); Royal Horticultural 
Society of Aberdeen (3 days). 
f UGGESTIONS FOR THE MANURING OF 
Various Crops. — The County Coun¬ 
cils of Berkshire, Dorset, Hampshire, 
and Oxfordshire are still carrying on 
various field experiments in those counties 
with different agricultural crops ; but the 
practice might be made to do service for 
various garden crops such as Fotatos, 
Cabbages, Turnips, Beans, Peas, and 
others. The experiments are carried out 
by a staff belonging to the Agricultural 
Department of Reading College, and under 
the superintendence of Mr. Douglas, A. 
Gilchrist, B.Sc., the director of this 
particular department, who issued the 
“Sixth Annual Report” recently. The 
suggestions for the manuring of various 
crops are of a very practical nature, being 
founded upon approved farm practice and 
on the results of experiments. They have 
also the advantage of impartiality, issued as 
they are from an institution independently 
of vested interests. The dressing suggested 
for the various crops are offered as a guide 
rather than a principle for strict adoption. 
Soils, climate, prices of the various com¬ 
modities, and the facilities for obtaining 
farmyard manure vary so that modifi¬ 
cations may often be made to advantage to 
meet the requirements and conveniences of 
different places and circumstances. 
An example of what we mean may be 
taken from the suggestions concerning 
Peas and Beans, both leguminous crops, 
whose roots are furnished with nodules 
having the power of fixing the free nitrogen 
of the atmosphere. Nitrate of soda, 
sulphate of ammonia, and other ingredients 
containing nitrogen are therefore unneces¬ 
sary in the case of those crops, whether 
grown in garden or field. On the other 
hand phosphates and potash are valuable 
as is lime. Farmyard manure is stated 
to be always valuable. A manurial receipt 
for Peas and Beans is ten to fifteen tons of 
farmyard manure, 3 cwt. kainit, and 2 cwt. 
superphosphate per acre. For smaller 
areas of ground gardeners would have 
little difficulty in fixing upon the proper 
ratio for any given plot of ground. In 
heavy and wet soils 4 owe. of basic slag is 
suggested in lieu of the superphosphate, on 
account of the greater amount of lime it 
would supply to the land. For Turnips 
the dressing suggested is 10 to 15 tons of 
farmyard manure, and 2£ to 4 cwt. of 
superphosphate. The latter may slightly 
be increased if no farmyard manure is 
employed. Nitrogen under the latter 
conditions would also be a valuable adjunct, 
and this could take the form of a top¬ 
dressing of either one cwt. of nitrate of soda 
or two cwt. of dried blood at the time of 
sowing. Other artificial manures are 
suggested to meet the requirements of 
different soils in the absence of farmyard 
manure. It is said that Swedes and 
Turnips do not respond so readily to liberal 
manuring in the south and south-east of 
England as they do in the north and north¬ 
west. Presumably this is due to the 
greater annual rainfall in the north, thus 
enabling the Turnips to avail themselves 
of the manure at command, whereas the 
latter may lie dormant in the dry period of 
summer and go to waste in winter, when 
the rainfall is more abundant. 
Rich and free sandy loam containing a 
fair amount of humus is best adapted for 
the welfare of Potatos. A suitable dress¬ 
ing for Potatos is 12 tons of farmyard 
manure, ii cwt. of nitrate of soda, 3 cwt. 
of superphosphate and 1 cwt. of muriate cf 
potash per acre. The last named being 
slowly soluble, it should be applied to the 
soil during the previous autumn ; the 
superphosphate, being rather more readily 
soluble may either be applied with the 
potash, or the operation deferred till the 
time of planting the Potatos. The nitrate 
of soda should be applied in the form of 
two dressings during the early stages of 
growth. Early Potatos are encouraged to 
grow more rapidly by liberal dressings of 
manure, including nitrate of soda, which 
serve to hurry them on in their earlier 
stages. For Cabbages a dressing of 15 to 
25 tons of farmyard manure, 2 cwt. of 
nitrate of soda, 3 cwt. of superphosphate, 
and 2 cwt. of kainit, per acre is recom¬ 
mended. Useful information is also given 
in a chapter entitled “ Notes on Manures.” 
Destroying Charlock by Spraying.— 
^ During June, July, and August whole 
fields of a yellow-flowered plant will have 
appealed to many as to its weedy character 
and the difficulty of coping with it. In most 
cases this is Charlock or Field Mustard 
(Sinapis arvensis), having several other 
names. Some experiments have been 
carried out by the staff of Reading College, 
and Mr. Douglas A. Gilchrist, B.Sc., the 
superintendent of the agricultural depart¬ 
ment, embodies the results in his report as 
Supplement ix. to the Journal of Reading 
College. Sulphate of copper, in a solution 
of 2 to 6 per cent., and at the rate of 
25 to 75 gallons per acre, was used in all 
the experiments. The solution was applied 
by means of one of Strawson’s “ Twin 
Spray” machines. The sulphate of copper 
was ground to a powder and mixed with 
cold water shortly before use. It was put 
in a bag, and the water used, being often 
taken from ditches, was poured through 
the bag to retain any solid matter. 
At Ryne Hill Farm, Oxfordshire, the 
spraying was accomplished on May 25th. 
Plot 1 received a 2 per cent, solution at 
25 gallons per acre ; plot 2, a 2 per cent, 
solution at 50 gallons per acre ; plot 3, a 
6 per cent, solution at 25 gallons per acre ; 
and plot 4, a 4 per cent, solution at 50 
gallons per acre. The plots were examined 
again on June 5th, and the Charlock of plot 1 
hadonlybeen slightly injured. Onthesecond 
plot, which received double the quantity 
of the weak solution, the best results were 
obtained, for the Charlock leaves were 
withered and the stems dried and brittle. 
The weed was completely destroyed on the 
third plot, and the Barley was flagging a 
little. Similar results were obtained on the 
fourth plot, but the Barley was flagging 
more extensively. A careful examination 
at harvest showed that the crop was slightly 
under weight on plot 3, and more so on 
plot 4. The 2 per cent, solution at 50 
gallons an acre, was, therefore, the safest 
to the Barley and effectively destructive 
to the Charlock. The results at Upper 
Town Farm, in the same county, were 
practically identical with the above. At 
Goring Heath Farm, Berkshire, heavy 
