February  4,  1904, 
JOURNAL  OF  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER. 
109 
SEAKALE  FORCINd  (A  Very  Old  Subscriber).— One  of  the 
commonest  forcing  metbod.s  is  to  secure  good  even  roots  about 
oin  or  Gin  long,  and  to  place  these  a  few  inches  apart  on  end, 
firmly  among  leaf  soil,  in  deep  boxes  or  in  benches.  In  either 
case  they  are  forced  in  the  dark,  the  temperature  of  the  shed 
or  house  being  GOdeg  to  Go  Fahr.  The  soil  must  be  kept  moist. 
Another  method  is  to  cover  the  crown.s  in  the  open  ground  with 
tall,  large  pots,  or  better,  cans,  specially  made  for  this  purpose, 
about  2ft  high  and  loin  or  so  wide  at  the  base.  These,  have  a 
top  lid.  The  cans  are  covered  on  all  sides  and  above  as  well, 
with  fermenting  material,  which  soon  causes  succulent  growth 
to  start.  The  heat  can  be  ke^jt  up  by  additional  material  at 
intervals. 
DAFFODILS  NOT  FLOWERING  SATISFACTORILY  (Mrs. 
C.  M.  H.). — It  is  probable  that  the  bulbs  have  not  been  well 
ripened  on  their  growth  during  last  summer,  this  being  unusually 
dull  and  wet ;  or  they  may  have  been  taken  up,  or  the  foliage 
cut  off,  before  the  growth  was  completed  and  had  died  down 
naturally.  This  would  prejudicially  affect  the  flowering,  the 
flower  buds  not  being  perfectly  formed,  and  flowers  produced, 
be  puny  and  defective,  if  not  really  “  blind,”  that  is,  not  develop¬ 
ing  the  flowers  in  the  scape,  but  the  buds  turning  yellow  and 
withering.  This,  Ave  think,  is  the  mo,st  likely  cause,  though  it 
sometimes  arises  from  other  causes,  such  as  “  basal  rot,”  the 
bulbs  rotting  at  the  base  more  or  less,  and  there  being  few  or 
no  roots  formed  for  the  support  of  the  leaves  and  flower  stems; 
hence  the  collapse  of  the  flower  buds.  In  other  cases  it  may 
arise  from  attacks  of  fungi  on  the  bulbs,  and  in  not  a  few  cases  is 
the  mischief  caused  by  root  mites,  these  pests  destroying  the 
young  roots,  as  well  as  cau-sing  decay  by  harbouring  and  feeding 
between  the  scales  of  the  bulbs.  On  these  points  Ave  can  offer 
no  opinion,  as  jmu  do  not  submit  specimens  for  examination. 
NAMES  OF  PLANTS.  —  Correspondents  ivhose  queries  are 
unanswered  in  the  present  issue  are  respectfully  requested  to  consult 
the  following  number.  (W.  W.). — Cypripedium  Leeanum  variety. 
(F.  G.  A.). — Lantana  sp.  probably,  but  as  you  have  sent  only  two 
dried  leaves,  Ave  cannot  name  definitely.  (Sister). — Leaves  of  Leuea- 
dendron  argenteum,  R.  Br.,  the  Silver  Tree.  (-1.  Pringle). —  1,  Begonia 
socotrana  ;  2,  SanscAuera  javaniea;  3,  Agaganthus  umbellatus  A-arie- 
gatus.  (L.  F.). — Abies  baisamea.  (F.  S.). — Next  Aveek. 
Trade  Catalogues  Received. 
John  Allen,  Kippen,  Stirlingshire,  N.B. — Neio  Dahlias. 
-James  Cocker  and  Sons,  13(),  Union  Street,  Aberdeen. — Seeds,  Fkrisfs' 
Flowers,  dec. 
Dobie  and  Mason,  22,  Oak  Street,  Manchester. — Seeds. 
.John  Forbes,  HaAviek,  Scotland. — Florists’  Flowers. 
H.  J.  Jones,  Ryecroft  Nursery.  Hither  Green,  LeAvisham,  S.E. — Feic 
Chrysanthemums,  Seeds,  and  Plants. 
H.  P.  Kelsey,  Beacon  Buildings,  Boston,  Mass.,  U.S.A. — American 
Shrubs  and  Plants. 
