484 
JOURNAL  OF  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER, . 
June  6,  1901. 
Tl\e  Manuring  of  Fruit  Trees. 
IV.— Lime. 
Lime  has  been  called  the  basis  of  all  fertility  in  the  soil,  and  rightly 
so.  Such  frequent  reference  has  been  made  to  lime  in  the  preceding 
articles  that  a  good  deal  most  necessarily  be  repeated  in  this  final 
article.  In  fact,  it  is  impossible  to  discuss  the  manuring  of  fruit  trees 
from  any  standpoint  without  referring  to  it.  Lime,  unlike  nitrogen, 
potash,  and  phosphate,  is  doubly  valuable — it  is  a  plant  food  in  itself, 
and  by  its  action  in  the  soil  it  sets  free  and  renders  available  other 
kinds  of  plant  food.  (Shakespeare  said  of  Falstaff  that  he  was  not 
only  witty  in  himself,  bit  caused  wit  in  other  men.  So  with  lime 
in  its  own  domain.)  The  action  of  basic  phosphate  may  be  quoted 
as  an  instance  of  this  double  action,  it  being  the  lime  of  course, 
and  not  the  phosphate,  which  acts  in  the  way  described.  In  addition 
to  being  a  plant  food,  and  making  other  plant  food  available,  it  serves 
to  store  up  food  material  in  the  soil  and  prevent  it  being  washed 
away.  No  soil  can  be  richly  manured  with  economy  unless  there  is 
a  sufficiency  of  lime  present  (o  get  a  maximum  of  efficiency  out  of 
the  manure.  There  should  be  at  least  a  half  per  cent,  of  lime 
present  in  any  soil,  or  one  part  in  200  parts.  How  are  we  to  know 
our  soil  contains  this  ?  Anyone,  without  any  knowledge  of  chemistry, 
can  put  it  to  a  very  simple  but  effective  test  for  himself.  Take 
trowelfuls  of  soil  from  a  dozen  different  parts  of  the  garden  or 
orchard  and  mix  them  well  together,  so  as  to  be  sure  you  have  a  fair 
sample  of  the  soil.  Then  put  some  in  a  tumbler,  put  a  little  water  on 
it,  and  well  stir  or  shake  it.  Then  pour  some  muriatic,  or  hydrochloric, 
acid  on  it.  If  the  liquid  effervesces  freely  you  may  take  it  there  is  a 
sufficiency  of  lime  present  ;  but  if  it  does  not  effervesce,  or  only  very 
feebly,  let  lime  be  the  very  next  manure  you  apply  to  the  ground. 
It  is  well  to  remember  that  100  lbs.  of  chalk  are  equal  to  56  lbs. 
of  quicklime,  or  74  lbs.  of  slaked  lime,  chalk  being  quicklime  and 
carbonic  acid,  and  slaked  lime  being  quicklime  and  water.  When 
lime  is  applied  to  the  soil  it  absorbs  carbonic  acid  from  the  air,  so 
that  the  56  lbs.  of  quicklime  become  100  lbs.  of  chalk  again.  It 
is  best  to  apply  lime  (slaked  lime  is  the  best,  unless  it  is  particularly 
desired  to  kill  insect  pests  in  the  soil)  in  the  winter,  as  it  is  apt  to 
injure  the  tender  roots  of  growing  plants.  Care  should  be  taken  that 
the  lime  is  spread  as  a  fine  powder,  as  it  then  becomes  more  evenly 
diffused  through  the  soil  than  when  coarse  lumps  are  scattered  about, 
and  consequently  exercises  its  beneficial  influence  upon  a  greater 
number  of  soil  particles.  The  same  care  as  to  spreading  applies  specially 
to  chalk.  Gas  lime  and  gypsum  are  useful  forms  of  lime  when  the  latter 
is  not  so  easily  got  The  former  needs  care  in  applying  it.  It  is  a 
powerful  insecticide  in  the  soil,  but  if  applied  too  freely  it  will  prevent 
anything  growing  in  the  soil  for  a  year  or  more,  and  be  very  injurious 
to  the  roots  of  trees  already  growing  on  it.  Gas  lime  and  gypsum, 
however,  do  not  answer  all  the  purposes  that  lime  does.  Gypsum 
does  not  assist  nitrification,  nor  does  it  neutralise  the  acids  in  the 
soil,  as  it  is  a  salt  already.  The  same  is  in  some  degree  the  case  with 
gas  lime.  If  the  latter  is  exposed  to  the  air  for  six  months  or  a  year, 
it  loses  its  dangerous  properties  and  becomes  principally  gypsum.  The 
rates  of  application  of  these  various  forms  of  lime  to  the  soil  should 
be  as  follows: — From  half  a  ton  to  a  ton  of  slaked  lime  per  acre  (10  to 
20  lbs  to  40  square  yards),  two  to  three  tons  of  chalk,  one  ton  of  gas 
lime,  and  half  a  ton  of  gypsum  per  acre. 
