3<J2  JOURNAL  OF  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER.  November  24, 1S98, 
centre  a  large  porcelain  vase  usually  filled  with  Liliums  of  different 
varieties,  according  to  the  time  of  year.  Eucharis,  Chrysanthemums, 
or  other  tall  choice  flowers  were  employed,  preference  being  given  to 
such  as  were  not  too  upright  in  habit.  Two  trumpet  vases  stood  on 
each  side,  and  four  smal'er  vases  were  ranged  in  front.  Carnation 
Raby  Castle  was  extremely  popular  whin  procurable  for  these  vases, 
while  in  winter  T.ee  Carnations,  Paper  White  Narcissi,  and  double 
Zonal  Pelargoniums  were  used.  The  other  flower  vases,  some  seven  or 
eight  in  number,  woul  1  be  fi.led  about  the  end  of  summer  as  follows : — 
Two  glass  bowls  standing  on  the  bookcase  with  Sweet  Peas,  a  barrel¬ 
shaped  glass  vase  on  a  corner  table  with  tall  Hollyhocks  of  pure 
colours,  or  sometimes  with  Day  Lilies ;  a  slender  glass  tubular  vase 
held  always  five  or  six  spathes  of  Anthuriums  ;  a  small  bowl  was  the 
receptacle  for  six  or  eight  Gardenia  blooms  ;  a  tall  trumpet  glass  took 
Shirley  Poppies,  and  another  of  similar  shape  Lilium  speciosum, 
besides  two  or  three  shallow  glass  bowls  of  Carnations  or  double  Zonal 
Pelargoniums. 
Passing  from  the  boudoir  we  come  upon  the  grand  staircase  leading 
to  the  vestibule,  below  the  walls  of  which  are  covered  with  ochre 
coloured  Lincrusta,  the  carpets  being  of  crimson.  From  the  walls  hung 
family  portraits,  and  light  streamed  in  from  a  Gothic  window.  In 
angles  on  the  two  halfway  landings  stood  rosewood  Nubian  figures 
5  feet  in  height,  with  a  receptacle  on  their  heads  for  a  small  plant,  for 
which  the  most  suitable  and  appropriate  were  Rex  Begonias,  or  the 
white-leaved  Eulalia  japonica  variegata,  Caladium  argyrites,  or  Ficus 
Parcelli.  Towering  against  the  wall  of  the  vestibule,  immediately 
opposite  the  staircase,  were  two  Nubian  figures  of  20  feet  high,  with 
receptacles  for  plants.  For  these,  large  well  variegated  Pandanus 
Veitchi,  Ananassa  sativa  variegata,  Aralia  Chabrieri,  Cyperus 
alternifolius  variegatus,  Diffenbachia  Bausei,  or  Maranta  zebrina  were 
employed.  In  two  large  blue  vases  standing  on  pedestals,  and  of  a 
size  to  hold  the  largest  sized  pot  or  a  tub,  a  pair  of  noble  Palms  looked 
very  graceful,  especially  such  as  Chamsedorea  elogantissima,  Rhapis 
flabelliformis,  or  Livistouia  chinensis ;  sometimes  a  pair  of  Bambusa 
nigra,  or  B.  aurea,  reaching  almost  to  the  summit  of  the 
staircase,  were  substituted.  The  plants  occasionally  used  for  the 
Nubian  figures  were  purple-leaved  or  put  pie-flowered,  as  these 
harmonised  with  the  walls  as  a  background.  Alocasia  purpurea, 
Strobilanthes  Dyerianus  (grown  without  pinching),  Bougainvillea 
glabra  Sauderiana(in  Gor  7-inch  pots  from  an  intermediate  temperature), 
Eranthemum  pulchellum,  w.th  its  intense  blue  flowers,  found  places 
in  early  winter,  as  did  the  purple-berried  Callicarpa  purpurea.  Then 
there  were  Achimenes  Mauve  Queen  with  five  or  six  corms  in  a  5-inch 
pot,  Torenia  asiatica  with  its  lovely  purple  flowers,  with  the  annual 
Torenia  Fourneri. 
