JOURNAL  OF  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER.  August  2C,  1897. 
186 
One  notable  instance  apropos  of  the  above  may  serve  to  illustrate 
the  case.  In  a  garden  of  moderate  dimensions,  where  all  things  were 
well  under  control,  Avere  grown  year  after  year,  ]')robably  are  still, 
some  of  the  finest  Peaches  it  is  possible  to  see.  The  first  time  the 
trees  came  under  notice  the  care  and  skilful  treatment  bestowed  upon 
them  was  very  evident.  This  Avas  at  that  critical  season,  early  spring, 
when  the  trees  would  have  been  tem])ted  in  blooming  had  not 
measures  been  taken  to  retard  them  as  long  as  possible,  to  effect  winch 
they  had  been  disengaged  from  the  Avail  (a  good  red  brick  Avail  Avith  a 
S.W.  aspect),  and  the  strong  broAvn  wood  bristling  Avith  latent  buds 
was  secured  in  loose  bundles  to  stakes  firmly  fixed  as  far  from  the 
Avail,  and  consequent  excitement,  as'  jrossible.  A  little  questioning 
uiAon  the  matter  showed  that  the  zealous  gardener  Avas  an  enthusiast 
in  this  phase  of  cidture,  and  elicited  the  Avhole  routine  of  operations. 
This  amounted  to  no  more  than  high-class  treatment  of  trees  as  generally 
displayed  and  ungrudgingly  given  umier  glass,  but  no  less,  be  it  under¬ 
stood,  conqirising  ^reriodical  lifting,  strict  attention  to  the  border, 
which  AAras  Avhollj’  devoted  to  them,  the  same  care  Avith  Avatering,  all 
details  ]Aertainiug  to  cleanliness,  thinly  disposed  wood,  and  a  vigoifius 
thinning  of  the  fruit.  Under  these  conditions  history,  as  fur  as 
successful  outdoor  Peach  production  is  concerned,  is  Avell  able  to  repeat 
itself. 
With  the  employment  of  our  Avails  for  fruit  culture  generally, 
apart  from  the  benefits  dei'ived  from  glass  protection  iJi  Avhatevcr 
shape  or  foim,  the  subject  is  of  sufficient  importance  to  claim  more 
attention  than  often  obtains  and  Avhich  is  evidenced  by  the  desultory, 
half-hearted  Avay  in  Avhich  many  of  the  trees  are  cared  (?)  for.  It 
would,  ]Aej‘haps,  be  a  bold  thing  to  say  that  gardeners  of  to-day  are 
warped  to  their  ghas.s  houses,  although,  here  an<l  there,  instances  may 
be  noted  which  tend  to  that  conchision.  IIoAvever  that  may  be, 
the  bedding  craze  Avhich  has  had  so  many  sins  of'  omission  to  ansAvor 
for  generally,  may  beai’  much  of  th  ■  burdcui  of  this  sl.ortcoming 
in  particular.  Ila]v  i!y  the  extrenn*  has  long  since  b'.’en  touclu'd,  and 
a  healthv  reaction  h.as  set  in,  to  the  end,  lU'obably,  that  our  srarden 
walls  Avill  no  longer  bear  the  evidence  of  neghrct  as  seen  in  starved 
trees  carrying  their  breastAvood  too  late  in  the  autumn,  and  receiving 
but  little  more  attention  than  one  gives  to  a  heilge  with  tlie  olAjcct  of 
having  it  tidy,  and  that  deferred  to  include  nil  in  the  one,  opera¬ 
tion.  It  is  reasonable  to  Suppose  that  aa'C  shall  ncArar  return  to 
those  hard  and  fast  lines  as  jrracti.sed  by  oui'  ancestors,  of  AAdiich  the 
decaying  monuments  still  bear  Avitness  of  an  untiidiig  patience  to 
attain  the  perfection  of  geometrical  training;  but  ratioi'al  freedom, 
not  unbounded  license,  niav  give  us  lines  of  beauty  miAre  in  harmouA' 
Avith  the  practical  spirit  of  the  age. 