It  is  erroneous  to  suppose  that  a  soil  overlying  chalk,  or  chalky 
clay,  has  necessarily  a  sufficiency  of  lime.  The  acid  of  the  rain  water 
dissolves  some  of  the  chalk,  and  the  acid  products  of  decaying  humus 
do  the  same,  so  that  every  winter’s  drainage  carries  away  a  good  deal ; 
hence  there  is  a  constant  lessening  of  the  chalk  in  the  surface  soil. 
Great  benefit  is  sometimes  obtained  in  such  cases  by  digging  two  or 
three  spits  deep,  and  putting  the  second  or  third  spit  on  the  surface. 
Of  course  the  depth  of  the  surface  soil  and  the  nature  of  the  subsoil 
must  determine  the  expediency,  or  otherwise,  of  such  a  method  of 
procedure. 
We  will  conclude  this  series  of  articles  by  glancing  briefly  at  the 
good  effects  of  the  presence  of  lime  in  the  soil,  though  most  of  them 
have  been  referred  to  in  dealing  with  nitrogenous,  phosphatic,  and 
potash  manuring. 
1,  Lime  keeps  the  soil  sweet  by  neutralising  the  acids  arising  from 
the  decay  of  the  animal  and  vegetable  matter  in  the  soil. 
2,  Chalk,  to  which  state  all  lime  applied  to  the  soil  ultimately 
reverts,  in  its  dry  state  is  very  friable,  and  thus  it  serves  to  didntegrate 
clay  in  pretty  much  the  same  way  as  burnt  earth  ;  thus  it  is  of 
assistance  in  lightening  heavy  soil. 
3,  By  keeping  the  soil  sweet  it  enables  the  germs  in  the  soil,  both 
those  which  convert  humus  into  ammonia  and  those  which  convert 
ammonia  into  nitric  acid,  to  carry  on  their  work,  which  they  cannot  do 
in  a  sour  soil.  The  carbonic  acid  being  the  product  of  their  own 
existence,  it  is  as  injurious  to  their  well-being  as  the  impurities  of  a 
vitiated  atmosphere  are  to  the  well-being  of  the  high  types  of  animals. 
4,  When  nitric  acid  is  formed  by  the  nitrifying  germs  in  the  soil 
it  unites  with  the  lime  to  form  nitrate  of  lime,  when  otherwise  it 
would  be  given  off  into  the  air. 
5,  In  the  same  way  lime  serves  to  preserve  in  the  soil  the  soluble 
phosphates  by  converting  them  into  two  and  three-lime  phosphates, 
and  the  potash  by  converting  it  into  carbonate  of  potash,  both  of 
which  valuable  plant  foods  would  otherwise  suffer  loss  by  drainage. 
6,  Lastly,  a  judicious  application  of  lime  kills  off  a  good  many 
injurious  insect  pests  which  are  hibernating  in  the  soil. 
In  this  series  of  articles  1  have  merely  touched  the  fringe  of  a  very 
big  subject,  my  endeavours  being  to  show  the  most  important  things 
to  be  done  in  order  to  get  the  maximum  return  from  a  given  outlay  for 
manure.  Constantly  applying  farmyard  manure  is  expensive,  and 
does  not  give  such  good  results  as  are  to  be  obtained  by  alternating 
animal  and  artificial  manures.  So  much  attention  was  directed  to  lime 
because  of  the  impossibility  of  getting  ground  in  a  high  state  of 
fertility  without  it.  A  little  book,  which  all  who  wish  to  do  any  sort 
of  gardening  on  scientific  principles  will  find  extremely  useful,  is 
“The  Chemistry  of  the  Garden,”  by  Mr.  Cousins  of  the  Wye 
Agricultural  College.  He  modestly  says  it  is  intended  “  for  amateurs 
and  young  gardeners,”  but  I  am  mistaken  if  very  advanced  gardeners 
may  not  learn  something  from  it.  For  those  who  want  a  more 
advanced'  book  on  manuring  I  would  recommend  Aitman’s  “  Manures 
and  Principles  of  Manuring.” — A.  Petts. 
Forced  Strawberry  Crop. 
