9 8 THE GARDENING WORLD. ^ ebruary 8, 1908. 
you may make it quit© firm with the feet to 
advantage. In the case of Shallots, it is 
not usual to tread the ground, though we 
think if partly trodden it would help bulbs 
to form 'better than if the soil was quite 
loose. Even if you require a trowel to get 
the bulbs fixed in the soil, it would not much 
matter, and would not cost you much time, 
unless the plantation was very extensive. 
(3) Concerning the manures, the gallon of 
lime and the gallon of soot will answer well 
enough, but a gallon of salt would be rather 
a heavy dressing. We consider that 1 lb. to 
2 lib. would be ample. If the ground is 
trenched or dug these three ingredients need 
only be applied just when you are about to 
sow. Spread thorn on the surface, then get 
a fork or spade and lightly turn them in. 
Then tread the ground, making it level and 
draw the furrows for the Onions. (4) Pig’s 
dung would answer very well -for Onions, 
but it should 'be fairly well decayed or fer¬ 
mented for the top spit of ground. It i.s an 
excellent manure for Roses. 
SOILS AND MANURES . 
25 90. Nitro-Bacterine and Allotments. 
As a constant reader of your helpful notes 
and the holder of a fairly large allotment, 
1 should be glad if you will give your 
■opinion on Professor Bottomley’s- (King’-s 
College) Nitro-bacterine, which is occupying 
the attention of many gardeners and allot¬ 
ment holders in this district. I see by Prof. 
Bottomley’s pamphlet that many have tried 
it during the last three years, and in one 
case it is stated that the ino-culatuoiT of gar¬ 
den Peas increased the yield nearly four-fold 
and that without manure. I am sure you 
will be rendering a real service to many 
like myself by letting us know whether nitro- 
bacterine is worth taking up. (Curious, 
Kent.) 
We believe there is something in the ope¬ 
ration that would pay for, the trouble of 
carrying it out, but it all depends ,upon the 
condition of your soil. If the mould al¬ 
ready contains a deal of vegetable matter it 
would, no doubt, also contain plenty of or¬ 
ganisms which nitro-bacterine material Con¬ 
tains. On the other hand, if your_soil is 
poor and thin, with little organic matter in 
it, that is, if gravelly or sandy, or if it is 
worn out, we think it likely’that the or¬ 
ganisms, if properly .applied to the soil, will 
have the effect of increasing the crop. It is 
not a manure, however, as the micro¬ 
organisms merely serve to fix the free nitro¬ 
gen of the atmosphere, so that you gain only 
a supply of nitrogen, though that is of the 
utmost importance, because nitrogen is the 
most valuable constituent that may be ap¬ 
plied to land as a manure. At the same time, 
if the soil is deficient in phosphorus, potash 
and lime, you will be unable to get a good 
crop, because three out of ten necessary ele¬ 
ments are wanting. From this you will be 
able to calculate whether you are likely^ to 
get much service from, nitro-bacterine. A 
gallon of it would, however, not cost very 
much, and even that would be sufficient to 
inoculate the seeds of Peas, Beans or Scar¬ 
let Runners that might be grown on the 
whole of the .allotments, so that you might 
very well make the experiment during the 
forthcoming summer. Even if the experiment 
entirely failed for any cause or other, it 
would do the land no harm whatever. Two 
or three of you might, therefore, combine 
together to get a gallon of the solution con¬ 
taining these organisms- and make a trial. 
Another way of doing it would be to have an 
analysis of your soil made, but that would be 
more expensive- and supply no manure what¬ 
ever. 
2 5 91. Lime, Soot and Salt. 
Could 3 r ou tell me how long lime and soot 
will hold -their strength after I buy it and 
keep -in a box ? How long will a cart-load of 
soot stay good after it has been out exposed 
to rain ? Is it .any good after six months o.r 
twelve months ? What kind of salt is best 
for the garden—house salt or brown manure 
salt ? Excuse me if I have asked you too 
much. (S. H. R. V., Cornwall.) 
If you get newly ground or newly burned 
lime it should not be exposed at all until 
you are about to mix it with the top spit of 
soil. Lime -is burned in order to get rid of the 
carbonate, and if you expose it to the air 
it begins immediately to take up the carbon 
dioxide of the air and to form carbonate of 
lime again just as it was before being 
burned. It has, therefore, lost its proper¬ 
ties for which it was burned to secure. It 
should be placed in a heap on the land, 
slaked by sprinkling it well with water, and 
immediately after it has been properly slaked 
you should cover it with a layer of soil, if 
you do n-ot intend to put it on the land im¬ 
mediately.- When the Land is ready to re¬ 
ceive -it distribute it evenly over the surface 
and then .rake ,it in or point it in with a fork. 
It should not be placed more deeply than 
3 in. or 4 in. If you had an air-tight box, 
it could be kept a long time in this, but it 
r/ould be expensive if you used much of it. 
The best plan is to wait until you are about 
ready to use it. Salt is different, as you 
can keep it dry in a box, .and it will simply' 
be salt when you use it. There is no par¬ 
ticular length o-f time it may be kept. The 
most valuable constituent of scot is a small 
percentage of ammonia, and if you expose 
the soot to r.ain so that it gets wet, it gives 
off -this ammonia into the atmosphere, and is 
then practically worthless as a fertiliser. If 
you put it in a box or in a -dry shed, you 
can keep it a dong time. When about to use 
it, spread it on tlhe so-il and fork it into the 
first three inches o.r so of soil. If soot were 
kept for sax or twelve months, or even one 
month, exposed to rain, it would be prac¬ 
tically worthless. Table salt is probably 
more pure than the agricultural salt, and, 
being cheap, you might give it the prefer¬ 
ence. 
