18 THE AUSTRALIAN GARDENER. 
Practical Advice on Vege- 
table Gardening’. 
Tue A.B.C, or AUSTRALIAN VEGETABLE 
Garvening.—We have to acknowledge 
the receipt of a book on the above 
subject, and after a careful and interested 
perusual of its one hundred odd pages, we 
have no hesitation in declaring it the 
best work of its kind that has come under 
our notice. This book essays to do only 
one thing, but it does that thoroughly: 
It teaches the A.B.C. of Australian 
vegetable growing, beginning with the 
preparation of the seed bed, and not dis- 
daining to tell how the resultant vege- 
table should come to its ultimate end on 
the dinner table. It is a work well-nigh 
indispensable to vegetable 
growers, and also contains the particulars 
of many innovations that will prove in- 
yaluable to the ‘ old hands’ at the game, 
The writer, Mr. Herbert J. Rumsey, is a 
practical seedsman, and is continually in 
demand by agricultural societies as a 
judge at their shows in the farm produce, 
fruit, and vegetable sections. He is 
secretary of the N.S.W. Chamber of 
Agriculture, is a member of the council 
of the N.S.W? Association of Seedsmen 
and Nurserymen, and _ is 
amateur 
otherwise 
actively identified with the producing 
interests. The book is written in three 
parts. In the first, under the head of 
‘How to Make a Vegetable Garden,’ it 
goes fully, and yet brightly, into the 
particulars of choosing a site, draining, 
preparation of the land, manures and 
fertilisers, the growth of plants, vitality 
of seeds, preparation of hot and cold 
beds, the best way of watering the 
garden, benefits of rotation, cultivation 
of the soil and weed slaying, and winds 
up with a few hints on exhibiting 
at shows. The second part deals 
separately with every vegetable of use to 
the gardener, making the culture of most 
of them simple enough even for a child 
to undertake. Part III. contains par- 
tieulars of what should be done in the 
garden during each month of the year, 
information for market gardeners in a 
list of the quantities of seed required in 
garden and field culture, a very interest- 
celery, spinach, lettuce, parsley, & 
ing table giving the time required from 
sowing or planting until garden crops 
are ready for use, a list of commercia} 
fertilisers for the garden, and much other 
interesting and useful information. 
es nf 
The Value of Nitrate of Soda. 
Ina recent number the ‘Revue de 
Horticulture Belge, lays down rules for 
the use of nitrate of soda, which may 
prove useful to many of our readers. It 
definitely serves to promote earliness, 
increase the production, and give a better 
leaf growth and green appearance. 
Plants producing tubers, roots, bulbs, or 
fruits require from 8lb. to 16lb. of nitrate 
of soda per 120 square yards, This 
includes potatoes, carrots, radishes, 
chicory, onions, asparagus, tomatoes, 
peppers, &c. Leaf plants, cabbage, 
9 
require 12lb. to 24lb. per 120 square 
yards. Leguminous plants, like peas and 
beans, are not so much benefited, and 
require but 4lb. to 8lb, per 120 square 
yards. These quantities should of course 
not be applied all at once; 4lb. per 120 
square yards, mixed in the soil before 
sowing, and the rest in 11b. or 2lb. lots 
until the quantity is used. Do not sow 
when the ground is dry, or allow the 
nitrate to come in contact witk wet 
foliage, for fear of burning. 
Best Methods of Applying 
Stable Manure. 
At a recent meeting of the Redhill 
branch of the S.A. Agricultural Bureau 
Mr, Wheaton read a paper on the above 
subject, the gist of which is appended : — 
‘For vegetable-growing, manure should 
be carted fresh from the stable and 
spread on the ground as thickly as could 
be. ploughed in with a single-furrow 
plough. In the month of June this 
"should be ploughed to a depth of 8in., 
scarified, and harrowed as often as was 
necessary to keep the weeds down, and 
planted the following year. For grass 
land he advocated putting the manure on 
July 1, 1909 
in the same way, at the rate of from 40 to 
50 loads to the acre, spreading at once to 
prevent heating. Manure put on in this 
way would last for a long time, giving 
early grass for years. For cereal crops 
this manure should also be carted direct 
from the stable, and spread thinly on the 
land. This should then be left for grass 
that season, and when the land was 
fallowed and worked the weeds would be 
killed. Flower gardens were perhaps 
best treated with manure which had been 
left in a heap to rot, as this would save 
endless labor in keeping down weeds. 
Valuable manure was. sometimes allowed 
to deteriorate in quality by being left a 
long time ina heap. The way to get the 
best out of it was to putit on the land 
fresh from the stable. Weeds would, of 
course, spring up, but only such growth 
as had been fed to the stock, Stubble 
was best treated by being trodden well 
with stock and then ploughed in. If it 
was necessary to burn stubble the land 
should be ploughed before the ashes were 
blown away ; but, as a general rule, the 
more straw that was ploughed into the 
land the better. Chaff heaps could be 
distributed with a horse-rake, and so 
turned into good account. 
THE AUSTRALIAN 
BEE BULLETIN 
A Monthly Journal 
Devoted to Bee Keeping. 
Edited and Published by E, TIPPER, 
West Maitland; Apiary, Willow ‘Tree, 
New South Wales. 
Circulated in all the Australian Colonies 
New Zealand, and Cape of Good Hope. 
Per Annum 5s., booked 6s 6d., in Aus- 
tralasia, outside N.S.W., add 6d. postage. 
Muirden College, 
CURRIE STREET. 
TELEPHONE 1,502. 
W. MUIRDEN, Prrinorpau, 
CIVIL SERVICE EXAMINATIONS, 
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Send for particulars to the College, and 
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Classes if you would ensure success. 
