14 THE AUSTRALIAN GARDENER. 
stick together, and in such condition that 
they will hold more water and not dry 
out so quickly. 
See that no codlin moth grubs are left 
under the bandages on the trees; but, in- 
stead of removing the latter, allow them to 
remain for a month or two, as it is pos- 
sible that during the cold and rainy sea- 
son a few odd ones may be driven from 
their shelter, and will find a refuge in 
these bandages. The latter, however, need 
only be examined occasionally. I would 
strongly urge those who have been 
troubled with the San José to spray the 
_ trees with the lime, sulphur, and salt solu- 
tion after pruning, and not to fail in burn- 
ing all prunings. In this way the very 
worst trees can be practically cured at a 
very small cost. 
Agricultural Gaz-tte of N.S W. 
PRESERVATION AND VALUE OF 
HEN MANURE. 
Hen manure and poultry manure in 
general are very rich in fertilizing con- 
stituents, especially nitrogen, due to the 
fact that, in addition to the undigested 
residue of the food it contains, the uri- 
nary secretions, in which _ are large 
amounts of nitrogen as well as potash in 
readily available form, are voided with the 
solid excrement in this class of animals. 
The analyses which have been. made show 
that hen manure is very variable in com: 
pesition, depending upon the stage of 
growth of the fowl, the character of the 
feed, and the care taken of the manure. 
The nitrogen has been found to vary from 
_ about 0.7 to 2 per cent., the phosphoric acid 
from 0.5 to 2 per cent., and the potash from 
0.25 to 0.9 per cent. This shows that such 
manure if properly cared for is much richer 
than that of other farm animals. It, iiow- 
ever, quickly loses nitrogen by fermenta- 
tion and deteriorates in value if not pro- 
perly mixed with absorbents or preserva- 
_ tives. Various methods of preventing this 
loss has been proposed. 
The New York Station advises: “When 
the manure is not used when fresh, it is 
_ better to mixe it with dry earth, muck, or 
plaster.” The Massachusetts State Station 
says that the value of hen manure depends 
not less on the care which is bestowed on 
its keeping than on the kind of food the 
fowls consume. A! liberal use of 
plaster, kieserite, or of good loam is highly 
recommendable for the absorption of am- 
monia. A. sandy soil is of little 
use ag an. absorbent.” 
A common method is to sprinkle the 
dropping board from time to time with 
. gypsum (land plaster), and. in order to put 
the droppings into good form for distribu- 
tion on the soil, to compost them, with 
loam, leaf mould, and. similar materials. 
The Maine Experiment Station reports 
comparative tests of kainit, plaster (gyp- 
sum), and acid phosphate singly and com- 
bined with sawdust as preservatives for 
hen manure. Three nights’ droppings of 
180 mature, laying hens, amounting to 
about 45 lb., containing when fresh 2.8 
per cent. nitrogen, 1.8 per cent. of phos- 
phoric acid, and 0.9 per cent. of potash, 
were mixed with the various preservative 
materials and stored in barrels from May 
to November, 1903. An, examination at 
the end of the time showed : 
From the dung stored by itself or with 
sawdust mere than half of this had es- 
caped during the summer. The lot stored 
with 40 lb. of plaster lost about one-third, 
while the lot stored with 82 lb. of plaster 
and 15 lb. of sawdust suffered no loss. The 
lots with kainit and acid phosphate, both 
with and without sawdust, retained prac- 
tically all of the nitrogen. Both because of 
the danger of loss, and its tendency to form 
into hard lumps, the plaster ig less desir- 
able than either of the chemicals tried. 
The addition of the sawdust) materially im- 
proved the mechanical condition of the lots 
so treated. 