During  the  prolonged  season  over  which  the  forced  Strawberry 
crop  extends,  there  occur  many  points  in  their  cultivation  which  would 
necessarily  be  interesting  to  their  growers,  and  if  conveyed  in  short 
notes  to  the  office  of  the  Journal  of  Horticulture  they  would  both 
be  instructive  and  interesting  as  an  exchange  of  thought  and 
experience  for  other  readers.  The  structures  in  which  Strawberries 
are  grown,  the  kind  of  soil  employed,  varieties,  manures,  size  of  pots, 
and  the  number  and  weight  of  berries,  are  all  items  that  make  their 
growth  varied  aud  instructive  when  dealt  with  in  detail.  Probably 
at  the  pre-ent  time  there  are  fewer  varieties  employed  for  forcing  than 
nas  been  known  for  many  years,  Royal  Sovereign  displacing  so  many 
kinds  formerly  considered  indispensable.  Princess  Alice,  Black  Prince, 
Keen’s  Seedling,  La  Gros  Sucrde,  Yicomtesse  H.  de  Thury,  Sir  J. 
Paxton,  Noble,  President,  Sir  Chas.  Napier,  James  Veitch,  Auguste 
Nicaise,  and  Stevens’ Wonder  are  a  selection  which  form  an  ancestry 
to  Royal  Sovereign,  and  in  so  many  cases  have  given  way  from  one  to 
the  other  in  a  long  line  of  prece  lence  to,  as  previously  remarked, 
the  almost  or  entire  exclusion  for  the  Sovereign  favourite;  this,  too, 
with  a  large  concourse  of  Strawbsrry  growers.  One  grower  of  my 
acquaintance  has  gone  so  far  as  to  reduce  his  selection  both  for 
outdoor  and  pot-grown  stock  to  one  variety  alone — Royal  Sovereign — 
but  whether  this  is  a  wise  proceeding  he  is  the  better  able  to  judge. 
That  the  variety  just  named  can  with  advantage  replace  several 
old  favourites  go9s  without  saying,  but  soil  and  circumstances  play 
so  important  a  part  in  everyday  Strawberry  life  that  no  universal 
law  or  rule  can  be  laid  down  as  binding  everyone.  Royal  Sovereign 
can  be  grown  up  to  2  ozs.  by  some  with  the  same  effort  that  another 
can  secure  a  fourth,  or  even  a  lesser  weight.  In  the  fruit  itself,  too, 
there  is  a  marked  variation  both  in  the  shape  and  colour  ot  the  berry. 
At  Ammerdown  Park,  Lord  Hilton’s  seat  near  Radstock,  I  recently 
saw  some  uncommonly  nice  fruit  growing  in  48’s,  each  plant’s 
complement  being  four  berries.  These  were  of  the  typical  conical 
shape,  and  of  a  beautiful  deep  colour.  The  water  in  this  garden  is 
so  highly  charged  with  lime  that  it  is  unsuited  for  syringing  purposes, 
and  in  the  soil  probably  iron  abounds.  At  Draycot,  Prince  Hatz- 
feltd’s  seat,  near  Chippenham,  fruit  more  remarkable  still  was  reviewed 
recently,  the  berries  being  extra  large  and  of  rich  complexion.  In 
both  these  instances  the  pots  stood  on  shelves  in  houses  of  modern 
construction,  which  Were  perfectly  ventilated,  conditions  that  are  of 
great  help  and  importance.  The  soil  at  Draycot  is  taken  from  the 
deer  park,  off  a  gravel  under  stratum,  and  is  excellent  for  Strawberries 
and  Grapes.  Another  case  came  under  my  notice  recently.  A  market 
grower  realised  fruit  averaging  a  pound  to  each  pot,  many  weighing 
2  ozs.  each.  The  soil  here  is  heavier,  but  very  porous,  and  thus 
amenable  to  high  feeding.  Royal  Sovereign  was  tbe  chosen  one  in 
each  instance. 
Auguste  Nicaise  is  a  noble  and  unique  Strawberry  for  main  crop 
or  late  batches,  none  competing  with  it  for  siz9  and  weight  under  pot 
culture.  An  enthusiastic  grower  in  this  locality  once  related  to  me 
that  he  had  attained  to  a  maximum  2f  oz3.,  and  he  hoped  to  increase 
it  to  the  even  weight,  3  ozs.,  but  I  have  not  yet  heard  if  the  ideal  has 
been  secured.  A  3-oz.  Strawberry  is  truly  a  noblo  berry,  and  pride 
would  be  a  pardonable  offence  in  the  man  who  can  command  such 
returns.  Stevens’  Wonder  had  a  short  life,  its  appearance  did  not 
