388 
THE GARDENING WORLD. 
February 16, 1901. 
carefully prepared farmyard manure. But 
the obverse of this is that the amount of that 
manure produced on a farm is altogether 
inadequate for the requirements of all the 
crops grown upon it ; while the hilly nature 
of some land is such as to render the appli¬ 
cation of heavy manures an unremunerative 
labour. The crops in question have been 
grown at the Queinerford station for five 
years, the first four of which the ground 
was manured entirely with artificial manure. 
T'he four years’ rotation were (i) Mangels, 
(2) Barley, (3) Beans, (4) Oats. The first 
and third of these crops might be regarded 
as garden ones, taking Beet to represent 
Mangels. Every year one-fourth of each 
crop was left unmanured by way of a check. 
The manures employed were kainit (13 per 
cent, potash); mineral phosphate (30 per 
cent, phosphate, of which 27 per cent, was 
soluble); basic slag (40 percent, phosphate), 
and nitrate of soda (15■ 5 per cent, of nitro¬ 
gen). The kainit and basic slag by reason 
of their insolubility were applied in autumn 
whenever possible ; the superphosphate in 
early spring ; and the nitrate, on account of 
its readily soluble, was applied in two or 
three dressings, the first after the germina¬ 
tion of the plants and the others at intervals 
of three or four weeks afterwards. 
The object of the first year’s experiments 
was to determine the most economic quantity 
of nitrate of soda to use for Mangel, Barley 
and Oats. Beans were left out of count as 
they are not benefited by applications of 
nitrogen. P'or Mangel this was found to be 
*4! cwt. per acre, 1^ cwt. for Barley, and 2 
cwt. for Oats, these large quantities being 
used because no farmyard manure was 
applied. With similar consistency and pre¬ 
determination it was resolved to find out 
the most economical dressing of super¬ 
phosphate for each of the four crops respec¬ 
tively, during the second year’s trials. The 
results proved this to be 1 cwt. for Mangel; 
and 3 cwt. each for Barley and Oats, per 
acre. I.ittle remuneration followed the use 
of amounts of superphosphate varying from 
i cwt. to 4-i- cwt. per acre, when applied to 
Beans, though in some instances there was 
a slight increase of crop. During the third 
year kainit was used as a dressing for Beans, 
at rates varying from 3 cwt. to 9 cwt. per 
acre, yet no monetary rewards resulted from 
either of the trials. For Oats a dressing of 
3 cwt. of superphosphate was compared 
with 4 cwt. of basic slag, the results being 
in favour of the latter,particularly for Barley. 
Dressings of common salt were tried upon 
Mangels, and 3 cwt. per acre was found to 
be the most economical application. During 
the fourth year of the experiments, three- 
fourths of the ground devoted to Mangels 
was dressed with \\ cwt. of nitrate of soda, 
3 cwt. of waste salt, and 1 cwt. of mineral 
superphosphate per acre, as the result of 
previous experience. The remainder of the 
ground was not manured. The profit netted 
as a result of this manuring was £ 7 18s. 1 id. 
per acre. Surely this isa sufficient guarantee 
for a judicious outlay. A quarter of the 
ground for Barley and Oats recived no 
fertiliser; while the relative merits of 3 
cwt. of superphosphate and 4 cwt. of basic 
slag were again put to the trial. Barley 
again did best where basic slag was applied ; 
but Oats were best on land manured with 
superphosphate. Beans were not benefited 
by an application of 4 cwt. of basic slag per 
acre. Through an accident, however, it 
may be stated that the basic slag was 
applied too late to the land to do it justice. 
The land used for rotation cropping was 
divided into four parts, and each again sub¬ 
divided and numbered 1, 2, 3 and 4. The 
fourth plot of each division was left un¬ 
manured throughout the four years. For 
the first three years plot 1 was dressed more 
heavily than any of the others ; plot 2 had 
dressings intermediate between plot 1 and 
3, the latter having the lightest application. 
In the fourth year the dressing on all three 
plots were alike, and the heaviest crop was 
harvested from plot 1, the next heaviest 
from the intermediate plot, and the lightest 
from plot 3. All these experiments show 
that the land has improved under the 
system of artificial manuring ; and most of 
all where the heaviest and most economical 
dressing was applied. 
