612 
JOURNAL  OF  BORTICULTURiS  ABD  COTTAGE  GARDEBEU. 
December  2i,  1898. 
made  of  the  dimensions ;  one  was  soon  made,  and  has  been  in  use  ever 
since.  On  summer  evenings  it  is  brought  out,  and  finding  a  pleasant 
place  In  the  garden,  sitting  on  a  bench,  or  an  overturned  flower  pot  of 
large  size,  it  is  put  on  ^he  knees,  and  one  can  scribble  away  then  most 
delightfully.  Any  handy  man  could  make  one,  and  when  not  in  use  it 
can  be  put  in  the  bothy  locker  or  drawers,  and  with  a  safety  inkstand 
or  a  glass  bottle,  such  as  rate  collectors  and  some  pressmen  use,  which 
will  not  spill  the  ink,  even  if  upset,  there  is  no  fear  of  mess. 
One  other  bit  of  advice  and  I  must  close,  or  the  Editor  will  be 
looking  blue.  Pitmans  publish  a  “  Eeporting  Note  Book,”  “  Fono  ” 
series,  No.  5,  costing  fid.  The  sheets  are  fixed  singly  at  one  end,  and  on 
being  written  on  can  be  drawn  out  without  tearing ;  so  that  with  a 
Stylo  or  a  Fountain  pen,  or  with  portable  inkstand  (this  can  be  put  in 
the  pocket),  the  writer  can  sit  down  in  any  convenient  place,  and  write 
out  what  he  has  to  say  on  his  knees  or  standing  up,  either  of  press 
matter  or  private  correspondence,  at  his  leisure. 
No  more  little  things,  but  a  great  one:  la  old-fashioned  words,  and 
with  greatest  heartiness,  I  give  to  every  reader  of  the  Journal  of  Horti¬ 
culture  the  old  old  wish  of  “A  Merry  Christmas,”  adding  little  Tiny 
Tim’s  wish  in  Dickens’s  “  Christmas  Carol,”  “  God  bless  ns  all — 
everyone.”— An  Old  Provincial. 
[Yes  !  and  let  “  0,  P.”  get  out  his  board  and  book  again.] 
UREA  AS  A  FERTILISER. 
Yod  were  good  enough  to  give  me  your  opinion  a  short  time  ago  as 
to  the  manorial  value  of  ammonia  carbonate.  May  I  ask  you  to  favour 
me  with  your  opinion  as  to  urea  as  a  fertiliser  ?  It  would  seem  to  be 
the  one  recommended  by  Providence,  and  from  the  fact  that  in  the  earth 
it  would  probably  decompose  into  ammonia,  nitrogen,  and  carbonic  acid, 
all  good  plant  fo^s,  I  fancy  Providence  is  right.— W.  M, 
This  substance  is  (as  “  W.  M.”  is  no  doubt  aware,  but  others  of  your 
readers  may  not  know)  a  white,  crystalline  body,  with  a  cooling,  slightly 
salty  taste,  which  readily  takes  up  the  elements  of  water  and  passes  into 
ammonium  carbonate.  It  has  not  been  found  in  plants,  but  derivatives 
of  it  are  of  common  occurrence,  especially  guauiueiC^l^.A^tO'),  and  this 
principle  is  found  in  Peruvian  guano,  also  the  dung  of  birds,  especially 
the  semi-carnivorous,  or  wholly  so,  hence  the  value  of  guanos,  as 
manifestly  plants  can  store  and  atilise  this  compound,  which  consists 
of  ; — 
Carbon . 82’00 
Hydrogen  . G'(i7 
Nitrogen  ..  18'67 
Oxygen  ..  ..  . . 42  fifi 
lOO-OO 
Urea  (CON2H4)  does  not  contain  any  guanine,  and  we  are  not 
prepared  to  say  that  it  may  be  found  in  plants  in  consequence  of  the 
nse  of  urea  as  a  fertiliser,  bat  being  a  derivative,  is  more  than  probable. 
The  component  elements  of  urea  are  : — 
Carbon . 20 -00 
Hydrogen  . 6-fi7 
Nitrogen . 4fi’67 
Oxygen . 26C6 
100  00 
Thas  urea,  from  well  nigh  half  of  its  substance  being  nitrogen,  stands 
high,  if  not  at  the  very  top,  of  fertilisers  in  value,  and  one  for  the  most 
part  wasted,  except  on  grazing  land  and  eating  on  of  crops  by  sheep, 
also  where  stable  and  cowhouse  drainings  are  collected  in  tanks  and  used 
as  liquid  manure,  or  the  drainings  of  manure  heaps,  farmyards,  &c.,  not 
allowed  to  run  to  waste.  There  is  some  analogous  substance  in  the 
native  guano  prepared  from  sewage,  which  acts  similarly  to  guanine, 
and  it  is  a  notorious  fact  that  the  native  guanos — and  also  other 
preparations — act  much  more  powerfully  on  the  score  of  nitrogen  than 
the  analyses  seem  to  warrant. 
