JOURNAL  OF  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER. 
February  24,  1898. 
NOTES  ON  CANEOTS. 
Carrots  delight  in  deep,  light,  rather  sandy  soil.  The  ground 
must  be  free  from  anything  which  will  obstruct  the  descent  of  roots, 
such  as  stones  of  large  size,  and  clay.  It  should  be  free^  also  from 
manure  in  the  upper  layers,  but  the  subsoil  rnay  be  enriched  with 
some  well  decayed  when  breaking  it  up  and  finding  it  poor. 
Trenching  is  the  best  method  of  preparing  ground,  but  it  is  seldom, 
if  ever,  advisable  to  bring  up  the  subsoil  and  bury  the  surface,  hence 
some  judgment  should  be  used  in  the  method  of  preparation. 
Trenchin<r  can  be  done  without  reversing  the  spits  of  soil.  Deep 
jcultivation  in  the  way  of  double  digging  and  trenching  is  valuable 
because  it  increases  the  depth  to  which  the  tap  roots  can  penetiate 
downwards  in  a  friable  medium.  When  the  tap  root  has  a  firm 
exclusive  hold  there  is  less  probability  of  ramifications  being  originated, 
thus  spoiling  the  form  the  main  root  ultimately  assumes. 
In  wet,  clayey,  or  otherwise  unsuitable  soils,  Carrots  have  little 
chance  of  succeeding.  In  poor,  hard  soil  they  are  not  worth  culti¬ 
vation.  On  ground  enriched  and  worked  shallow,  the  crop  is  not  a 
profitable  one,  though  the  short  varieties  may  succeed,  but  even  they 
prefer  a  deeper  medium.  The  best  situation  is  undoubtedly  one  which 
was  well  cultivated  and  enriched  for  a  previous  crop,  such  as  Geler}’. 
Fork  and  break  down  the  soil  well,  but  keep  the  manure  under. 
Choose  dry  and  breezy  weather  for  working  the  soil,  and  dry,  calm 
weather  for  sowing.  The  seed  is  light,  and  may  easily  be  blown  away. 
The  earliest  crops  of  Carrots  are  secured  from  frames.  Early  Short 
Horns  are  the  most  suitable.  A  layer  of  soil  a  foot  in  depth,  but  li.ht 
in  character  aud  fertile,  is  placed  upon  a  mild  hotbed.  The  seed  is 
sown  in  drills,  just  covering  with  soil,  and  protection  given  to  the 
frames  in  bad  weather.  At  other  times  abundance  of  light  with  a  due 
supply  of  air  on  all  favourable  occasions  must  bo  afforded.^  Thin  the 
plants  to  a  proper  distance.  Immediately  the  roots  are  a  fair  size  thej' 
may  be  drawn  for  use.  _  j  •  ht  i 
A  sowing  of  the  same  or  a  similar  variety  may  be  made  in  March 
on  a  warm,  sunny  border  for  forming  a  succession.  It  is  not  nccessaiy 
to  sow  the  deeper  rooting  main  crop  varieties  before  April,  when  the 
ground  is  dry  and  becoming  warm.  The  ]  roper  distances  to  form  the 
drills  may  be  8  to  10  inches,  or  rather  less  in  frames  for  the  Short 
Horn  variety,  a  foot  for  the  intermediate  forms,  and  15  inches  for  the 
larger  and  longer  roots.  Sowing  in  drills  is  undoubtedly  the  best, 
because  of  the  expeditious  manner  in  which  the  processes  of  thinning 
the  plants  and  weeding  among  them  can  be  carried  out. 
Sow  thinly  in  shallow  drills,  previously  bringing  the  soil  to  a  line 
tilth  by  the  use  of  the  hoe  and  rake.  When  the  seedlings  have 
attained  to  a  convenient  size  for  handling  pull  out  the  most  crowded, 
doing  this  gradually  and  at  intervals  until  the  plants  have  been  sepa¬ 
rated  to  4  inches  apart  for  the  small  varieties,  and  6  inches  for  the 
larger.  After  the  final  thinning  hoeing  between  the  rows  may  be 
frequently  practised,  not  only  to  prevent  the  growth  of  weeds,  but  to 
promote  rapid  developmeut.  Only,  however,  stir  the  surface  when  it 
is  dry. 
In  moist  weather  a  few  dustings  of  soot  will  be  useful,  and  when 
hot,  dry  weather  sets  in  a  layer  of  short  grass  placed-  between  the  rows 
is  beneficial  as  a  mulch  and  preventive  of  attack  from  the  Carrot  fly. 
— E.  D.  S. 
DIGGINO  AND  TRENCHING. 