National Rose Society. —With the kind permis¬ 
sion of the treasurer and benchers of the Inner 
Temple, the metropolitan exhibition of the National 
Rose Society will be held this year in the Inner 
Temple Gardens, on Thursday, July 4th, instead of 
at the Crystal Palace, on Saturday, July 6th, as pre¬ 
viously announced .—Edward Mawley, Hon, Sec. 
Golden Sayoys.—A strange sight may be seen in 
one of the villa gardens bordering on Oxshott 
Heath near Esher. A planting of Savoys formed 
hearts in the usual way, but the mild weather pre¬ 
vious to the recent snowstorm (which was unusually 
heavy here) caused the plants to make fresh growth. 
All the hearts opened out presenting a bright yellow, 
almost golden colour, and now that the snow has 
gone they present a striking appearance as far off as 
they can be seen.— J. 
The Selling of Poisons.—The case brought by the 
Pharmaceutical Society against White of Worcester 
(re the selling of Weed Killers), for a revocation of 
the decision given by Justices Grantham and 
Channell in the Queen's Bench Division on January, 
16th, 1900, engaged the attention of their Honours 
Justices Smith (Master of the Rolls), Collins and 
Romer, in the Appeal Court on Wednesday, Febru¬ 
ary 13th. Mr. Dauckwerts, K.C., appeared for the 
society, and Mr. Grey for the appellants. The case 
was one of great interest and indeed of far reaching 
importance. The Appeal was carried well into 
Wednesday afternoon. We shall furnish a more 
complete report with the decision arrived at, in our 
next week’s issue. 
United Horticultural Benefit and Provident 
Society.—The monthly committee meeting was held 
at the Caledonian Hotel on Monday evening last, 
Mr. Thos.Winter in the chair Seventeen new mem¬ 
bers were elected. The Actuary’s report was read 
and approved. Mr. J. Clarke, of TauntoD, asked to 
be allowed to withdraw a portion of his deposit 
account, but could not be allowed, being under 
seventy years of age. Mr. G. Mouland having 
reached seventy and being unable to work was 
granted 8s. per week until the next meeting, en¬ 
quiries in the meantime to be made iDto his case. 
A vote of condolence to his Majesty King Edward 
VII. on the death of our late Sovereign Queen 
Victoria was passed, and will be sent at an early 
date. The treasurer was instructed to invest £650 
in the best available stock. The annual meeting will 
take place on Monday evening, March nth, at eight 
0 clock.— W. Collins. 
Death of Mr. Andrew Mitchell. -We sincerely 
regret to announce the death of Mr. Andrew Mit¬ 
chell, at his residence on the seed farm of Messrs. 
Dobbie & Co., Rothesay, on Saturday evening, the 
gth inst. The end came very suddenly, as the 
result of internal haemorrhage. Of the four part¬ 
ners in the firm, he was the most recent who joined 
it, his name appearing for the first time on October 
i6tb, 1897, in the Royal Warrant granted to Messrs. 
Dobbie & Co. The occasion of his joining the firm 
was when the agricultural department was added to 
the business of the establishment, Mr. Mitchell 
being responsible for the immediate personal super¬ 
vision of this branch. He had a keen insight and 
knowledge of farming in its various phases owing to 
an extensive experience gained both in England and 
Scotland. We have on several occasions met Mr. 
Mitchell both in London and at Rothesay, and have 
partaken of his hospitality there, being accorded a 
highland welcome ; and wherever we have come in 
contact with him we have always been struck with 
the genial courtesy and cultured conversation of a 
leal-hearted gentleman of the " land of brown heath 
and shaggy wood.” We here offer our condolences 
with his friends and partners, Messrs. W Cuthbert- 
son, Robert Fife and A. Mclndoc Burnie, on their 
great loss. 
Appointment.—Mr. F. G. Drew, general foreman, 
The Gardens, Longford Castle, Salisbury, has been 
appointed head gardener to H. S. Constable, Esq,, 
Wassand, Hull, Yorks. 
