14 
ditions, and decay immediately sets up 
about the cut portion. Where, therefore, 
ib is planted under conditions where it has 
“to make a struggle for existence, it is not 
0 favorably placed as is one which has no 
“wound. When a tuber is cut so as to pro- 
‘wide a large number of sets, the sets are 
small; therefore, so far as possible, the 
‘struggle to establish a plant must. be facilt- 
ated by all reasonable means. The ex- 
perience of the last few years shows that 
this may be done on a large scale at a mo- 
alerate cost. © When in a previous article 
we urged that it was not a matter of over- 
whelming difficulty to cut each eye froma 
potato, and pot it separately so as to give 
it favorable opportunities to produce a 
pliant, there were those who expressed the 
contrary view, and maintained that it was 
impossible for it to be done except on a 
fimited scale. To confirm our expressed 
“views we last spring had 50,000 eyes cut 
drom 14 cwt. of tubers, and planted in as 
many pots. The plants grew with a very 
small percentage of misses, and at the pre- 
sent time we have nearly eight acres grow- 
ing vigorously in the field. Few who‘have 
seen the crops would previously have be- 
lieved that the fine plants now growing 
could have been raised from other than a 
whole set of ordinary seed size. 
BORECOLE OR KALE. ~ 
There are few more hardy and generally 
serviceable vegetables than borecole or 
kale. Room for one or several forms ought 
to be found in every well-managed garden, 
and if not actually considered a high-class 
vegetable, kale cannot well be dispensed 
with. Inverysevere winters brocolli, savoys, 
are badly injured by frosts, but it is not 
often the borecoles are destroyed, some of 
the vayi-ties being nearly as hardy as it is 
‘possible for a green succulent vegetable 
to be. Their culture and requirements 
are of the simplest character. If raised 
too early the plants become starved and 
tegey in the seedbeds, and such cannot rea- 
sonally be expected to do so well as the 
sturdier laterraised batches. Naturally, 
the ezrlier the plants are established where 
they are to grow to their full size, the 
stronger and more productive they become. 
A few only are able to give a piece of 
ground wholly up to this crop, and the 
plants must, therefore, be either planted 
between rows of early potatoes, or elsé be 
put out in close succession to these and any 
other carly vegetables. They pay well for 
having moderately rich ground and good 
room, the produce of plants growing on » 
pocr soil being light and also poor in 
quality. 
Scotch or curled kale is, perhaps, the, 
most popular yarlety in cultivation, more 
Jants of this being grown probably than _ ; af 
P ng 8 PEO Done eg readers at the reduced price of 2s. 6d. cach, with 2d. added for postage, and in addition to the 
of all the rest put together. There may 
be others more hardy and productive, but 
in point of quality all are inferior to it. 
There are very finely curled forms of both 
the tall and dwarf Scotch kale, and as far 
2s productiveness, hardiness, and quality 
_are concerned, there is not much to choose 
- tender when cooked. 
-hearts-when fully grown are not so hardy 
THE AUSTRALIAN. GARDENER. 
‘between them, all producing good greens 
after the heart has been cut. 
Read’s improved hearting is a decided 
advance upom the ordimary forms, this 
producing a heart almost equal to a savoy 
cabbage, and milder in flavor and more 
Unfortuntely, the 
as desirable, and these ought, in conse- 
quence, to be protected in some way when- 
ever a severe frost 1s anticipated. It is not 
advisable to lift and store this kale, as a 
serviceable crop of side shoots is produced 
in the spring. 
Asparagus kale has never in my experi- 
ence been much injured by cold winds or 
frost, and is most valuable for affording 
_a supply of succulent greens after all the 
rest have run to seed. When broccoli, cab- 
bage, and other kales have been much! cut 
up by frosts, a good breadth of the sturdy 
growing asparagus kale is invaluable—I.. 
THE FIG-WORTS.: 
It is to be regretted that a shorter name 
than Scrophulariacae has not been found 
for this order. It is so named because one 
species has swellings on the root like the 
neck markings in scrofula; and this word 
again is derived from the Latin for pig; 
-and the pig is so called from its habit 
of scratching, the words for pig and writing 
having a common origin-—scratching the 
ground and scratching the paper. Even the 
equivalent ‘‘ fig-wort’’ is objectionable, for 
the fig belongs to a very different order. 
Jussieu’s name ‘ Pedicularei,”’ is no im 
provement. 