Urea  constitutes  2  to  3  per  cent,  of  human  urine,  and  when  obtained, 
as  it  has  been  by  chemists,  pure,  is  a  white  crystalline  mass  or  trans¬ 
parent  rhombic  crystals,  which  remain  indefinitely  unaltered  in  dry  air, 
and  have  a  cooling  bitter  taste  like  saltpetre.  The  average  amount  of 
urea  produced  by  an  ordinary  person  is  1  oz.  daily.  This  fertilising 
substance  contains  three  and  a  half  times  the  amount  of  nitrogen  as 
nitrate  of  potash  does,  nearly  two  and  a  half  times  that  of  sulphate  of 
ammonia,  and  not  far  from  three  times  the  nitrogen  of  nitrate  of  soda. 
Now  let  ns  place  the  1  oz.  daily  average  of  production  in  the  British 
Isles  at  6,000,000,  and  allow  half  for  waste,  we  have  for  the  year 
912,500,000  ozB, —(in  round  numbers)  251,600  tons.  This,  at  the  very 
moderate  estimate  of  lOs.  per  unit  for  nitrogen,  is  £23  lOs.  as  compared 
with  sulphate  of  ammonia  (reckoned  as  ammonia  only)  at  £9  Ss.  per 
ton,  which  amounts  to  the  astounding  figures  of  £5,983,000  per  annum 
— the  value  of  the  urea  lost  to  British  soil  in  a  year.  Make  no  mistake 
' — double  that  amount  is  diverted  from  the  land,  and  eventually  poured 
for  the  most  part  into  the  ocean.  If  calculated  at  the  value  of  ammonia, 
or  price  paid  for  it  in  guano,  urea  is  worth  £47  per  ton— £11,966,000 
per  annum  to  the  British  farmer  and  gardener. 
In  what  way  the  urea  of  the  kingdom  may  be  secured,  and  utilised 
ought  not  to  be  beyond  the  resources  of  sanitary  engineers  and  chemists. 
It  is  time  they  gave  serious  attention  to  the  subject,  and  provide  for  the 
farmer  and  gardener  a  wholesome  substance — crystals  that  are  easily 
transported,  practically  odourless,  and  which  melt  readily  into  the  food 
of  plants,  which  might  be  made  to  produce  at  least  double  the  coat  of 
the  article  in  increased  yields.  Yes,  “  W.  M.”  is  right,  urea  is  a  grand 
fertiliser. 
When  we  shall  make  use  of  the  researches  of  science,  and  give 
practical  effect  to  its  teaching  in  field  and  garden  may  not  be  clearly 
defined,  but  each  yoar  brings  us  nearer  to  the  dawn  of  success  to  agricul¬ 
turists  and  horticulturists  on  lines  similar  to  those  which  have  operated 
80  powerfully  in  manufacturing  ndustries  to  which  this  country  owes 
much,  if  not  most,  of  its  distingushed  pcaition  amongst  nations.  It  is 
necessary  to  husband  home  products,  manufacture  urea  in  contradis¬ 
tinction  to  'ivitragen*—i\iQ  new  German  soil-jeast  for  leguminous  plants 
— and  get  this  urea  into  the  land.  This  addition  of  nitrogen  will 
enable  us  to  do  without  any  microbes  but  what  the  soil  contains  already ; 
then  v/ith  the  oxygen  admitted  by  thorough  and  deep  cultivation,  which 
is  essential  for  oxidation  and  the  entrance  and  conservation  of  moisture 
— absolute  necessities  for  the  working  of  nitrogenic  microljes — we  may 
dispense  with  German  soil-yeast,  and  have  plenty  of  available  nitrogen 
for  the  growth  of  leguminous  plants,  whilst  these  are  stored  with  the 
free  nitrogen  for  burying  and  conversion  into  ammonia. 
Let  us  see  to  the  nitrogen  of  the  laud,  and  after  use  as  food  make 
effort  to  retain  the  urea — a  crystalline  salt  of  unapproachable  excellence 
as  a  fertiliser,  and  one  of  a  readily  transportable  as  well  as  wholesome 
nature.  This  is  what  farmers  and  gardeners  want,  the  nitrogen  they 
give  in  crops,  including  beef,  mutton,  pork,  fowls,  eggs,  butter,  Ac.,  to 
dwellers  in  towns,  restored  to  them  as  urea,  and  thus  maintain  and 
increase — as  the  imports  are  two-thirds  more  than  the  production — the 
fertility  and  yield  in  crops  of  the  soil.  I  am  much  obliged  to  “  W.  M,” 
for  his  timely  reference  to  urea  as  a  fertiliser. — G .  Abbey. 