I  MAY  be  wrong,  I  lay  no  claim  to  extra  acute  observation  or 
intuition,  but  judging  from  the  letters  which  have  appeared  in  our 
Journal  following  the,  to  my  mind,  most  excellent  note  on  “  Winter 
versus  Spring  Digging  ”  from  the  pen  of  our  old  friend  and  long  time 
instructor  of  gardening  in  all  its  phases,  Mr.  David  Thomson,  I  think 
— mind,  I  only  think — that  each  writer  has  missed  the  point  or  crux 
of  the  question  which  our  old  practitioner  brought  before  your  readers 
on  January  20th.  To  me,  with  perhaps  some  of  the  inner  wisdom 
which  comes  to  men  who  are  getting  old  and  greyheaded,  and  reading 
between  the  lines  of  his  note,  it  appeared  that  this  life-long,  practical 
teacher,  had  not  in  his  mind  so  much  the  carrying  out  of  the  mechanical 
practical  act,  as  his  desire  to  excite  the  brain  thought  which  should 
govern  the  carrying  of  it  out ;  that  he  was  thinking  more  of  the  head 
to  guide  the  hands  than  merely  discussing  that  which  the  hands 
should  do.  He  wanted  the  thought  first,  the  act  second;  the  thinking 
to  be  done  and  on  sound  lines  from  the  first  principles  of  Nature’s  laws, 
and  then  he  knew  that  each  thinker  for  himself  would  eventually  do 
what  was  right,  and  he  gave  his  practical  lesson  as  to  times  of  digging 
from  his  own  experience  as  an  illustration  as  to  how  he  himself  had 
found  out  the  way  which  proved  best  for  him,  and  the  principles 
which  had  guided  him  to  that  course  of  practice.  Simply  and  solely, 
according  to  my  thinking,  he  wanted  to  get  every  man  to  think,  and 
as  an  old  man,  he  knew  that,  unfortunately  with  many  of  us,  but 
especially  with  the  younger  men,  the  act  is  done  first  and  the  thinking 
about  it  afterwards. 
S.  R.  Crockett,  in  “The  Men  of  the  Moss  Hags,”  puts  the 
description  of  this  habit  very  forcibly  into  the  mouth  of  one  of  his 
characters.  Jean  Gordon,  speaking  to  her  relative  William  Gordon, 
says,  “ Ye  Gordons  are  all  alike.  Ye  aye  fight  and  then  reason;  ifs 
first  the  blow  and  then  the  word.”  This,  in  substance,  is  what  she 
says.  I  have  not  the  book  by  me  to  quote  verbally  ;  but  it  struck 
me  at  the  time  of  reading  that  it  was  too  true  of  more  besides  the 
Gordon  family,  and  I  think  it  specially  true  as  to  the  tone  of  the 
criticism  on  Mr.  Thomson’s  note  on  digging.  If  I  am  wrong  I  shall 
be  glad  to  be  set  right.  I  do  not  complain  generally  of  that  criticism  ; 
far  from  it.  It  has  been  well  done  from  the  standpoint  of  each  writer, 
and  not  without  humour  at  times,  which  is'always  a  raving  grace. 
My  contention  is,  and  is  only,  that  the  writers  missed  the  point ; 
did  not  put  themselves  in  the  place  of  the  man  they  criticised,  and 
therefore  drew  wrong  or  false  conclusions  from  Mr.  Thomson’s  pre¬ 
misses.  AVe  shall  all  be  the  better  for  this  friendly  excursion  into  the 
garden  with  our  spades,  and  shall  profit  by  the  discussion.  Each 
writer  is  a  practical  man,  knowing,  so  to  say,  which  end  of  the  spade 
goes  into  the  ground,  and  in  our  future  digging  we  shall  think  more 
and  more  of  why  we  are  doing  our  digging  now  rather  than  then — a  , 
then  rather  than  now.  As  this  is  somewhat  of  a  homily  on  thinking 
it  may  not  be  amiss  to  give  from  an  unusual  source  for  a  gardening 
paper  an  extract  from  a  sermon  by  the  late  Cardinal  Newman  on  the 
growth  of  the  British  mind. 
The  Briton,  he  says,  is  in  his  own  way  the  creature  of  circumstances ;  he 
is  bent  on  action  ;  but  as  to  opinion  he  takes  what  comes,  only  he  bargains  not 
to  be  teased  or  troubled  about  it.  He  gets  his  opinions  anyhow,  some  from  the 
nurser}q  some  at  school,  some  from  the  world,  and  has  a  zeal  for  them,  because 
they  are  his  own.  Other  men,  at  least,  exercise  a  judgment  upon  them  and 
prove  them  by  a  rule.  He  does  not  care  to  do  so,  but  he  takes  them  as  he 
finds  them,  whether  they  fit  together  or, not,  and  makes  light  of  the  incongruity, 
and  thinks  it  a  proof  of  common  sense,  good  sense,  strong  shrewd  sense,  to  do 
so.  All  he  cares  for  is  that  he  should  not  be  put  to  rights;  of  that  he  is 
jealous  enough.  He  is  satisfied  to  walk  about,  dressed  just  as  he  is.  As 
opinions  come,  so  they  must  stay  with  him,  and,  as  he  does  not  like  trouble 
in  his  acquisition  of  them,  so  he  resents  criticism  in  his  use. 