MISCELLANEOUS. 
2592. Tarring a Frame. 
I should like some hints of tarring .a frame 
for raising flowers. I should be very thank¬ 
ful if you would tell me whether tar would 
do for a frame instead of paint? Would tar 
hurt the plants? If not, could I tar inside 
the frame as well as outside? I -should 
paint the lights. (S. H. R. V., Cornwall.) 
If tar were used for painting hot-water 
pipes it would be very injurious indeed to 
the plants. In ,a cold frame, however, the 
dlanger would be much less, but at the same 
time you should ,be very careful. You can 
tar the outside of the frame -without any 
fear. If you resolve to tar the inside, it 
ought to be worked on to the frame .care¬ 
fully, so that it will readily dry. Avo-id 
putting , it on in thick or smudgy masses, 
otherwise it will keep liquid for a long time 
and the sun will cause it to give off fumes. 
We should paint the "inside with the ,siame 
paint that y'o-u use for the sashes for. pre¬ 
ference. If yc-u resc-lve to use tar inside 
the frame, accomplish the work some time 
before you put in any plants, and give the 
frame plenty of ventilation, in order to dry 
up the tar .and so prevent fumes being given 
off. 
NAMES OF PLANTS . 
(E. C. D.) 1, Asparagus medeoloides; 2, 
Boronia helero-phylla; 3, Eupatorium -ri- 
parium ; 4, Oplismenus Burm.anni variegata. 
(A. Woods) 1, Aspl-enium bulbiferum fabi- 
anum; 2, Nephrolepis Duffii; 3, Nephrolepis 
exaltata; 4, Adi.antum cuneatum gracilli- 
mum; 5, Adiantum hispidulum; 6, Cyrto 1 
mium falcatum caryoiideum. 
(R. Wellman) 1, Oxalis cernua; 2, Be , 
gonia metallica; 3, Fatsia japonica (ofter 
named Aralia Sieboldi. 
(T. B. Hill) 1, Oleariia Haastii ; 2, Osman 
thus Aquifol-ius ilicifolius; 3, Jasminun 
nudiflorum -; 4, Pieris floribunda. 
TRADE CATALOGUES RECEIVED 
M. H. Sinclair, F.R.H.S., 156a, Unioi ) 
Street, Aberdeen.—Garden Seeds, Plants 
•etc. 
R. B. Laird and Sons, Ltd., 17, Soutl - 
Frederick Street, Edinburgh.—Garden Seeds I 
Sundries, etc. 
Cocker and Sons, 130, Union Street, Abei 
deen.—Catalogue of Vegetable and Flowe 
Seeds, etc. 
- +++ - 
JVsxex: III $ ax del. 
For some years past there has bee -J 
some considerable endeavour among; ,i 
raisers of perennial Asters or Michaelma I 
Daisies in order to get varieties of d( 1 
cided rose colours. Several have bee d 
produced, and the above is a new'one, 
variety of A. Novae-Angliae. It is a nativ i 
of New England, and we are familiar wit 
the typical A. Novae-Angliae, as well a I 
a few of its varieties. That under notic I 
promises to be equally valuable whil 
differing in colour from others in bein ■ 
clear pink, beautifully refined and c j 
handsome appearance. It is a stren 
grower, producing flow'ers in great quar 
tity, and if they are just a little earlic j 
than the typical New England Aster, 
will be all the more appreciated for tha ■ 
The cultivation is as easy as that of an, 
of the Michaelmas Daisies, and only u L 
quires the ordinary treatment to get th 
best results. The novelty is being offere tt 
by Messrs. R. Wallace and Co., of Co ! 
Chester. 
-- 
Baker’s Gardeners’ Diary. 
A neat and fj§ell-got-up pocket diary h; 
been prepared by Messrs. Baker, < | 
Lichfield Street, Wolverhampton, 
contains a diary of garden work for evei 
month of the year, and each alternat ■ 
page is left for the making of notes rel:i i 
tive to sowing or planting, or other ga 1 
den work that has been effected duriral 
the month. Various hints on the cultuM 
of different crops follow this diary, a 1 
well as postal information. We believ ■ 
this diary is given by Messrs. Baker t 
their customers. 
- 
TRADE NOTICE. 
Fertilisers and Insecticides. . 
On our table is a pamphlet of “Hin 
on Successful Horticulture,” sent out t « 
Messrs. Alexander Cross and Sons, Ltd 
Glasgow and London. Here we note th - 
they offer a free gift of a tin of Cro;) 
Celebrated Garden Fertiliser to eve: 
buyer of 5s. worth of seeds. This is us|? 
ful for fruit, pot plants, flowers, and vegjl 
tables. Cross’ Organic Guano has bet 
specially prepared -for Tomatos, but it : 
also suitable for fruits, flowers, and veg' 
tables generally. The same firm’s Bui 
Guano has been specially prepared ft) 
the feeding of -bulbous plants. Insect 
cides and fungicides include a useful or 
named Clubicide, for the purification c 
soils in greenhouses by killing all kind 
of insect life. 
