14 
JOURNAL  OF  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER. 
January  3,  1901. 
Destroying  Weeds  and  Insects  in  Soil. — The  baking  or 
steaming  of  potting  soil  prior  to  its  use,  for  the  purpose  of  destroying 
the  seeds  of  weeds  and  to  kill  the  insects  and  eggs  of  insects  that  may 
be  contained  therein,  has  been  practised  to  some  extent  of  late  years, 
and  with  a  considerable  degree  of  success.  A  well-known  and  successful 
Philadelphia  plantsman  has,  says  an  American  journal,  contrived  a  box 
for  this  purpose,  the  bottom  of  which  is  fitted  with  steam  pipes.  Such 
an  apparatus  is  a  great  convenience,  though  not  a  necessity,  and  should 
be  used  with  judgment,  for,  in  the  opinion  of  some  growers,  good  soil, 
if  cooked,  should  preferably  be  a  trifle  “  raw  ”  rather  than  overdone. 
Expansion  of  Trees. — 'Much  error  is  diffused  by  the  use  of 
improper  terms.  An  American  work  on  forestry,  referring  to  attach¬ 
ment  of  labels  or  guards  to  trees,  remarks  that  “  it  should  be  by  copper 
wire,  which  stretches  as  the  tree  expands.”  But,  says  Mr.  Meehan, 
there  is  no  expansion  of  a  tree  in  a  physical  sense.  A  wave  flows  over 
the  sand  by  the  seashore,  but  not  by  expansion  of  the  waters.  In  like 
manner  the  new  wood  of  trees  flows  over  the  older  wood,  but  this  is  not 
expansion.  If  the  wire  attachment  to  a  label  be  loosely  over  a 
horizontal  branch,  and  yet  so  firmly  that  it  will  not  be  disturbed  by  the 
wind,  the  wire  will  be  covered  by  the  new  growth,  though  there  be 
plenty  of  room  in  the  wire  loop  for  expansion. 
Tlie  Hygiene  of  Crapes. — Recent  testimony  as  to  the  hygiene  of 
fruit  places  Grapes  high  up  in  the  list.  For  certain  diseases,  says  a 
contemporary,  they  are  specific,  and  the  “  Grape  cures”  of  France  and 
other  countries  have  a  deservedly  high  reputation.  Grape  sugar  is 
more  easily  digestible  than  cane  sugar.  The  fruit  acids  are  beneficial 
jn  rheumatism,  and  as  a  preventive  of  certain  injurious  deposits  in 
the  system,  especially  of  old  people.  The  Americans,  the  largest 
consumers  in  the  world  per  capita  of  sugar,  ought  naturally  to  be  large 
consumers  of  fruit.  Ripe,  fresh  fruit,  or  some  form  of  cured,  canned, 
or  preserved  fruit,  should,  both  by  the  logic  of  economy  and  health,  form 
a  regular  portion  of  every  meal  of  every  family. 
A  Rival  of  the  Potato. — A  successor  to  the  Potato  !  so  writes 
Mons.  P.  Hariot  in  our  Parisian  contemporary  “  Le  Jardin,”  referring 
to  a  plant  belonging  to  the  same  order  as  the  precious  tuber.  The 
Solanum  Commersoni,  says  M.  Hariot,  has  been  cried  up  as  destined  to 
replace  the  Potato  in  a  time  more  or  less  distant.  Introduced  into 
Uruguay  a  few  years  back  by  the  Consul  of  the  South  American 
Republic  at  Marseilles,  the  Solanum  flourishes  on  the  banks  of  rivers; 
it  is  then  semi-aquatic,  and  can  maintain  itself  well  in  humid  and  well 
irrigated  places.  It  is  this  which  renders  its  cultivation  particularly 
interesting.  In  its  general  characteiistics  it  resembles  the  common 
Potato.  Its  tubers  average  about  2^  ozs.  in  weight.  The  form  of  these 
latter  is  elongated  ;  their  surface  wrinkled.  The  taste  is  first  bitter 
and  afterwards  sweet.  It  is  probable  that  cultivation  will  improve  its 
qualities  greatly,  and  that  with  this  plant  will  happen  what  took  place 
in  the  case  of  the  Potato.  Its  propagation  is  effected  by  stolons. 
