April  4,  1901. 
JOURNAL  OF  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER. 
287 
every  year  14  tons  of  farmyard  manure,  average  yield  for  21  years 
48  bushels ;  plot  5  every  year  receives  275  lbs.  of  nitrate  of  soda,  400  lbs. 
silicate  of  soda,  200  lbs.  sulphate  of  potash,  100  lbs.  sulphate  of  soda, 
100  lbs.  sulphate  of  magnesia,  and  cwts.  of  superphosphate,  and 
Narcissus  cyclamineus. 
yields  48£  bushels.  There  are  others  quite  as  interesting,  but  I  think 
thiB  will  suffice. 
So  much  for  theory ;  now  for  a  more  practical  view.  Everybody 
who  grows  crops  knows  that  they  cannot  be  grown  successfully  unless 
they  manure  the  land  with  good  farmyard  dung.  Now  in  practice  the 
dung  has  proved  itself  to  be  the  best  fertiliser  we  have,  but  Mr.  Willis 
says  artificial  fertilisers  are  more  readily  available  for  plant  growth  than 
the  best  dung.  What  does  he  mean  by  artificial  fertilisers  ?  Basic  slag 
is  a  very  slow  acting  artificial,  and  there  are  plenty  quite  as  slow,  and 
even  if  we  go  to  artificials  containing  nitrogen,  like  dried  blood  and  fish 
meal,  your  correspondent  knows  that  these  are  slower  than  farmyard 
dung.  The  artificial  manures,  which  act  most  quickly  on  plant  life, 
are  nitrate  of  soda  and  sulphate  of  ammonia.  In  actual  practice 
we  find  very  little  difference  in  their  action  on  our  crops,  so  now 
for  a  little  experiment.  Mix  a  small  quantity  of  quicklime  with 
a  little  sulphate  of  ammonia,  and  the  result  is  a  strong  smell 
of  ammonia.  Mix  a  small  quantity  of  quicklime  with  some  good 
farmyard  dung,  and  the  result  is  a  strong  smell  of  ammonia.  This, 
then,  is  what  our  experiment  teaches.  That  sulphate  of  ammonia  and 
farmyard  dung  yield  ammonia  when  mixed  with  quicklime,  and  as  there 
is  scarcely  any  difference  in  practice  between  the  action  of  nitrate  of 
soda  and  sulphate  of  ammonia,  we  can  say  that  dung  is  as  readily 
available  to  plant  life  as  artificial  fertilisers ;  and,  what  is  more,  while 
artificials  stimulate  a  plant  into  vigorous  growth,  and  then  leave  it  to 
starve  unless  the  dose  be  repeated,  farmyard  dung  supplies  food  to  the 
plant  as  required,  besides  forming  one  of  the  best  rooting  mediums  in 
nature.  Nothing  that  man  can  invent  will  ever  take  the  place  of  good 
dung.  Artificial  fertilisers  are  all  very  well  in  their  place,  but  where 
is  their  place  ?  They  are  supplementary  manures,  and  oan  be  nothing 
more.  They  are  useful  for  feeding  plants  when  it  is  impossible  to 
apply  farmyard  manure,  as  in  pot  or  border  culture  or  on  crops  when 
they  are  growing,  but  that  is  all. — W.  D.,  Herts. 
- - 1 - a - 
Daffodils  for  tl\e  Rockery. 
prominent  position,  and  should  be  extensively  planted.  N.  minimus, 
the  most  diminutive  Daffodil  in  cultivation,  is  of  peculiarly  interesting 
beauty,  on  account  of  its  various  forms  and  its  flowers  of  a  rich  deep 
yellow.  For  the  more  sheltered  positions  one  might  include  Narcissus 
triandrus  albus  (Angel’s  Tears),  with  its  prettily  shaped,  cylindrical 
funnel,  and  pendant  pure  white  flowers ;  added  to  which  are  the 
reflexed  perianth  segments,  which  make  the  flower  so  beautiful.  It 
often  bears  from  two  to  four  flowers  on  a  stem,  and  seems  to  prefer  a 
gritty  soil  and  good  drainage. 
The  Hoop  Petticoat  Narcissi  (N.  Corbularia)  are  moisture-loving 
with  the  exception  of  N.  Corbularia  Clusi  or  monophylla,  which  requires 
a  warm  sunny  position,  and  ought  also  to  be  planted  in  almost  pure 
sand.  A  moderate  supply  of  water  may  be  given  when  the  flower 
scapes  appear.  The  flowers  are  snowy  white  and  extremely  handsome. 
N.  Corbularia  citrina,  or  sulphur  Hoop  Petticoat,  and  N.  C.  conspioua, 
the  yellow  one,  having  golden  yellow  flowers,  both  delight  at  the  base 
of  the  rockery,  where  the  moisture  is  more  prevalent,  especially  during 
the  growing  season.  Narcissus  pallidus  prseoox  flowers  very  early, 
but  is  very  variable  in  size  and  form,  and  is,  moreover,  one  of  the 
Ajax  or  trumpet  section,  with  sulphury  white  to  pale  straw-coloured 
flowers.  The  common  Jonquil,  with  its  delicately  scented  golden 
yellow  flowers,  is  extremely  showy  when  planted  in  large  clumps  of 
Narcissus  Corbularia  var.  monophylla. 
It  is  a  matter  for  surprise  that  the  dwarfer  Narcissi  are  not  more 
often  met  with  in  the  pockets  and  niohes  of  the  select  rookery  than 
they  are.  During  the  spring,  when  rock-flowering  plants  are 
conspicuous  by  their  absence,  the  little  Narcissi  nod  and  dance  in  the 
breeze,  and  tend  to  lighten  up  their  surroundings  with  a  golden  sheen 
of  wonderful  beauty.  The  delightful  golden  yellow  flowers  of  Narcissus 
minor,  N.  nanus,  and  N.  lobularis,  as  also  the  beautiful  Cyclamen- 
flowered  Daffodil  (N.  cyolamineuB),  are  each  deserving  of  the  most 
twelve  or  more,  and  is  very  free  flowering.  The  same  may  be  said  of 
Narcissus  juncifolius,  a  beautiful  Rush-leaved  species  from  the  Pyrenees. 
It  has  rich  yellow  flowers. 
These  charming  Narcissi  may  be  naturalised  in  the  rookeries  with 
advantage  with  suoh  alpine  plants  as  Herniaria  glabra,  various  Mossy 
Saxifragas,  Thymes,  and  Spergnlas.  These  form  a  sort  of  protection 
to  the  bulbs,  and  furnish  a  foil  to  throw  up  the  full  beauty  of  the 
dainty  Narcissi  flowers,  upon  which  too  muoh  praise  can  hardly  be 
elaborated. — W.  L. 