One  Avould  like  to  see  the  hands  of  our  young  gardeners  afforded 
a  little  recreative  play  in  this  direction,  forallhaAU!  not  in  the  ordinai\y 
routine  of  their  Avork  ojapoitunities  for  it.  As  a  suggestion  to  those 
whose  crippled  resources  in  coping  Avith  a  season’s  Avork  leave  an 
opening  for  improving  this  phase  of  fruit  culture,  all-round  good 
might  result  if  each  lad  in  the  bothy  was  giAmn  the  car'e  of  one 
or  two  trees.  Peaches,  Aindcots,  Plums,  or  Pears,  in  his  leisure  — 
after  the  orthodox  working  hours.  This  opinion  and  theirs  are, 
doubtless,  Avidely  divergent  now  upon  such  matters,  but  later  in  life 
they  will  meet  on  common  ground,  and  that  is  sufficient.  As  a  young 
man  nothing  afforded  me  greater  pleasure  than  the  taking  in  hand  of 
some  neglected  Plum  trees  on  a  AA^all,  and  the  pinching,  ] 'riming,  nail- 
ing,  Avatering,  Avashing  and  thinning  gave  such  marvellous  results  in 
two  short  seasons  that  a  lifetime  will  never  obliterate  the  satisfaction 
derived  froln  it. 
There*are  essentially  a  feAV  characteristic  features  prominent  in  the 
ordering  of  a  well-kept  garden,  and  these  will  strike  the  eye  of  an 
interested  observer.  They  are,  in  fact,  the  keynote  to  a  harmony  of 
which  all  other  cultural  details  are,  without  disparaging  their 
importance,  but  minor  notes.  We  enter  some  fine  old  garden, 
historical  mayhap  so  far  as  gardening  is  concerned,  and  from  the 
walks,  which  do  so  much  to  make  or  mar  an  agreeable  impression,  a 
searchlight  of  criticism  SAveeps  the  garden  Avails.  Sentiment  in  a 
measure  guides  us  to  the  surface  of  things,  but  all  the  profit  and 
pleasure  derived  from  sound  gardening  is-  speedily  analysed  and 
assimilated  in  one  critical  glance. 
There  is  no  square  foot  of  a  garden  wall  but  what  should  contribute 
that  quota  to  the  credit  side  an  intelligent  Avorkman  is  able  to  extract 
from  it,  and  to  me  a  good  garden  surrounded  by  a  neglected  wall  is 
like  a  fine  picture  in  a  shabby  frame. — Invicta. 
OHEMISTJty  IN  THE  GARDEN. 
{Continued  from  page  416,  last  volume^ 
llelation  of  Soil  to  Water. — One  of  the  inost  important  physical 
jiroperties  of  soils  is  their  poAver  of  absorbing  and  retaining  moisture. 
Gardeners  Avho  have  been  engaged  in  different  part  of  the  country 
knoAV  only  too  Avell  hoAv  ].ilants  groAving  on  some  soils  become  Avilted, 
stunted  in  groAvth,  and  assume  a  sickly  yelloAv  colour  duiing  a 
drought :  Avhile  under  the  same  conditions  on  other  soils  they  appear 
quite  fresh  and  green.  The  soils  first  referred  to  have  not  the  power 
to  absorb  and  retain  moisture  for  any  length  of  time,  Avhile  the  latter 
can,  and  are  therefore  able  to  supjily  crops  Avith  Avater  for  a  longer  or 
shorter  period,  Avhich  Avill  naturally  vary  according  to  the  nature  of 
the  soil.  The  absorption  and  retention  of  water  by  soils  is  greatly 
influenced  by  several  important  circumstances,  the  following  being 
those  of  most  importance,  and  consequent!}'-  the  only  ones  we  need 
consider : — (1)  'I'he  amount  of  clay,  sand,  carbonate  of  lime,  and 
humus  a  soil  contains;  (2)  the  degree  of  fineness  of  tlie  soil  particles  ; 
and  (8)  the  deirth  of  the  soil  and  nature  of  the  subsoil. 
In  considering  the  influence  Avhich  sand,  clay,  and  humus  exert 
U]ion  the  absorptive  and  retentive  poAver  of  soils  for  water,  we  shall  do 
Avell  to  make  use  of  a  finv  extracts  from  a  table  of  experiments  carried 
out  by  Schubler.  He  first  of  all  obtained  samples  of  different  kinds  of 
soil,  and  after  drying  them,  saturated  equal  weights  of  each  with 
Avater.  fl’he  samples  Avere  then  alloAved  to  drain  until  all  the  super¬ 
fluous  Avater  had  ]>assed  away,  Avhen  each  lot  ot  soil  was  again  AA'eighed, 
the  difference  in  Aveight  betAveen  the  dried  and  Avet  soil  being  the 
amount  of  Avater  each  lot  Avas  cajiable  of  absorbing.  BeloAv  are  a  feAV 
of  tho  results  thus  obtained  ; 
JOO  lbs. 
