August  9,  1900.^ 
JOURNAL  OF  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER,. 
123 
Fertility  of  tlie  Garden. 
T  HK  term  fertility,  as  applied  to  the  soil  of  the  garden,  expresses 
the  amount  of  available  plant  food  therein  contained,  and  this  is 
measured  by  the  quantity  of  produce  obtained  year  by  year.  The 
fertility,  or  richness,  of  a  soil  as  regards  plant  food,  may  be  either 
natural  or  acquired,  according  to  the  source  from  which  it  was  derived. 
Thus  a  gardener  may  change  a  barren  soil  into  one  of  exceptional 
profiuctiveness  by  the  application  of  the  proper  elements  of  plant 
food,  combined  with  materials  for  its  amelioration  and  physical 
constitution. 
On  the  other  hand,  common  experience  teaches  us  that  if  crops  are 
taken  off  the  garden  year  after  year  without  anything  being  returned 
to  it,  the  yields  obtained  will  gradually  decrease  until  the  soil  can  no 
longer  be  cultivated  with  profit.  The  decrease  in  the  yield  of  crons 
will  be  more  or  less  rapid  according  to  the  character  of  the  sod  and 
of  the  crops  grown;  some  soils  are  naturally  rich,  and  their  fertility  is 
but  slowly  decreased  ;  others  have 
only  a  small  store  of  fertility  and 
are  soon  exhausted — in  the  same 
way  some  plants  make  greater 
•demands  upon  the  resources  of 
the  soil  than  others.  Thus  the 
•question  of  manuring  in  its  various 
aspects  is  a  very  essential  one  to 
the  gardener,  and  one  which  teems 
at  the  foundation  of  successful 
horticulture,  in  whatever  branch  it 
may  be  studied. 
Natural  fertility  is  the  most 
important  factor  of  a  garden  soil, 
as  being  the  contribution  of  Nature 
to  its  annual  yield.  It  consists,  in 
addition  of  from  5  to  10  lbs.  of 
ammonia  per  acre  derived  from  the 
atmosphere  in  rain,  snow,  and  dew, 
also  of  unaided  natural  resources  of 
the  soil  which  have  accumulated  by 
the  growth  of  previous  generations 
of  plants  and  animals  living  and 
dying  on  the  land,  and  from  the 
disintegration  or  breaking  up  of 
the  mineral  ingredients  which  enter 
into  the  composition  of  plants,  and 
by  chemical  changes  becoming 
gradually  available  as  food  of 
crops. 
When  the  natural  fertility  is 
in  great  abundance  the  soil  may, 
through  the  application  of  skill,  be 
alwa\  s  expected  to  respond  with 
certainty  to  the  efforts  of  the 
gardener,  while  a  poor  and  sterile 
soil  can  be  kept  productive  only  by 
a  constant  expenditure  in  manure. 
Acquired  fertility  is  the  ex¬ 
pression  which  covers  the  amount 
of  plant  food  left  over  from  preced¬ 
ing  years.  When  a  dressing  of 
stable  manure  is  applied  to  a  garden 
soil,  all  the  plant  food  ingredients 
contained  in  it  are  not  removed  by  the  immediately  succeeding  crops : 
a  portion  rem  uns  in  the  soil  and  becomes  very  slowly  available  to 
growing  plants.  Hence  under  a  judicious  system  of  gardening 
there  is  a  constant  tendency  towards  improvement  in  soil  fertility. 
Acquired  fertility  may  also  well  include  the  effects  of  tillage  and 
cultivation,  for  by  pulverising  and  mixing  the  soil  we  hasten  the 
chemical  changes  of  the  organic  matter  through  the  agency  of  air, 
frost,  and  sunshine,  and  thus  secure  a  greater  amount  of  the  natural 
fertility,  which  by  these  means  becomes  available  for  the  building  up 
of  cell  structure  of  the  plants  grown. 
Different  crops  take  away  from  the  soil  different  quantities  of  plant 
food,  and  in  different  proportions  ;  according  to  the  amount  of  ferti¬ 
lising  elements  carried  off  the  crop  is  said  to  be  more  or  less 
exhausting  to  the  soil.  Some  plants  are  especially  rich  in  nitrogen, 
others  in  nitrogen  anl  phosphoric  acid,  while  others  again  are  rich  in 
potash  or  lime,  and  the  system  of  manuring  to  be  adopted  must  be 
governed  by  this  fact  as  well  as  by  the  character  of  the  soil  and  its 
condition  of  fertility. 