Rotes  on  Pines. — There  is  no  Pine  Apple  so  fresh  and  pleasing 
in  appearance  as  British  grown.  The  fruit,  however,  does  not  always 
come  at  the  desired  time,  hence  it  is  sometimes  necessary  to  bring 
together  any  plants  for  the  purpose  of  inducing  them  to  come  into 
fruit  sooner  than  they  otherwise  would,  providing  a  light  house  or  pit 
where  they  can  have  the  benefit  of  more  heat.  This  being  done,  and 
the  heat  up  in  the  beds,  some  of  the  most  promising  must  be  selected 
from  the  successional  plants,  choosing  those  having  high  centres  and 
are  quite  stout  at  the  upper  part  of  the  plant  stem.  Let  these  be 
plunged  in  a  bed,  which  should  stand  constantly  at  a  temperature  of  90° 
to  95°  at  the  base  of  the  pots.  If  the  plants  are  in  the  least  dry  water 
them  copiously  with  weak  liquid  manure  at  the  same  temperature  as 
the  bed.  Maintain  the  top  heat  at  65°  to  70°  at  night,  with  5°  more 
from  fire  heat  by  day,  and  85°  to  90°  from  sun  heat.  Keep  the 
atmosphere  about  the  plants  in  a  genial  and  invigorating  condition  by 
damping  the  paths  and  walks  as  they  become  dry,  syringing  as  may  be 
necessary.  Neither  the  damping  down  nor  the  watering  should  be 
overdone,  as  too  much  air  moisture  induces  a  plethora  of  leaves  and  a 
sodden  soil  destroys  the  roots. — Practice. 
A  Plea  for  the  Beech. — No  true  knowledge  of  the  beauty  and 
magnitude  of  the  Beech  can  be  possessed  by  anyone  until  he  has  seen 
some  of  the  pure  woods  in  the  Beech  districts.  Here  the  trees  attain 
great  girth  and  height,  and  an  effect  seldom  seen  elsewhere.  In  some 
of  these  woods  the  trees  stand  like  huge  columns — 50,  60,  and  more  feet 
in  height,  often  without  a  branch.  The  Beech  re-germinates  freely,  and 
many  of  our  most  beautiful  areas  are  of  natural  growth  ;  and  it  is  in 
these  areas  where  the  finest  timber  is  found. —  (“  Farmers’  Gazette.”) 
A  Variegated  Palm, — Variegation  is,  says  “Indian  Gardening,” 
a  very  rare  quality  among  Palms,  and  it  is  this  quality  that  makes  a 
variegated  “  sport  ”  of  Livistona  rotundifolia,  raised  from  seed  in  the 
gardens  of  the  Agri-Horticultural  Society  of  India,  worthy  of  note. 
The  two  first  leaves  are  striped  green  and  creamy  white  longitudinally 
but  it  remains  to  be  seen  whether  the  later  leaves  will  develop  this 
variegation.  If  they  do,  then  we  have  a  very  rare  plant  indeed  in  this 
Palm  seedling.  We  shall  watch  its  progress  with  interest. 
Artificial  Bight  In  Forcing  Vegetables. — The  importance  of 
artificial  light  in  forcing  practice  has  been  established  for  some  time, 
and  within  the  last  few  years  the  economic  side  has  received  much 
attention.  The  appearance  of  calcium  carbide  as  a  commercial 
commodity  has,  says  a  writer  in  a  trans-atlantic  journal,  given  a  new 
and  comparatively  cheap  source  of  light.  The  chemical  and  physical 
properties  of  the  acetylene  gas  resulting  from  the  calcium  carbide, 
differing  much  from  those  of  the  other  lights  in  use  thus  far,  has  led  to 
the  investigation  of  this  new  light  at  the  Cornell  Experimental  Station 
It  is  claimed  that  the  spectrum  is  the  same  as  of  the  sun. 