By itself, hen dung is a one-sided nitro- 
genous fertiliser. As usually managed, 
one-half or more of its nitrogen is lost, so 
that as ordinarily used it does not carry 
so great an excess of nitrogen. Because of 
its excess of nitrogen. it will be much more 
economically used in connection with 
manures carrying: phosphoric acid and. pot- 
ash. As both acid phosphate and kainit 
prevent the loss of nitrogen, it is possible 
to use them! in connection with sawdust 
or some other dry material as an absorbent 
good dry loam will answer [well] so as to 
make a well-balanced fertiliser. For ex- 
ample, a mixture o f 30 Tb. of hen manure, 
10 lb. of sawdust, 16 lb. of acid phosphate, 
and & lb. of kainit would carry about 1.25 
per cent. nitrogen, 4.5 per cent. phosphoric 
acid, and 2 per cent. potash, which, used at 
the rate of two tons per acre, would, fur- 
nish 50 lb. nitrogen, 185 lb. phosphoric 
acid, and 80 lb. potash—_Experiment Sta- 
tion Work. 
Vegetable Garden. 
0 
OPERATIONS FOR MAY. 
(By W. 8. CampBEtt. 
The vegetables have, lately, been, as 
satisfactory as could be desired in districts 
which shave been benefited by fair rains. 
The growth of many kinds has improved 
considerably in places where not very long 
ago dry weather was prevalent. No one 
should ever give up hope when growing 
vegetables or any other plants, and should 
have everything ready for planting and 
sowing when the weather breaks. 
If the ground be turned up in ridges, 
either by spade or plough, it is not ai very 
difficult matter to harrow and level down 
the surface sufficiently well for seed-sow- — 
ing or planting. If ridged or dug roughly 
in the dry weather, the rain has an oppor- 
tunity of sinking into the soil; whereas 
May 1, 1905 
if left without any preparation, the rain 
would penetrate but slightly, and the best 
part of it would be lost. I have tried this 
over and over again, and am quite satis- 
fied that not only with respect to vege- 
tables, but to farm crops of all, kinds, that 
the loss of precious water is enormous 
where preparations for making the most . 
of all the rain that falls are not taken in 
hand in good time. This ig a subject de- 
serving of great attention, and which 
might be enlarged upon: considerably if 
space permitted. 
The gardener should always be ahead 
with his work, and thus save time and an- 
noyance. As soon as vegetables are re- 
moved, sow or plant others, but to carry 
this out successfully it! would be well to 
keep notes of the best kinds to follow one 
another. If, say, that you desire to plant 
cabbage after potatoes, note this some time 
ahead, and as the potatoes are removed 
manure well and plant cabbage, and so on 
with other vegetables. By keeping ai plan 
of the garden, showing the various kinds 
of vegetables, the work of cropping suc- 
cessfully and economically can be managed 
not only without any trouble, but should 
give an additional interest to the garden. 
Asparagus.—It may be as well to pre- 
pare for the planting of this vegetable, 
which, however, need not be planted until 
the early spring. When making the bed 
keep the surface low, even an inch or two 
below the level if it can be managed. 
Vegetable-beds, or flower-beds raised high 
above the surface of the genral level or 
the level of the road or walks, are not 
satisfactory during dry weather ; and even 
should rains fall abundantly there need 
be no fear of the low beds if they be pro- 
_perly drained. There is some excuse for 
raising onion and potato beds somewhat, 
for both these vegetables need the very 
best drainage and the speedy get-away of 
surface water. 
Beans, Broad.—This being one of the 
best times of the year for sowing this 
vegetable, plant as extensively as may be 
required—say every week. Sow in rows, 
the distance apart to be regulated accord- 
ing to the heights to which the different 
kinds are likely to attain—from 1 foot 
to about 4 feet. Sow the seed about from 
3 to 4 inches deep and about 4 or 5 inches 
apart in the rows. The seeds are gener- 
ally extremely hard, and may be improved 
by a soaking in water for an hour or two 
before sowing—that is if the soil is fairly 
moist, but if it be very dry, sow without 
soaking the beans. The reason for this is 
that, after soaking, the beans will start 
into growth, and if the soil is dry, the 
young tender growth will suffer from want 
of moisture and perish, unless rain hap- 
pens to fall in the nick of time to save 
them. ’ 
Beans, French or Kidney.—Sow only in 
the warmest parts of the State where early 
frosts are not likely to occur. 
Beet, Red and Silver.—Cultivate the 
growing plants well and thin out seed- 