This  is  one  of  the  main  reasons  why  the  adoption  of  a  proper 
system  of  rotation  of  crops  even  in  the  garden  is  advantageous ;  the 
jsame  crop  (say  Potatoes,  Cabbage,  or  Strawberries)  grown  for  a  number  | 
of  years  on  a  piece  of  land  will  take  away  the  same  fertilising  elements 
every  year,  thus  easily  reducing  the  contents  of  these  in  the  soil  to 
below  a  limit  where  profitable  crops  can  be  grown.  Rotation  of  crops 
is  also  made  important,  and  even  essential,  for  other  reasons,  as  the 
difference  in  the  root  system,  time  of  active  development  and  maturing 
of  different  crops,  effect  on  the  physical  condition  of  the  land,  the 
case  of  keeping  the  land  in  good  tilth  and  free  from  weeds, — 
J.  J.  Willis,  Ilarpenden, 
— - - - 
The  Vagaries  of  Seasons  and  Tomatoes. 
Tomatoes,  like  Grapes,  are  now  so  universally  grown,  and  are  so 
greatly  affected  by  the  vagaries  of  each  season,  that  an  observant 
cultivator  is  continually  noting  new  and  interesting  points  bearing  on 
their  culture.  As  a  rule  one  may  invariably  depend  upon  Tomatoes  to 
give  a  good  crop  if  a  sound  system 
is  followed  ;  but  there  are  exceptions, 
and  the  most  experienced  grower — 
who  by  years  of  close  study  and 
practice  has  evolved  a  system  which 
seems  to  have  become  an  exact 
science — will  occasionally  find  some 
knotty  problems  to  solve. 
As  far  as  I  have  been  able  to 
gather  from  visits  made  to  many 
establishments  where  the  Love 
Apple  is  extensively  grown,  as 
well  as  from  my  own  experience, 
the  crop  is  not  this  year  quite  so 
satisfactory  as  last.  During  the 
early  part  of  the  season  the  very 
unfavourable  weather  prevented 
the  plants  from  making  their  usual 
rapid  progress.  In  some  cases  they 
became  stunted,  and  the  shoots 
somewhat  thin  at  the  points ;  in 
others  the  whole  plant  lacked  the 
usual  vigour.  Where  the  system 
of  planting  out  in  the  natural  soil 
forming  the  borders  is  practised, 
after  a  few  years  this  decrease  in 
the  vigour  of  the  plants  is  not  a 
matter  for  great  surprise,  as,  unless 
the  crop  is  changed,  the  soil 
becomes  “  Tomato  sick.”  I  have, 
however,  noticed  the  same  tendency 
this  year  in  plants  growing  in  soil 
which  is  renewed  each  year;  the 
conclusion  is  therefore  forced  upon 
me  that  the  climatic  conditions  of 
each  season  affect  growth  in  a 
marked  degree.  This  early  stunt¬ 
ing  of  the  growth  has  also  another 
marked  effect  which  helps  to  check 
the  plants  still  more — viz.,  it  is 
often  conducive  to  a  heavy  set 
at  the  base  of  the  plants;  and 
when  the  fruits  are  swelling  the 
strain  is  so  great  that  growth  is 
almost  suspended  till  some  of  the  fruits  are  cut,  then  more  rapid 
progress  is  at  once  made.  From  whatever  cause  a  check  in 
growth  may  arise,  the  best  means  I  have  found  of  combating  it 
is  to  feed  the  plants  liberally.  For  this  purpose  some  of  the 
specially  prepared  Tomato  manures  are  excellent.  A  mixture  of 
two  parts  superphosphate  and  one  of  nitrate  of  soda,  applied  at 
the  rate  of  3  ozs.  per  square  yard,  answers  splendidly  in  some 
soils,  in  others  I  find  the  best  results  are  obtained  by  using  the 
nitrate  alone ;  soot  water  and  liquid  manure  are  at  all  times 
valuable  stimulants  to  apply  with  the  object  of  forcing  growth,  or 
assisting  the  plants  when  they  are  carrying  heavy  crops. 
Plants  growing  in  narrow  borders,  boxes,  or  pots  also  require  widely 
different  treatment  in  the  matter  of  watering  from  those  planted 
out.  In  the  former  case,  if  the  soil  is  allowed  to  get  overdry  the 
flowers  quickly  droop  and  the  plants  are  weakened  ;  during  bright, 
hot  weather  immense  quantities  of  water  are  needed,  and  cultivators 
whose  experience  has  been  gained  principally  with  Tomatoes  planted 
out  often  err  on  the  side  of  giving  too  little  water  to  plants  whose  roots 
are  confined  to  a  small  space.  The  management  of  the  atmospheric 
conditions  of  Tomato  houses  is  a  matter  which  under  some  circum¬ 
stances,  needs  more  attention  than  it  often  receives.  Where  several 
Fig.  .34. — Odontoglossum  bamosissimdm. 