W.  C.  Mountain,  F.R.H.S.,  Bulb  GroAver,  Constantinople. — Bulbs  for 
delivery  next  July. 
Vilmorin-Andrieux  and  Co.,  4,  Quai  de  la  Megisserie,  Paris. — Seeds. 
Wells  and  Co.,  Ltd.,  EarlsAvood  Nurseries,  Redhill,  Surrey. — Chrys¬ 
anthemums  {supplement  to  the  Descriptive  Catalogue). 
Atmospheric  Nitrogen. 
The  gradual  but  ultimately  inevitable  exhaustion  of  the 
knoAvn  nitrate  deposits  of  South  America  lends  a  groAving  interest 
to  the  methods  AAhich  have  been  devi.sed  for  obtaining  a  supply 
of  nitrogen  for  fertilising  purposes,  from  the  inexhaustible  store¬ 
house  of  the  air.  That  this  can  be  done  as  a  scientific  process 
lias  long  been  knoAvn.  The  first  method  was  by  passing  a] 
current  of  air  over  red-heated  copper,  Avhereby  the  oxygen  com¬ 
bined  Avith  the  metal  to  form  oxide  of  copper,  leaving  the  nitro¬ 
gen  free.  At  first  the  nitrogen  thus  produced  Avas  fixed  by 
combination  AA’ith  calcium  carbide  to  form  nitrate  of  lime  (Kalk- 
stickstoff)  or  calcium  cyanide,  a  combination  of  lime  carbon  and 
nitrogen,  Avhich  had  all  the  essential  properties  of  a  nitrate 
fertiliser.  But  as  the  use  of  calcium  carbide  rendered  the  product 
unduly  expensive,  a  method  Avas  sought  Avhich  Avould  employ  a 
substitute  for  that  material,  and  this  Avas  found  by  Dr.  Erhvein, 
AA’ho  brought  the  nitrogen  into  a  combination  Avith  a  mixture 
of  poAvdered  charcoal  and  lime  in  an  electric  furnace.  The 
product  of  this  combination  is  a  black  sub.stance  containing, 
besides  the  lime  and  carbon,  10  to  15  per  cent  of  nitrogen,  in 
perfect  condition  to  be  used  as  a  fertiliser.  From  the  experi¬ 
ments  thus  far  made  Avith  this  neAv  artificial  nitrate — Avhich  is 
knoAvn  in  commerce  as  calcium  cyanide — it  appears  that  its  nitro¬ 
gen  acts  upon  plants  quite  as  effectively  as  that  contained  in  a 
proportionate  quantity  of  nitrate  of  potassium  or  sodium  nitrate 
(Chile  saltpetre).  The  scientific  problem  of  obtaining  nitrogen 
for  fertilising  purposes  from  tbe  atmosphere  Avould  seem,  there¬ 
fore,  to  be  satisfactorily  solved.  Whether  it  can  be  done  on  a 
very  large  scale  and  at  a  cost  which  Avill  make  it  economically 
available  for  general  agricultural  purposes  remains  to  be 
demonstrated  by  practical  experience. 
Mr.  Edward  Brown  on  the  Ponltry  Industry. 
Mr.  BroAvn  is  always  full  of  interesting  facts,  and  as 
these  facts  ai'e  founded  on  personal  observation  they  should 
merit  a  large  degree  of  public  attention.  We  say  public 
attention  because  it  is  not  by  any  means  the  faianer  alone 
aaJio  is  interested  in  the  poultry  industrj".  It  is  a  'J^de- 
spread  industry,  and  happily  an  increasing  one.  It  affords 
pleasure  and  profit  to  great  and  small,  and  better  still  it  is 
an  immense  factor  in  the  well-being  of  a  nation. 
Just  noAv  there  is  a  AA’idespread  agitation  Avith  lespect 
to  the  mal  nutrition  of  our  dense  populations.  The  artisan 
population,  AA'ho  ouErht  to  supply  our  bone  and  muscle, 
dex^eloping  not  into  stronger,  better  men  and  women,  but 
are  actually  deteriorating,  and  this  in  face  of  the  ^ores  ot 
cheap  food  dumped  upon  oim  shores.  W'^e  have  the  food, 
but  through  ignorance,  stupidity,  and  in  a  lesser  measure, 
poverty,  Ave  do  not  get  hold  of  the  right  constituents  foi 
the  building  up  of  the  human  frame.  ,  ^ 
Shall  we  make  a  mistake  when  we  say  food,  thp  best 
food,  should  be  attractive,  palatable,  and  fairly  cheap? 