Primroses, Snowdrops, Red and White Daisies 
are now flowering in the cottage gardens of Cobham, 
Surrey. The yellow winter-flowering Jasmine has 
been hanging out its starry, yellow blossoms on the 
walls of the houses for some weeks past.— J. 
Early Anemones.—Our correspondent, “ C. P. C.” 
sends us flowers of a very pretty variety of Anemone 
coronaria, popularly termed Poppy Anemone, from 
a cottage garden in the neighbourhood of Twyford, 
Berks, and asks, “ Are they not very early ? ” We 
have seen a field or large area of a field of A. fulgens 
in February after a mild winter; but April is about 
the usual time for A. coronaria and iis varieties. 
That sent us had bright crimson flo wers with a large 
white zone in the centre, and must have a brighten¬ 
ing and cheerful effect in the cottage garden at this 
early period of the year. 
Chislehurst Gardeners’ Society.—The Chisle- 
hurst gardeners at Park Hall Road, Chislehurst 
West, had Mr. Henry Cannell, sec , among them on 
Tuesday evening, January 4th, when the utmost 
cordiality pervaded the gathering. Mr. Cannell had 
provided an excellent cold collation which was par¬ 
taken of before he gave his address. Previously to 
speaking he also performed the interesting cere¬ 
mony of investing Mr. J. Lawson, secretary of the 
Chislehurst Cottagers’ Society, with the Kent 
Championship Belt, presented by himself, which 
had been gained at the Eynsford Show on August 
Bank Holiday. The belt also carried with it a 
money prize of £3. Mr. Cannell spoke chiefly of 
the rise of horticulture during his lifetime, an ad¬ 
vance which he has been one of the foremost in 
promoting. 
Sutton’s Farmers’ Year-Book is probably the 
only “ annual ” devoted exclusively to agriculture 
which has been published continuously since the 
early years of the nineteenth century, and it is 
natural that in the edition for 1901 the important 
changes ihe new century may bring should be care¬ 
fully considered. The prospect is somewhat start¬ 
ling, especially for so conservative a business as 
farming, but the leading idea is sound. Agriculture 
is not a mere hobby to be indulged regardless of ex¬ 
pense. Farming is intimately associated with the 
comfort and general prosperity of the entire popula¬ 
tion, and it must be so conducted as to yield the 
farmer a fair return for his skill and labour, or tie 
land will become derelict, and this would be a 
national calamity. A brief aad suggestive article on 
•• The Value of the Mangel Crop ” will be read with 
interest. The steady increase in the culture of this 
root since the year 1868 may no doubt be traced to 
the usefulness of Mangel Wurzel for all kinds of 
farm stock, but the increased acreage, especially 
within the past twenty-five years, is largely attribu¬ 
table to the enhanced feeding value secured by the 
selection and perpetuation of pedigree stocks by the 
Suttons, who have long made the improvement of 
roots one of their prominent specialities. The 
gtazier will find in this edition of the 11 Farmers 
Year-Book ” a most interesting feature connected 
with meadows and pastures. The publishers have 
issued in natural colours, on a reduced scale, nearly 
all the grasses which appeared in Mr. Martin J. 
Sutton's standard work on ” Permanent and Tem¬ 
porary Pastures,” which first appeared in 1886. These 
illustrations will prove of great value both to the 
practical farmer and the student. They are so 
admirable that the call for the work will no doubt 
quickly exhaust the edition. Possibly the publishers 
have been induced to re-issue these reproductions of 
grasses by the award made to Messrs. Sutton at the 
Paris Exhibition last year of a Gold Medal for the 
volume in which the grasses originally appeared. 
We may add that this is the only Gold Medal con¬ 
ferred by the Jurors on any British seed house. 
Other leading features of " Sutton’s Farmers’ Year- 
Book ” are an excellent calendar for the current 
year, records of remarkable crops which won the 
leading acreage prizes for roots in igoOt and a series 
of photographs illustrating the finest types of 
Mangel, Swede, and Turnip for competition and 
feeding purposes. The work is interesting, sugges¬ 
tive, and is an indispensable companion for those 
who conduct their farms on scientific principles. 
• 