0 
f  S'lnd 
. .  ab'Orbed  25 
lbs. 
of  Avater 
100 
1 1 
Siuidv  clay 
•  • 
40 
33 
)) 
li'O 
13 
strong 
clay 
*  •  V 
50 
33 
33 
100 
33 
garden 
soil 
•  • 
89 
33 
33 
100 
3i 
humus 
• 
•  • 
190 
33 
33 
The  aboA'c  table  shoAvs  us  that  sand  is  not  able  to  absorb  much 
AAUiter,  but  by  the  addition  of  a  certain  amount  of  clay  greater  absorji- 
live  poAver  is  given  to  a  sandy  soil.  Humus,  or  decaying  vegetable 
matter,  is  capable  of  absorbing  a  large  amount  of  moisture,  and  it  is 
OAving  to  the  presence  of  this  substance  in  the  garden  soil  that  makes 
the  latter  able  to  absorb  and  retain  so  much  moisture. 
A  good  illiistration  of  this  is  shoAvn  liy  some  of  the  Ilothamstcad 
experiments.  A  sample  of  soil  Avas  taken  Irom  an  unmanured  plot, 
and  on  being  saturatCii  with  Avater  Avas  found  to  be  cajiable  of 
absAorbing  32 '4  of  AAuiter  ]ier  100  of  dry  soil.  The  same  amount  of  a 
similar  soil,  Avhich  had  received  a  di'essiug  of  14  tons  of  farmyard  per 
acre  per  annum  for  tAventy-six  years,  was  able  to  absorb  6o‘8  of 
Avater  per  100  of  soil.  Stiff  clays,  although  capable  of  absorbing  a 
large  amount  of  Avater  Avhen  it  is,  poured  upon  them,  are  not  the  soils 
Avh-ich  absorb  the  most  moisture  from  the  atmosphere,  consequently  in 
Avet  weather  clays  are  very  Avet,  but  during  a  drought  the  surface 
dries  quickly  and  becomes  very  hard,  and  large  deep  cracks  radiate  in 
all  directions.  Humus  will  improve  the  condition  of  such  soils, 
making  them  melloAv  and  easier  to  AA'ork.  Carbonate  of  lime,  if 
applied  in  a  fine  condition,  Avill  also  improve  the  retentive  power 
of  soil,  especially  those  of  a  sandy  nature. 
The  degree  of  fineness  of  the  soil  particles  has  considerable  influence 
on  the  retention  ot  the  soil  Avater,  for  up  to  a  certain  point  the  finer  the 
particles  the  more  Avater  Avill  be  absorbed.  When  the  soil  is  saturated 
after  heavy  rains  all  the  interstices  will  be  filled  with  Avater,  but  if 
the  soil  be  Avell  drained  all  the  Avater  betAveen  the  particles  Avill  drain 
aAvay.  If  Ave  pick  up  a  stone  AAdrich  is  lying  on  moist  ground  Ave  find 
the  under  surface  covered  Avith  a  film  of  moisture.  Every  particle  of 
soil  is  surrounded  by  a  film  of  Avater  which  adheres  to  its  outer 
surface,  so  it  must  naturally  folloAv  that  the  more  particles  of  soil  there 
are  the  more  Avater  Avill  the  soil  retain. 
One  hundred  pounds  of  a  rather  coarse  chalky  soil,  Avhen  saturated, 
AViis  found  to  be  able  to  retain  29  lbs.  of  water,  but  AAdien  the  same 
AA'eight  of  soil  was  pulverised  its  retentive  jioAver  was  increased  so 
much  that  it  was  found  capable  of  holding  85  lbs.  of  water.  Professor 
Wrightson  has  shoAvn  that  while  100  lbs.  of  a  very  coarse  sand  could 
only  retain  7'0  lbs.  of  watei-,  the  same  Aveight  of  very  fine  sand  Avould 
hold  44’6  lbs.  We  must  also  remember  that  chalk  and  humus  are 
porous  substances,  therefore  they  can  retain  water  in  the  same  way  as 
it  is  taken  up  and  held  by  a  sponge. 
The  depth  of  the  soil  and  the  nature  of  the  subsoil  are  the  next 