THE  R.n.S.  FRUIT  COMMITTEE. 
When,  a  year  or  so  since,  considerable  discussion  arose  in  the  papers 
with  respect  to  the  association,  or  perhaps  lack  of  it,  of  the  Eoyal 
Horticultural  Society  with  .provincial  horticultural  societies,  it  was 
strongly  pleaded  that  some  steps  should  be  taken  to  make  the  association 
of  the  E.H.S.  with  provincial  societies  closer.  It  was  especially  urged 
that  this  should  partly  be  done  by  the  promotion  in  the  provinces  of 
branch  committees,  allied  to  the  Fruit,  Floral,  Orchid,  or  other  Com¬ 
mittees  of  the  E.H.S.  In  opposition  to  that  it  was  pleaded  that  these 
Committees  already  included  representatives  of  the  provinces,  the  desire 
largely  being  to  make  these  committees  nationally,  and  not  merely  locally 
representative. 
In  antagonism  to  that  suggestion  it  was  again  urged  that  the  Com¬ 
mittee  really  consisted  chiefly  of  persons  drawn  from  London  and  its 
district,  therefore  the  provincial  representation,  apart  from  the  great 
distance  from  London  at  which  these  country  members  resided, 
practically  made  the  provincial  representation  valueless.  Entirely 
arising  from  that  discussion  I  undertook  to  keep  for  the  whole  year 
just  now  closing  a  record  of  the  attendances  of  members  of  the  Fruit 
Committee,  and  having  been  enabled  to  attend  every  meeting,  I  have 
kept  my  own  return,  and  not  trusted  to  other  sources.  I  looked  for  a 
result  that  would  bear  somewhat  forcibly  upon  this  debated  question 
of  provincial  representation. 
There  are  forty  members  of  the  Fruit  Committee,  and  two  members 
of  the  Council  have  attended  many  meetings  also,  making  a  total  of 
forty-two  members.  The  number  of  allotted  meetings  at  the  Drill  Hal! 
and  Temple  Show  was  twenty,  so  that  multiplying  forty-two  by  twenty 
I  find  that  a  total  of  840  attendances  was  possible.  The  actual  number 
made,  however,  was  395,  rather  less  than  one-half,  largely  due  to  the 
fact  that  thirteen  members  who  could  in  the  aggregate  have  attended 
260  meetings  really  attended  but  twenty-six.  Of  course  all  these 
thirteen  are  members  residing  at  very  long  distances  from  London.  Two 
made  no  attendances,  four  attended  once  each,  three  twice  each,  one 
three  times,  two  four  times,  and  one  five  times.  Several  others  who 
live  at  considerable  distances  away  put  in  four,  six,  and  nine  attend¬ 
ances  ;  but  three  of  those  giving  these  figures  live  within  easy  distance 
of  London. 
Only  one  member  attended  the  entire  twenty  times,  and  one  did  so 
eighteen  times.  Three  were  present  seventeen  times,  and  these  include 
the  energetic  Secretary,  the  Eev.  W.  Wilks ;  whilst  in  the  list  of  those 
attending  sixteen  times,  of  whom  there  are  three,  comes  the  no  less 
esteemed  Chairman,  Mr,  P.  Crowley.  Two  gave  fifteen,  four  made 
fourteen,  three  made  thirteen,  three  eleven,  and  two  ten  attendances, 
Nearly  the  whole  twenty-two  members  who  run  into  double  figures  live 
near  London,  or  within  thirty  miles  ;  but  some  have  repeatedly  come 
long  distances,  at  considerable  expense,  to  make  good  attendance. 
The  highest  attendance  (thirty-three)  was  on  May  19tb,  at  the 
Temple  Show  ;  the  next  best  being  at  the  recent  meeting  on  Dec.  16tb, 
when  twenty-seven  members  were  present.  This  I  regard  as  the  last 
meeting  of  the  year,  and  the  twenty  recorded  suffice  for  all  purposes,  but 
I  have  not  overlooked  the  fact  that  the  next  meeting  in  January  is 
really  the  last  of  the  present  Committee’s  year  of  office.  I  observed 
that  in  relation  to  the  customary  votes  of  thanks  the  Floral  Committee 
was  a  little  premature.  1  should  have  added  earlier  that  the  lowest 
♦  A  badly  assorted  name— German,  of  course — for  a  substance  to  be  had 
in  2b.  6d.  bottles  (sufficient  for  an  acre)  for'  applying  to  laud  for  enabling 
leguminous  plants  to  use  free  nitrogen,  as  it  is  likely  to  lead  to  confusion 
with  nitrogen. 
