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THE GARDENING WORLD. April 4 , 1308 
NOTICES. , 
To Readers and Correspondents. 
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Gdifottial. 
aud (lookup enables. 
Under the title of “Diet Difficulties 
With Notes on Growing Vegetables,” Mrs. 
C. W. Earle, in conjunction with Mrs. 
Hugh Bryan, has written a small book 
with the object of introducing numerous 
recipes for the preparation of various 
vegetable dishes and also for discussing 
the growing and cooking of certain un¬ 
common vegetables. Mrs. Earle is well 
known as the author of “ Pot-pourri From 
a Surrey Garden,” and has, indeed, 
written three books on the subject, so that 
it is scarcely necessary to recommend this 
one from such an experienced hand. 
While deeply interested in vegetable 
diet, she quotes numerous authorities in 
support of her statements. For instance, 
Prof. Newman calculated that sixty mil¬ 
lion people could be supported on the soil 
of the three Kingdoms as easily as thirty 
millions are now fed with an excessive im¬ 
portation. finder cooking recipes is a 
table showing the value of various vege¬ 
tables from a nutritive point of view. 
The other part of the chapter is devoted 
to recipes for the making of vegetable 
dishes. Amongst the uncommon vege¬ 
tables recommended, we presume, for the 
sake of variety, Rampion is once more 
brought to the notice of cultivators, to¬ 
gether with Purslane, Sorrel, Salsafy or 
Vegetable Oyster, the Turnip-rooted 
Celery, Good King Henry, and young 
Nettles. 
We are surprised that she did not men¬ 
tion Hop tops in conjunction with young 
Nettles, as both belong to the same family 
and both grow with greater or less abun¬ 
dance and vigour in Surrey. The Hop is 
closely allied to the Nettle botanically, 
and the young tops about this period are 
very tender and equally as wholesome as 
the Nettle. In like manner, Scorzonera 
might have been mentioned in connection 
with Salsafy, for they both belong to the 
Composite family and both are valued in 
gardens for the sake -of the long, white 
taproot which is cooked and used as a 
vegetable, and very wholesome they are. 
The little book should prove as service¬ 
able to the cook as to the gardener who 
grows these vegetables, and, indeed, both 
should be in touch in the matter, so that- 
each may understand their particular 
duties in growing and cooking these vege¬ 
tables respectively. The book may be 
obtained from Messrs. Truslove and Han¬ 
son, Ltd., London, for 6d. with postage 
extra. 
THE POET’S 
Narcissus 
Narcissus poeticus growing 
upside down. 
Growing Upside Down. 
A correspondent, Mr. George A. Fisher, 
of Enfield, sends us a photograph of a 
bulb of Narcissus poeticus in which the 
usual position of the bulb was inverted, 
giving it a somewhat grotesque appear¬ 
ance. The suspicion, or rather the pre¬ 
sumption, is that the bulb had been 
turned upside down during the operation 
of digging. The bulb commenced grow¬ 
ing at the usual period, but as the roots 
were emitted at the upper end of the in¬ 
verted bulb, they resumed their natural 
tendency by growing towards the centre 
of the earth in obedience to the effect of 
gravitation upon them. The leaves, on 
the other hand, had to turn upwards in 
obedience to a certain physical law, show¬ 
ing that a considerable amount of energy 
must have been expended by the bulb in 
order to right itself owing to the acci¬ 
dental inversion. 
Although our correspondent presumes 
that the inversion of the bulb was due to 
digging operations, we may point out the 
fact that the corms or tubers of various 
other plants are liable to be planted up¬ 
side down ihrough lack of care or know¬ 
ledge on the part of the cultivator. For 
instance, the top and base of the corms 
of Gladiolus and Crocus are not unlike 
one another, but nevertheless sufficiently 
distinct to enable anyone to become ac¬ 
quainted with the subjects in hand. The 
corms of tuberous Begonias are even more 
difficult to recognise on the part of culti¬ 
vators. The top of the corm is usually 
moie or less hollow, so that whether buds 
are present or not the right way up can 
be determined by this means. The lower 
side of the corm from which the roots 
proceed is convex or rounded. 
Cultivators should therefore take a 
little trouble with plants, as it is not 
merely a matter of curiosity but saves a 
great deal of wasted energy on the pan 
of the plants and prevents the confusion 
of leaves with the roots, as this cannot 
be of any assistance to the plant and may 
hinder the proper development of the 
flower stems in the first place and the 
corms afterwards. 
- 
International Flower Show at Chicago. 
The Society of American Florists anc 
Ornamental Horticulturists announce: 
that it will hold its First National Flowei 
Show at Chicago on November 6th to 15th 
next. The society gives a most cordial 
invitation to The Gardening World anc 
its readers, not merely to attend, but tc 
exhibit as well at the first show of this 
scope ever held in America. The secre¬ 
tary is Mr. W. N. Rudd, Morgan Park. 
Illinois, U.S.A. 
“ Permanent and Temporary Pastures." 
For many years past Mr. Martin J 
Sutton, of the famous Reading firm, ha: 
identified himself very closely with per 
manent and temporary pastures, and ha. 
written a book on the subject, in which hi 
discusses a variety of subjects relating t( 
the preparation of the land and the selec 
tion of grasses and Clovers 'for the mak 
ing of this pasture. A. new and populai 
edition of it has just been brought out 
and is obtainable from Messrs. Simpkin 
Marshall, Hamilton, Kent and Co., Ltd. 
London, price is. 
Soil Inoculation. 
Last month, at the Royal Botanic Gar 
dens, Professor Bottomlev, in the course 0 
a lecture on “Soil Fertility and Bacteria, 
showed some remarkable results of experl 
ments recently made at the King’s Col 
lege laboratory on the direct utilisatioi 
bv non-legunrinous plants of the product 
of nitrogen-fixing organisms. -The speci 
mens shown illustrated the effect of soi 
inoculation in increasing the growth ci 
Tomatos, Strawberries, Oats, Barley, an- 
Wheat. It was demonstrated, for in 
stance, that inoculated Strawberry plant 
gave twice the amount of fruit as con: 
pared with . the non-inoculated plant: 
Professor Bottomley also stated that 
large number of experiments on the fiel 
scale would be conducted this year a’ 
over the country to see if the results ot 
tained in the laboratory could be put t 
practical use. Should the projected e: 
periments prove successful it is obviov 
that ■ the results accruing to agricultui 
would be of untold value. 