We  do  not  know  if  milk  can  be  accounted  attractive,  but 
in  some  of  its  forms  it  surely  is  ;  and  it  is  certainly  palatable 
and. cheap;  yet  it  is  grossly  neglected  and  its  place 
supplied,  or  rather  filled,  by  very  inferior  substitutes.  Now, 
we  are  inclined  to  think  that  what  Mr.  Brown  calls  hen 
fruit  ”  i  e  ,  eggs  and  foAvls,  fultil  all  these  requisites.  Please  do 
not  exclaim  just  yet,  kind  reader  ;  we  know  you  are  inclined 
to  fall  foul  of  our  word  cheap.  Just  consider  the  relative 
values  of  eggs  v.  meat — a  pound  of  eggs  against  a  pound  of 
meat  We  fancy  that  many  (we  should  like  to  say  all) 
house  mothers  could  turn  the  pound  of  eggs  into  better 
and  more  varied  dishes  than  they  could  the  pound  of  meat, 
which  in  all  probability  will  have  a  certain  percentage  ot 
bone  and  gristle.  Then  the  price— it  is  not  often  we  buy 
any  form  of  good  meat  (and  the  best  is  the  cheapest)  at 
than  8d.,  and  we  sell  far  more  eggs  at  a  fraction  of  Id.  than 
we  sell  at  Id.  Noav,  again,  there  will  be  cavilling  at  the 
winter  price  of  eggs.  Well,  even  then,  we  contend  that  by 
the  use  of  waterglass  preservative  the  domestic  egg  is  still 
cheap.  It  has  been  stored  at  a  time  when  eggs  were  sell¬ 
ing  at  eighteen  or  nineteen  for  Is,  and  it  comes  out  alter 
nine  months’  confinement  as  fresh  as  paint !  ,  i  .  i 
As  for  the  flesh  of  fowls,  it  may  not  be  so  absolutely 
nutritious  as  that  of  the  best  beef  or  mutton,  but  it  is 
infinitely  more  tempting  to  the  capricious  appetite,  and 
with  its  nice  et-ceteras  of  sauce  into  which  milk  largely 
enters,  the  bacon,  the  egg-prepared  stuffing,  we  doubt 
whether  there  is  a  great  deal  of  difference— unit  for  unit. 
There  is  one  Avay  in  Avhich  the  householder  may  acquire 
his  poultry  more  cheaply  (that  is  if  he  does  not  breed  it 
himself),  and  the  way  is  to  buy  direct  of  the  farmer  or 
cottager;  undressed,  in  the  rough.  In  fact,  the  house¬ 
holder,  or  rather  his  servants,  may  demur  at  biit 
surely  after  all,  poultry  dressing  is  not  a  whit  more  dimcult 
than  the  dressing  of  game  birds,  and  they  are  bought^  or 
received  as  presents,  fully  clothed.  It  is  surprising  how 
quickly  a  latent  talent  for  poultry  dressing  may  be  aAvakened 
if  the  maid  sees  her  mistress  willing  to  take  one  toAvl  Avhile 
she  takes  the  other.  A  duck  is  a  bit  tedious  to  prepare  we 
alloAV,  but  the  difference  in  price  betAveen  dressed  and  un¬ 
dressed  Avill  be  very  consoling.  ,  -  , 
We  find  from  statistics  that  the  cult  of  the  goose  is  on 
the  wane.  He  is  a  hardy  bird,  easily  reared, 
easily  fed,  and  makes  a  real  good  family  ]omt, 
especially  if  supplemented  with  savoury  pudding. 
Of  course,  Ave  do  not  want  telling  that  the  meat 
is  coarser  than  that  of  the  duck,  but  you  get  in  cheapness 
what  you  lose  in  quality  ;  in  fact,  in  a  hungry  family  ot 
boys  and  girls  we  doubt  if  his  coarseness  Avould  be 
detected !  To  those  Avho  do  not  rear  geese  (the  feathered 
ones)  Ave  might  observe  that  flocks  of  foreign  ones,  as  Avell 
