May  9,  1901. 
JOURNAL  OF  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER . 
389 
applied  alternate  years,  the  trees  will  probably  get  a  sufficiency  of 
potash,  if.  on  a  soil  lacking  in  lime,  basic  slag  or  lime  is  applied  the 
intermediate  years. 
Liquid  Manuring. 
Few  realise  what  a  tree  consumes  in  maturing  a  heavy  crop. 
When  the  tree  has  blossomed,  made  its  summer  growth,  and  developed 
its  fruit  to  a  moderate  size,  the  available  plant  food  within  reach  of 
its  roots  is  generally  getting  scarce,  and  the  consequence  is  that  the 
tree  has  to  be  on  short  rations  the  rest  of  the  season,  resulting  often  in 
one  of  two  evils — stunted  fruit,  or  such  an  exhaustion  of  the  tree  that 
it  can  bear  nothing  the  following  year.  This  is  especially  the  case  if 
August  and  September  are  very  dry.  The  plant  food  in  the  surface 
soil  is  probably  too  dry  to  be  of  any  use — as  vegetation  can  only  use 
food  in  a  liquid  state — whilst  the  lower  soil,  from  which  the  tree  has 
to  get  all  its  moisture,  is  only  poorly  supplied  with  the  necessary 
plant  food.  If  it  is  a  stoDe  fruit  tree,  it  possibly  will  not  be  able  to 
accomplish  its  stoning  properly,  and  many  fruits  will  fall  off  in 
consequence.  It  is  in  such  circumstances  as  these  that  liquid  manure 
is  of  the  greatest  possible  assistance  to  a  tree.  But  though  it  is  in 
the  dry  weather  of  July,  August,  and  September  that  the  tree 
especially  needs  feeding,  liquid  manure  is  of  great  assistance  to  it  at 
all  times — when  it  is  setting  its  fruit,  when  it  is  maturing  its 
summer  growth,  when  the  fruit  is  stoning  or  “  pipping,”  when  the 
fruit  is  swelling  and  acquiring  its  flavour,  and  last,  but  not  least,  in 
the  autumn,  when  the  tree  is  forming  its  fruit  buds  for  the  following 
season,  and  storing  up  material  in  its  tissues  for  the  developing  of  the 
spring  blossom. 
.  Having  seen,  then,  the  importance  of  liquid  manuring,  let  us 
consider  the  best  material  to  use.  First,  there  are  the  various  animal 
liquid  manures — the  drainings  of  the  farmyard  or  stable,  and  the 
slops  of  all  sorts  of  the  household.  These  are,  of  course,  almost 
entirely  nitrogenous.  Very  valuable  animal  liquid  manure  can  be 
made  by  mixing  well-decayed  manure,  especially  that  of  poultry  and 
pigeons,  in  a  tub  of  water,  which  can  then  be  used  at  so  much  to  the 
pail  of  water,  according  to  the  strength  of  the  liquid,  great  care  being 
taken  not  to  make  it  too  strong.  Another  nitrogenous  liquid  manure 
can  be  made  from  nitrate  of  soda,  which  is  very  soluble.  That  from 
high-class  guanos  is  also  principally  nitrogenous,  unless  they  are 
dissolved  guanos — that  is,  guanos  in  which  the  phosphates  have  been 
made  soluble,  as  in  dissolved  bones,  by  the  action  of  sulphuric  acid. 
The  phosphates,  of  course,  in  these  guanos,  as  well  as  in  dissolved 
bones,  are  acid,  and,  like  superphosphate,  must  be  applied  in  a  weak 
solution  to  soils  where  there  is  not  a  sufficiency  of  lime.  There  is  one 
very  valuable  guano  now  on  the  market,  which  at  any  rate  for  this 
purpose  is  all  that  can  be  desired,  and  that  is  Damaraland  guano. 