The  adjoining  room  was  the  saloon,  lit  only  by  a  large  window 
between  it  and  the  entrance  hall,  so  that  light  was  admitted,  so  to 
speak,  secondhand.  The  walls  were  covered  with  yellow  Cordova 
stamped  leather,  and  the  carpets  were  crimson.  Family  portraits  and 
old  armour  adorned  the  walls,  while  round  the  ample  fireplace  were 
couches  upholstered  in  Indian  cretonne.  Rich  screens  of  crimson  with 
scroll  work  of  gold  stood  behind  them,  and  the  furniture  was  of  rose¬ 
wood,  ebony,  and  walnut.  The  screen  between  one  couch  and  the 
doorways  leading  to  the  library  and  drawing-rooms  had  between  it 
and  the  couch  two  or  three  large  Acalyphas,  such  as  Macafeeana, 
macrophylla,  or  musaica.  Tall  plants  of  Dieffenbnchia  Bausei  were 
also  liked,  as  well  as  large  specimens  of  Begonia  fuchsioides  or 
B.  insignis.  Behind  the  central  screen,  and  towering  above  it,  were 
two  tall  Palms  in  vases  on  rosewoed  buffets,  a  pair  of  either  Phoenix 
reclinata,  P.  rupicola,  or  Latania  borboniev  being  used.  Across  the 
angle  of  one  corner  of  the  room,  on  a  side  table,  stood  two  medium¬ 
sized  Kentia  Fosteriana  or  K.  Belmoreana.  The  top  of  the  piano  held 
three  flowering  plants,  and  two  others  stood  on  each  side  of  a  richly 
carved  ebony  wardrobe  on  platter-like  receptacles  attached  by  chains. 
Zonal  Pelargoniums  were  preferred  before  all  other  flowering  plants, 
but  yellow  or  rich  orange-flowered  plants  suited  admirably  the  rather 
sombre  and  badly  lighted  interior.  Two  tall  earthenware  vases  stood 
on  occasional  tables,  and  two  cylindrical  glasses  under  the  Palms  on 
the  side  were  filled  from  end  of  July  to  the  middle  of  October  with 
herbaceous  flowers  cut  with  stems  as  long  as  possible,  yellow,  scarlet, 
or  white  being  the  colours  admitted,  of  which  Helianthus,  Rudbeckias, 
Gladiolus  brtnchleyensis,  Cactus  Dahlias  Glare  of  the  Garden  or 
Juarezi,  annual  Sunflowers,  herbaceous  Phloxes,  pure  white  or  pure 
crimson,  and  in  winter  Chrysanthemums,  may  be  quoted. — F.  Street. 
(To  be  concluded.) 
Farmyard  manure  is  one  of  those  subStanceB  the*  gardener  has  not, 
so  far,  learnt  to  do  without.  WilFtftal;  tmie  eveU'Ctome  ?  We  doubt 
it,  although  we  have  heard  lecturers — exploiters  of  artificial  manures — 
say  that  these  are  far  superior  to  animal  or  farmyard  manure.  They 
also  say  the  artificials  are  the  cheaper,  and  more  suited  in  every  way 
for  cr<  ps.  We  only  wish  such  men  as  these  had  to  obtain  their  living 
by  growing  fruit,  flowers,  or  vegetables  for  market ;  they  would  soon 
learn  'that  in  practice  plants  require  something  substantial,  and  that 
nothing  suits  them  so  well  as  larmyard  manure  in  conjunction  with 
artificials. 
Farmyard  Manure. 
Farmyard  manure  is  a  term  applied  to  the  solid  and  liquid  excre¬ 
ments  of  horses,  cows,  and  pigs,  mixed  with  different  kinds  of  litter. 
It  is  a  substance  of  almost  vital  importance  to  gardeners,  and  yet  in. 
many  cases  how  little  is  known  about  it.  This  manure  is  a  very 
complex  body  when  taken  as  a  whole,  but  there  are  certain  elementary 
principles  with  which  all  cultivators  should  be  familiar.  We  will, 
therefore,  devote  a  little  time  to  a  consideration  of  the  simple  con¬ 
stituents,  leaving  the  more  complex  for  scientists  to  battle  with. 
Farmyard  manure  is  applied  to  the  soil  principally  with 
the  object  of  supplying  plants  with  food.  We  have  seen  in  a  former 
article  that  the  principal  food  of  plants  is  nitrogen,  potash,  and  phos¬ 
phoric  acid.  One  ton  of  a  good  sample  of  natural  or  animal  manure 
will  contain  about  12  lbs.  of  nitrogen,  12  lbs.  of  potash,  and  6  lbs.  of 
phosphoric  acid.  It  is  not  generally  known  that  the  urine  of  animals 
contains  nearly  thrice  as  much  plant  food  as  the  solid  excrements. 