Basic  Slag  and  Flnger-and-Toe> — Last  year  I  had  a  number 
of  experimental  plots  in  connection  with  the  Durham  College  of  Science 
in  order  to  determine  whether  it  is  better  to  sow  manure  broadcast  on 
the  surface  or  in  the  centre  of  the  drills,  but  owing  to  90  per  cent,  of 
the  roots  going  off  by  “  finger-and-toe  ”  the  results  were  practically 
useless.  Out  of  their  failure,  however,  a  very  interesting  fact  was 
disclosed.  The  plots  occupied  about  one  acre  in  the  middle  of  a  large 
field  which  contained  soil  of  very  uniform  condition  and  all  equally 
worked.  All  the  manures  tried  consisted  of  superphosphate  and 
ammonia  along  with  farmyard  manure.  As  already  stated,  all  the 
experimental  plots  were  simply  cleaned  by  “  finger-and-toe,”  as  well  as 
the  unmanured  plots.  On  the  remainder  of  the  field  there  was  a  fair 
crop  of  roots,  with  “finger-and-toe”  possibly  to  the  extent  of  from 
5  to  10  per  cent.,  which  did  not  affect  the  crop  appreciably.  This 
phenomenon  proves,  not  that  the  experimental  plots  suffered  because 
of  something  which  had  been  applied,  although  the  dose  of  super¬ 
phosphate  might  do  some  injury,  but  because  of  something  which  was 
withheld.  The  unmanured  plot  proves  this  :  No  slag  was  used  on  the 
plots,  nor,  of  course,  on  the  unmanured  plot;  whilst  the  remainder  of 
the  field  received  3  cwt.  of  basic  slag  per  acre.  The  natural  inference 
is  that  the  basic  slag  arrested  the  “  finger-and-toe”  on  land  predisposed 
to  the  disease.  If  this  conclusion  is  not  sound,  I  am  unable  to  account 
for  the  peculiar  phenomenon. — J.  P.  Bell  (iu  “  Agricultural  Gazette.”) 
Approximate  Time  for  Certain  Varieties  of  Seed  to 
Germinate.  —  The  time  for  seeds  to  germinate  depends  entirely 
upon  the  weather  and  the  treatment  of  the  seed  bed.  We  will  try, 
though,  says  a  writer  in  the  Journal  of  the  Jamaica  Agricultural 
Society,  to  give  as  much  as  we  know  by  experience,  the  approximate 
time  for  germinating.  Artichokes  from  fourteen  to  twenty-one  days  ; 
Asparagus  from  twenty  to  thirty  days  :  Beans  from  five  to  ten  days; 
Beets  from  ten  to  twenty  days  ;  Broccoli,  Brussels  Sprouts,  Cabbage, 
and  Cauliflower  from  five  to  twelve  days  ;  Carrots  from  fourteen  to 
twenty-one  days,  and  often  longer  duiing  dry  weather  ;  Celery  from 
fourteen  to  twenty  days  ;  Corn  from  eight  to  fourteen  days;  Cress, 
curled,  from  three  to  five  days;  Cress,  broad-leaved,  fr<  m  five  to 
thirteen  days  ;  Cress,  Water,  from  twelve  to  fourteen  days  ;  Cucumbers 
from  five  to  ten  days  ;  Egg  Plants  from  eight  to  twenty  days;  Endive 
from  three  to  seven  days  ;  Kohl  Rabi  from  five  to  twelve  days  ;  Lettuce 
from  three  to  five  days  ;  Melons  from  five  to  ten  days;  Mustard  from 
three  to  seven  days  ;  Onions  from  seven  to  fourteen  days  ;  Parsley 
from  twenty  to  thirty  days;  Parsnip  from  eight  to  fouiteen  days; 
PeaB  from  five  to  ten  days  ;  Pepper  from  eight  to  twenty  days ; 
Pumpkin  from  five  to  ten  days  ;  Radish  from  three  to  five  days  ; 
Salsafy  from  eight  to  fourteen  days ;  Sorrel  from  eight  to  fourteen 
days;  Spinach  from  eight  to  fourteen  days;  Squash  from  five  to 
ten  days;  Tomatoes  from  five  to  fifteen  days  ;  Turnips  from  three 
to  five  days. 