Almost  the  whole  of  the  nitrogenous  elements  are  soluble  in  pure 
water,  whilst  of  the  phosphates,  which  are  often  quite  insoluble  in 
natural  guanos,  nearly  one  half  are  soluble  in  water,  and  nearly 
another  third  is  soluble  in  the  weak  acids  of  the  soil.  Moreover,  the 
phosphate,  instead  of  being  add  like  superphosphate,  or  insoluble 
like  three-lime  phosphate,  are,  in  the  form  of  phosphates  of  ammonia, 
potash,  and  soda,  which  are  very  soluble,  neutral  phosphates,  and  very 
valuable.  Here,  then,  is  a  complete  plant  food,  which,  though  dear, 
is  undoubtedly  the  best  all-round  material  for  liquid  manuring  for 
practical  purposes.  An  extremely  valuable  plant  food,  especially  for 
fruit,  is  phosphate  of  potash,  but  the  price,  £22  per  ton,  is  almost 
prohibitive  for  outdoor  use,  except  for  the  most  cherished  trees. 
A  weekly  or  fortnightly  watering  with  this,  alternately  with  nitrate 
of  soda,  is  productive  of  magnificent  results.  It  is  so  strong  that 
about  half  an  ounce  to  a  gallon  of  water  is  sufficient.  The  above 
remarks  apply  also  to  phosphate  of  ammonia. 
Besides  the  manures  above  mentioned  there  are  many  other 
proprietary  manufactured  manures,  some  of  them  very  good,  but 
most  of  them  dear.  They  are  made,  however,  in  a  soluble  form  for 
the  purpose  of  liquid  manuring,  and  undoubtedly  give  good  results, 
but  at  a  greater  cost  than  mosc  of  the  manures  above  mentioned. 
Great  judgment  and  care  is  necessary  in  the  application  of  liquid 
manures,  or  the  trees  may  be  damaged,  and  even  killed.  The  parts 
of  the  tree  that  suffer  first  are  the  fine  delicate  fibrous  roots  in  the 
surface  soil,  and  though  the  tree  may  not  show  the  damage  in  its 
leaves,  its  bearing  powers  will  be  lessened.  Special  care  is  necessary 
in  very  dry  weather,  when  it  is  prudent  to  moisten  the  earth  with 
plain  water  first,  as  the  rootlets  are  very  likely  to  suffer  damage  when 
they  are  very  dry  by  being  suddenly  brought  into  contact  with  a 
powerful  stimulant  or  a  very  rich  food. 
Soft  water  should  always  be  used  for  dissolving  manures,  if 
possible,  as  it  contains  carbonic  acid  derived  from  the  air,  which  is 
of  considerable  assistance  in  dissolving  the  manures,  especially  the 
phosphatic  elements  in  them.  In  a  system  of  liquid  manuring  it  is 
well  to  have  two  or  three  different  sorts  of  manure  in  use,  so  that 
they  can  be  varied,  thus  giving  the  trees  a  better  chance  of  getting 
all  the  elements  of  plant  food  that  they  need.  Otherwise  they  may  get 
too  much  nitrogen  and  too  little  phosphate,  or  vice  versa. — A.  Petts. 
Weather  in  London. —  Thursday,  the  2nd  of  the  month,  was 
bright  ;  Friday,  ditto ;  Saturday  was  equally  pleasant,  as  was  Sunday  ; 
but  Monday  was  dull,  and  cold  enough  to  necessitate  the  office  fire 
being  lit.  A  very  slight  shower  fell  in  the  afternoon,  and  heavy  rain 
during  the  evening.  Tuesday  was  dull  and  comparatively  oold,  while 
on  Wednesday,  besides  being  oold,  it  was  dull  and  murky. 
Weather  In  the  Worth. — There  has  been  a  continuation  of  the 
fine  weather  during  the  past  week,  with  prevailing  coldish  easterly 
winds,  especially  in  the  evening.  A  smart  thunderstorm  occurred  on 
the  afternoon  of  the  3rd  inst.,  accompanied  by  pretty  heavy  rainfall  of 
short  duration,  and  another  shower  fell  during  the  morning  of  Sunday. 
Monday,  alternately  bright  and  cloudy,  gave  promise  of  more  rain  in 
the  afternoon. — B.  D.,  8.  Perthshire. 