Does  the  Cardinal’s  cap  fit  any  of  us  ?  I-  feel  rather  like  putting 
it  on  my  own  head,  even  though  I  am,  of  course,  striving  with  all  my 
powers  to  think  it  does  not  quite  fit  me.  I  am  only  sure  of  one  thing, 
and  that  is,  I  am  anxious  to  draw  attention  to  the  foundation  truths 
in  Mr.  Thomson’s  note ;  those  truths  are,  that,  only  by  understanding 
the  laws  of  Nature  and  following  them  out  in  our  gardening  shall  we 
rise  to  be  “  workmen  that  need  not  be  ashamed.”  “  Age  should  speak, 
and  multitude  of  years  teach  wisdom,”  and  that  Mr.  Thomson  is  now 
doing,  to  our  great  benefit,  for  us  week  by  week  in  the  pages  of  “our 
Journal.”  He  will  have  the  teacher’s  reward,  a  good  conscience. — 
An  Old  Provincial. 
[Does  the  conscience  of  thi^  old  and  able  worker  and  penman 
disturb  him  because  he  has  not  endeivoured  to  teach  oftener  and 
more  ?] 
ARTIFICIAL  MANURE  FOR  FRUITS. 
All  fruit  trees  and  bushes  needing  support  will  be  benefited  by  the 
application  of  artificial  manures.  A  healthy  and  fruitful  tree  yielding 
good  crops  of  fruit  should  receive  each  season  a  complete  dressing  of 
phosphates,  potash,  and  nitrogen,  while  one  that  is  inclined  to  excessive 
growth  and  the  production  of  wood  rather  than  fruit  should  receive 
phosphates  and  potash  only,  the  nitrogen  being  withheld  until  it  is  really 
needed.  Raspberries  and  Black  Currants  depend  on  the  free  production 
of  young  growth  for  fruitfulness,  and  should  receive  a  manure  somewhat 
rich  in  nitrogen  to  promote  free  growth. 
Phosphates. — In  stiff  soils,  peat  or  rich  garden  soils,  apply  in  the 
autumn  or  early  winter  4  ozs.  of  basic  slag  per  square  yard,  followed  by 
2  ozs.  of  superphosphate  in  February  or  March.  In  light  sandy  soils 
substitute  a  cheap  phosphatic  guano  or  steamed  bone  flour  for  the  basic 
slag,  making  the  application  at  any  time  between  November  and 
February.  In  chalky  soils  apply  4  ozs.  of  superphosphate  in  early 
spring,  and  if  the  tree  be  cropping  freely  a  second  application  of  2  ozs. 
per  square  yard  should  be  made  in  June  or  early  July. 
Potash.— In  all  soils  which  are  not  destitute  of  lime  apply  kainit 
1  oz.  per  square  yard  in  the  autumn.  It  can  often  be  mixed  with  basic 
slag  and  applied  at  the  same  time. 
Nitrogen. — Young  trees  growing  in  rich  soil  rarely  lack  nitrogen, 
and  care  must  be  employed  in  applying  nitrogenous  manures  lest  coarse  rank 
growth  result.  If  the  soil  be  not  destitute  of  lime  either  nitrate  of  soda 
or  sulphate  of  ammonia  may  be  used  with  the  same  result.  The  quantity 
applied  may  vary  from  half  to  1  oz.  per  square  yard,  according  to  the 
requirements  of  the  case.  Sulphate  of  ammonia  can  be  applied  in  early 
spring  in  conjunction  with  superphosphate,  guano,  or  steamed  bon-  flour. 
Nitrate  is  best  applied  when  the  blossoms  are  just  expanding,  and  if  the 
trees  are  cropping  heavily  again  at  midsummer. 
Application.— Do  not  exceed  the  quantities  specified.  Make  the 
applications  at  the  seasons  stated,  and  aim  at  distributing  the  manure 
equally  over  the  entire  area  of  ground  occupied  by  the  roots  of  the  trees. 
It  should  be  understood  that  in  the  case  of  strong,  deep  rooting  trees 
which  produce  correspondingly  strong  fruitless  growth,  that  no  manures 
whatsoever  can  impart  to  them  a  productive  habit.  To  mitigate  the  evil 
of  grossnesa  we  must  literally  cut  at  the  root  of  it.— Experimentalist. 
