70 
TUB GARDENING WORLD, 
January 23, 1904. 
For chemical compounds the sioil must not be too porous 
either, or they will get washed through and lost. If you take 
a tube of soil and pour 1 a little manure water into it, it is seen 
that the water which passes through is almost pure for a. time 
until the soil has taken-as much of the solid material that is 
in solution in the manure water as it can hold. In this way 
a, soil retains its. materials to .supply the' food of plants. 
There are many kinds' of soil, such as gravelly soil, which 
is almost useless for growing crop's! on, as it is deficient in 
plant food, and also, allows the water to run directly through 
it ; neither does the water rise from beneath by capillary 
attraction through the large crevices' between the particle®, 
and therefore in dry weather the plants suffer from drought. 
Calcareous, soils have an excess of lima in them. 
Peaty soil is almost entirely formed from decayed vegetable 
products; it is not very suitable! for crops alone, .a® it absorbs 
water so quickly, but. also gives it off slowly. 
Clay soil is a very bad sod, as the particles are so small 
they stick so closely together and do not either absorb' water 
quickly nor part with it quickly when once saturated, and it 
sometimes, gets stagnant, and is then very injurious to plants, 
and on this account also it. is always very cold. 
Loamy soil is the best of all for growing crop®, as it com¬ 
bine® the qualities of all the above. It is often of a dark 
brown colour, and is generally fairly porous, but still adhesive 
enough to retain sufficient water to supply the plants should 
a spell of diy weather set in. It. isi also, as a rule, well sup- 
plieid with organic material suitable for plant food. 
Where the soil is poor, it can be greatly improved by the! 
addition of suitable substances, such as clay to a sandy, and 
ashes and grit to a clay soil, and also by the' addition of farm¬ 
yard manures—cow manure for light soils, and horse manure 
for heavy, cold sods. W. Good, F.R.H.S. 
Watering. 
I cannot refrain from saying a few words by way of com¬ 
plimenting “ Japonica ” on his Very excellent and timely re¬ 
marks on the above very important work in connection with 
plant culture in pots in your issue for January 2nd. I fully 
agree with every word he has written, and young men who 
are anxious to become thoroughly efficient in plant growing 
will do well to follow his advice. It is unquestionably a 
lamentable fact that it. is extremely rare to find a young 
journeyman taking the pains he should in using the water pot. 
Undoubtedly there are more plants ruined by injudicious 
watering than from any other cause. Every plant should be 
tested before .any water is given, and especially so those which 
have to remain in the pots for any length of time. Of course', 
there are some plants which are much more susceptible to 
injury either by over-watering or vice-versa, allowing them to 
suffer for want of it, but practice and discrimination can alone 
make one perfect in knowing the requirements, and lie who 
can thoroughly master the art of watering soft-wooded plants 
will the sooner become qualified to attend to others which re¬ 
quire more care .and forethought, such a® all kinds of hard- 
wooded plants. How seldom do we see nowadays a thoroughly 
healthy representative collection of these', and I venture to say 
careless watering has been responsible for more premature 
deaths among these than from all other causes put together. 
Never water a plant before it is quite ready to receive it, 
and then fill up the pots two or three times toi make certain 
the whole of the soil is thoroughly moistened; especially is 
this necessary with all plants that are potted firmly. There 
is no better way of testing a. plant than that advocated by 
“ Japonica/* but in cases of doubt the pots should be further 
examined by lifting them when of a convenient size for so 
doing, when the weight will soon determine this. And should 
the plant from any cause become seriously dry, do* not attempt 
to supply it with the watering pots, but immediately place it 
in a vessel of water, and allow to remain till it. is quite certain 
the ball is thoroughly soaked. Never water a plant of any 
importance whatever simply because you are practically certain 
it will require doing before the day is over to' avoid a little 
extra trouble. 
There are three general rules in connection with high-class 
plant culture which must, be practised, one ‘being thorough 
drainage, a detail which is of the utmost importance, but not 
generally carried out as' it should be. My contention is, that 
the drainage should be as clean and complete twelve months 
after as it is when first placed in the pots, and there is no reason 
why this should not be so, thus preserving a, perfect water¬ 
way. Extreme care should always, be observed after system¬ 
atically arranging the drainage to place over the same sufficient 
good clean fibre to prevent the compost mixing with it, which 
will then be preserved intact, providing earthworms are ex¬ 
cluded, as these always should be. Secondly watering, and 
lastly ventilating, which can only be thoroughly learned by 
making a. close observation of the outside weather and air 
accordingly. 
I am aware there are many other minor details which must 
be brought to bear, but those I have mentioned are so> essential 
that I may be pardoned for dealing at some length on them, 
and I am perfectly convinced that a, more careful study by the 
majority of our young gardeners will not. only prove to be a 
great advantage to them in, after life, but will also go a long 
way towards giving .satisfaction to. those under whom they may 
be employed. E. Beckett. 
Elstree. 
The Crinums as Hardy Border Plants. 
I should just like to chronicle my impressions of the Crinum 
as a. hardy border plant, and in my estimation there isi nob 
nearly enough attention given to the possibilities of these 
lovely plants', which deserve, a. place in any garden Avort-liy of 
the name. My impression® are based upon personal observa- 
tioui of them as grown in a. cold, damp and low-lying garden 
in the south of England. The varieties Avhich have come 
under my notice are Crinum longifloriun, or cajrense, C. 
Powellii and CL Powellii album, these being without doubt, the 
hardiest, members of a. very beautiful family. As to their 
requirement®, a. few words will suffice'. They are grown in 
beds which have been, trenched to' a. depth of 3 ft., and which 
harm' been made' fairly rich by the addition of manure and leaf 
refuse. In planting the bulbs 1 , it. ha® been tire rule to bury 
the; crown or top to a. depth of 6 in. below the soil, this 
affording protection while the bulbs are starting into* growth. 
The soil isi pierced by the strong-growing Crinums very ea.sily, 
so that. no. danger is to be apprehended from planting them 
deep. With us the plants are moved once in two years, when 
the offsets are taken, from thei parent bulb-s and transplanted 
in a bed by themselves, the old bulbs, being replaced and 
strengthened by tire addition of some fresh manure. As a 
winter covering to the Crinum beds Ave find that, moss litter 
is very useful, and, with this precaution, also providing that 
the beds are fairly well drained, the Crinum Avill prove an easy 
subject even for the amateur. And now a brief word about 
the varieties! mentioned above. C. capense is without doubt 
the very hardiest of the Crinums, of strong growth, and 
blossoms with lovely heads of pink flowers which are in per¬ 
fection in July and August. The spikes are thrown well above 
the dark green foliage, and the effect, is 1 very pleasing. There 
is a, Avhite form Avhich, however 1 , is not. nearly so. much grown. 
C. Powellii, which some folk state- is not. absolutely hardy, 
ha® proved quite hardy with us, standing the severest winterai 
under the' conditions given above. It is a, superb variety, the 
flowers being of a beautiful rose colour, and rise erect, above 
the deep green massive foliage. In my mind it. is. one. of the 
very best of our hardy perennials; and should be seen in every 
collection. The same good character isi possessed by C. 
Powellii album, which is every bit. as lovely as its companion, 
the blossoms being a spotless white of exquisite purity. If 
anyway differing in habit, it isi I think, a little dwarfer than 
C. Powellii, Avhich make® it. none the less; valuable. 
Oravell, 