A.  Giant  Horse  Chestnut  Tree. — Amongst  some  giant  specimens 
of  Horse  Chestnut  trees  in  the  grounds  of  Monoreiffe  House,  Perthshire, 
is  a  patriarch,  believed  to  be  the  largest  in  Scotland,  or  possibly  in 
Britain.  At  1  foot  from  the  ground,  says  “The  Gardening  World,”  the 
circumference  of  the  bole  is  20J  feet,  and  5  feet  up  the  girth  is  19  feet. 
The  bole  is  10  feet  long,  above  whioh  it  gives  off  three  enormous  limbs, 
each  equal  to  an  ordinary  sized  tree.  One  of  the  largest  of  the  limbs > 
torn  off  by  the  memorable  hurricane,  which  blew  down  the  Tay  Bridge 
in  1879,  was  computed  to  weigh  about  2  tons. 
iln  agricultural  College  In  Edinburgh.— Efforts  are  being 
made  to  have  an  Agricultural  College  established  in  Edinburgh.  The 
scheme  that  has  been  drawn  up  by  the  very  influential  committee 
appointed  for  that  purpose  is  a  very  practical  one,  and  is  intended  to 
provide  not  only  for  the  establishment  of  an  Agricultural  College  at 
which  a  full  course  of  agricultural  education  may  be  obtained,  but  also 
for  the  carrying  out  of  agricultural  experiments,  and  the  giving  of 
practical  extension  lectures  throughout  the  associated  oounties  by  the 
teaohing  staff  of  the  College.  We  presume  the  College  will  follow  the 
pattern  of  the  Yorkshire  College  at  Leeds. 
Temple  Flower  Show. — Every  year  the  desire  of  growers  to 
exhibit  at  the  Temple  Show  of  the  Royal  Horticultural  Society 
increases,  and  the  officials  of  the  Society  have  a  very  anxious  task  in 
endeavouring  to  do  justice  to  those  growers  who  regularly  support  the 
fortnightly  shows  of  the  Society  held  at  the  Drill  Hall,  Buckingham 
Gate,  and  yet  at  the  same  time  to  encourage  others  also  to  oome 
forward.  The  space  is  absolutely  limited  by  order  of  the  Temple 
authorities ;  no  more  or  larger  tents  may  be  erected,  hence  every  new 
exhibitor  whose  entry  is  accepted  means  curtailment  of  the  space 
allotted  to  previous  supporters.  The  judges  will  meet  at  the  secretary  s 
tent  at  10.30  a.m.  on  May  22nd,  at  whioh  hour  punctually  the  tents  will 
be  cleared  of  all  exhibitors  and  their  assistants.  The  Fruit,  Floral,  and 
Orchid  Committees  will  assemble  at  the  secretary’s  tent  at  11  a.m. 
sharp,  and  the  show  will  be  opened  at  12.30.  All  plants  for  certificate 
must  be  entered  on  or  before  Friday,  May  17 th.  Address,  Secretary 
Royal  Horticultural  Society,  117,  Victoria  Street,  Westminster,  S.W. 
Our  Gardening  Charities. —Provincial  gardeners  are  not  able  to 
attend  the  annual  festivals  and  dinners  of  the  various  gardening 
charitable  institutions  whose  headquarters  are  in  London  ;  they  only 
hear  of  what  takes  place  by  means  of  the  Press,  and  appeals  made  on 
paper  lose  a  great  deal  of  force  from  the  laok  of  known  personality 
behind  them.  But  these  printed  reports  convey  that  whioh  is  spoken 
by  earnest  workers,  whose  desire  is  to  bring  comfort,  or  at  least  some 
amount  of  security,  to  infirm  old  folks  or  fatherless  young  ones.  Ihe 
suggestion  was  made  some  years  ago,  through  the  pages  of  the  Journal, 
that  every  gardener  in  the  United  Kingdom  might  make  the  sacrifice 
of  one  day’s  wages  annually,  and  contribute  the  amount  either  to  the 
Gardeners’  Benevolent  Institution  or  the  Gardeners’  Orphan  1  und,  as 
they  thought  best.  We  would  be  gratified  if  any  appeal  of  ours  caused 
our  non-subscribing  readers  to  give  the  question  consideration.  The 
addresses  of  the  secretaries  of  these  charities  are  frequently  given.  A 
report  of  the  annual  dinner  of  the  Gardeners’  Orphan  Fund  appears  on 
another  page. 