This  is  a  fact,  however,  for  it  has  been  demonstrated  that  while  a  ton 
of  horse  manure  contains  about  12  lbs.  of  nitrogen,  12  lbs.  of  potash, 
and  8  lbs.  of  phosphoric  acid,  the  same  weight  of  urine  would  contain 
30  lbs.  of  nitrogen,  32  lbs.  of  potash,  but  only  traces  of  phosphoric 
acid.  A  rather  remarkable  fact  is,  that  while  phosphoric  acid  is 
almost  entirely  absent  from  the  liquid  excrement  of  horses,  cows,  and 
sheep,  there  is  comparatively  a  large  amount  present  in  the  pig’s 
urine.  Looking  at  the  matter  broadly,  we  see  that  by  constantly 
u.-ing  only  farmyard  manure  on  land,  we  are  applying  considerably 
more  nitrogen  and  potash  than  phosphoric  acid,  and  yet  many  of  our 
ciops  require  almost  as  much  of  the  latter  substance  as  they  do  of  the 
two  former.  It  is  to  make  up  this  deficiency  as  regards  phosphates 
that  taught  practitioners  the  value  of  mixing  bonemeal  in  fruit 
borders  and  in  potting  soils,  for  the  meal  is  essentially  a  phosphatic 
manu:  e. 
The  first  things  in  farmyard  manure  to  tecorr.e  available  to  crops- 
are  the  nitrogen  and  potash  in  the  urine.  This  being  so,  we  see  how 
essential  it  is  to  have  a  litter  that  will  absorb  as  much  of  the  liquid  as 
possible,  for  the  greater  the  amount  of  plant  food  a  manure  contains 
the  more  valuable  will  it  be  to  the  crop*,  and  also  from  a  £  s.  d.  point 
of  view. 
The  different  litters  used  for  bedding  cattle  vary  very  much  in 
their  absorptive  power.  Wheat  straw,  oat  straw,  sawdust,  wood 
shavings,  peat  moss  and  leaves,  are  the  substances  chiefly  utilised  as 
litters.  Wheat  or  oat  straw  will  absorb  three  times  its  weight  of 
liquid,  wood  shavings  not  so  much,  sawdust  four  times,  and  peat  moss- 
eight  times.  Leaves  vary  according  to  the  amount  of  moisture  they 
contain  win  n  used.  Peat  moss  stands  out  head  and  shoulders  above 
the  others  in  absorptive  power.  But  let  us  see  what  the  composition 
of  the  different  litter  is  like.  A  ton  of  wheat  straw  contains  about 
10£  lbs.  of  nitrogen,  12£  lbs.  of  potash,  and  65  lbs.  of  phosphoric  acid. 
Oat  straw  is  less  rich  in  plant  food.  Wood  shavings  and  sawdust  are 
very  similar  in  composition;  a  ton  of  the  latter  would  contain  about 
G  lbs.  of  nitrogen,  G  lbs.  of  phosphoric  acid,  and  9  lbs.  of  potash,  but 
these  constituents  are  in  such  a  condition  ao  to  be  worthless  from  a 
practical  point  of  view.  One  ton  of  peat  moss  will  yield  17a  lbs.  of 
nitrogen,  20  lbs.  of  potash,  and  G  lbs.  of  phosphoric  acid.  The  same 
weight  of  leaves  would  contain  about  10  lbs.  of  nitrogen,  7  lbs.  of 
potash,  and  5  lbs.  of  phosphoric  acid. 
We  see  by  these  figures  that  of  all  the  litters  used  peat  moss  is  the 
best  as  regards  absorptive  power,  and  also  contains  the  most  plant  food,, 
but  there  are  certain  things  with  regard  to  peat  manure  that  have  to 
be  considered  before  using  it  extensively.  The  first  is  that  being  able 
to  absorb  so  much  moisture  it  is  liable  to  get  saturated  with  water, 
and  is,  therefore,  not  so  suitable  for  wet  clayey  land  as  straw  manure  ; 
secondly,  on  account  of  its  vegetable  nature  it  yields  a  large  quantity 
of  vegetable  acids  when  decomposing,  and  is  apt  to  make  soils  sour 
and  thirdly,  it  contains  so  much  nitrogen  that  unless  it  is  kept  moist 
the  manure  will  get  too  hot,  and  much  of  the  nitrogeu  will  escape 
from  it.  We  have  also  to  take  into  consideration  the  power  peat  moss 
has  of  resisting  decay,  so  that  very  little  of  the  food  constituents 
contains  becomes  available  to  growing  crops. — W.  Dyke. 
(To  be  continued.) 