In this order the corolla is single, and 
_ encloses the ovary ; the stamens are four, of 
and not unfrequently Brussels sprouts | 
two different lengths (or sometimes two) 
inserted on the corolla; leaves alternate, 
Opposite sr whorled, and without stipules. 
_ footstalks. 
June 1, 1904 
The corolla is often shaped like a mask, 
_with a prominent mouth, which can be 
forced open by bees, which then enter the- 
flower and pollinate it. In the many- 
‘colored garden flower, the Salpiglossis, the 
mask is absent, and the flower is closely 
allied to the Solanums. The flower garden 
is largely indebted to this ordei ; we may 
name the Snapdragon, Maurandia, Lopho- 
spermum, Phygalius, Pentstemon with its. 
rudimentary fifth stamen, ~Calceolaria, 
Mimulus, Browallia, Schizomthus, Digitalis, 
Veronica, aud the tree Paulownia. Among 
the weeds we have the dwarf semiparasitic: 
Bartsia, the Blanket weed Linaria Oastata, 
and the tall, yellow-flowered Celsia cretica, 
the two short stamens of which are- 
curiously bearded. : 
In many plants there are contrivances to 
keep out ants and other small insects that 
are useless for pollination purposes, and 
that would only rob the plant of its honey. 
In the Phygelius the ovary is twisted so as. 
to shut in the honey; in the Pentstemon 
the fifth crosses over and bars out intruders. 
It is not uncommon to find the central 
top flower of Pentstemon to be regular; and 
a form of Foxglove is successfully raised 
from seed that has the uppermost flower 
cup-shaped. By counting the number of 
lobes of the corolla and the stamens as. 
many as five flowers are sometimes seen to 
take part in this ‘‘ monstrosity.” 
In Mimulus (Diplacus) aurantiacum the 
stigma is formed by a pair of flaps; if the 
inner surface be touched the flaps close 
tightly. Even cut flowers after several 
days are quite sensitive. 
It was a speculation of Goethe’s that the 
parts of the flower are modified leaves. 
The writer once had a Lophospermum in 
which the sepals, petals, anthers, stigma, 
and even the ovules, turned to leaves on 
So complete a reversion is 
perhaps unprecedented. 
A Musical Education for Half=a-crown. 
0. 
The above heading will, of course, appear to most people as the height of absurdity; yet the 
. themselves of it withont delay. 
absurdity is more apparent than real. It goes without saying thata finished musical education in 
the regular course cannot be had for half-a-crown, or even with several hundred additional half- 
crowns; but can it be truthfully said that the person with a sufficient knowledge of music to play 
accompaniments on the piano or organ, to all the popular songs of the day, has no musical educa- 
tion? Assuredly not. A musical education, sufficient to enable one to play accompaniments to the 
home frequently, gets and gives more pleasure from the modest accomplishment than does many on 
whose education large sums have been expended. ‘ 
‘Lo the more modest musical education the above heading applies. Such an education “The 
Australian Gardener” is now offering its music-loving readers for half-a-crown, believing that iti 
the greatest benefit we can give our cubscribers. 
This ready-made musical education consists of Pratt?s Chart of Chords for the piano and organ,. 
which is the nearest approach to the ready-made knowledge of music yet attained by science. 
It is a short cut to harmeny, and is to music what the multiplication table is to arithmetic, 2 
quick method of learning to play the piano or organ without a teacher. 
With this chart any one can, with but a siaall amonnt of practice, become an expert pianist. It 
is a complete self instructor, enabling any one to play the piano or organ at sight, and to play,. 
without difficulty, brilliant accompaniments to any song ever written. It is valuable to the advanced 
musician as well as the beginner, embracing nearly every major and minor chord used in music; and 
is endorsed by teachers and musicians everywhere. be 
This chart is the practical result of years of study by Charles H. Pratt, the noted American com-_ 
poser and musician, whose compositions have world-wide popularity, and a larger sale than those of 
any other American or European composer. ‘i 
Believing that the educational value of this Chart cannot be over-estimated, “ The Australian 
Gardener” has arranged with the pubhshers to supply Pratt’s Chart of Chords (pnblished at 5s.) to~ 
Chart of Chords the publishers have kindly agreed to send without extra charge a copy of the 
Coronation Musica! Folio, containing 48 pages of sheet music, and instrumental by popular com- 
posers. i 
Every home that has a piano or organ, especially where there are children, should have Pratt’s 
’ Chart of Chords. 
This offer is made for a short time only, and “The Australian Gardener” readers should av il- 
Appress—* THE AUSTRALIAN GARDENER,” Adelaide. 
o™~ 
