The Liverpool Standard and General Commercial Advertiser.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1850-03-19 00:00:00

THE IiItERPOOL STANDAR%

THE 13};,qINNING OF THE END:

As a proof of the so:t of feeling which is' manifesting
itself amongst the insulte.i agriculturists, and which the
Cobdens and Wahnsleys of the free trade party have
helped forward by their agitation for large reductions in
the expenditure of the. country, the following remarks,
which appeared in the Doncaster Chronicle, a Conserva-
tive paper, of Friday last, are rather startling :
So long as the present ruinous system of free imports is to be
persisted in, the agriculturists have a right to demand that the
most stringent economy shall be observed in every department
of the state—by no means excepting even the charges of roy-
alty itself. The fundholder must also he made to contribute
his share to the reduction of the national expenditure; in fact,
when the enormous sum which is annually paid for the interest
of our huge debt comes to be looked at a little more closely, it
will be found that this is the department from which the
largest amount of retrenchment is to be effected. We venture
to predict when these necessary results of free trade are found
to be inevitable, a very great change will come over the minds
of that class who have helped, more than any other, to ruin
and prostrate the agricultural interest. At present, the monied
and manufacturing interests are battening upon the £91,000,000
which, according to Mr. Villiers, have been abstracted from
the pockets of the cultivators of the soil ; but we tell them
that the time is rapidly approaching when this monstrous in-
justice will be put an end to, and when either the free trade
principles must be retracted, or every other class in the com-
munity must be let down to the level of the agricultural inte-
rest.

Of course it is impossible for ourselves to sympathise
with the doctrine here propounded, and thus to admit
that the widow, the orphan, and other classes, of which
the bulk of the holders of our national securities are com-
posed, should be sacrificed for the misdoings of the free
traders, and the griping exactions of selfish capitalists.
But it is not difficult to see that a crisis is at hand, which
we ourselves long ago prophesied, and in which the ques-
tion of innocent or guilty will be very little regarded by
an outraged and desperate people.

qtgrintitural anb 30ortirultural

COLUMN,

We see that a popular horticultural writer has again
brought forward the subject of copings for fruit tree
walls, and strongly recommends their use. In addition
to the stone coping of four inches, he recommends a
moveable wooden coping, two feet wide, to be fixed by
means of brackets, during the winter months, and affixed
to these bracket boards long rods and rings for curtains.
All this appears very plausible, and, doubtless, would
look very comfortable when secured for the winter, but
will it answer all that it is intended to do ? Vie doubt
not : besides, the expense. which ought always to be
considered, would, in the end, be greater than would be
required tv make glass shades, which would answer the
purpose infinitely better, and could be rendered available
for other useful purposes as soon as they ceased to be
required for the fruit trees. But if glass is objectionable,
on the score of expense, another plan might be used
which would be fully as efficacious, and not liable to any
of the objections which stone copings are liable to. It is
this : a sort of hood might be made, by nailing two
boards in the form of a trough (thus A). A succession of
these being inverted on the top of the wall, and so made
as to project twelve or fourteen inches beyond the
wall, would furnish an efficient protection ; and also
the same means for attaching a curtain. There is one
objection to stone copings which we think insuperable,
and that is the drip, which is inevitable. It is useless to
take expensive precautions to protect the tree from frost,
and then when in bloom have half the blossoms spoiled
by the first shower of rain ; or even should they escape,
and produce fine fruit, what chance would that have of
escaping uninjured from the same cause ?

It requires but little ingenuity to make the plan we
have proposed quite practicable ; and we believe it would
really be much more efficacious than the one advocated,
with its extensive combination of four-inch stone coping,
ironbrackets and bracket boards. Of course, we do not
mean to imply that no coping is necessary ; on the con-
trary, we think it very desirable, if stone can be obtained,
to have one of that material, channelled at the top, to
carry off any rain that falls on the top, and thus prevent
the injurious consequences of drip—besides the protection
afforded to the brickwork.

We have thought it necessary to bring this subject
before our readers, because, when a well-known writer
brings forward a favourite project, and advocates it in a
leading paper, he is sure to lead many into the expense of
following his plans ; and, should they fail, it is too often
attributed to the bad management of the gardener—the
employer thinking that all the expense he has incurred in
carrying out new schemes ought to insure him success,
whereas the fault too frequently lies in the plans them-
selves.

PAPERS ON AGRICULTURAL CHEMISTRY

NO. XXIV

Gypsum, as an inorganic manure, is of great value to
some crops, as saintfoin, clover, vetches, lucerne, and
sometimes to grasses. The effect of gypsum is very deci-
sive and rapid, but the modes operandi is not satisfactorily
understood. Its principal effect is to increase the amount
of foliage to a remarkable degree : hence its utility in cul-
tivating the artificial grasses. Unlike lime, the fertilising
effects of gypsum are not increased by the operation of
burning; all that is required in preparing it for applica-
tion to the crops is to grind it to a fine powder, which
should be sprinkled over the young crop, either between
showers in wet weather, or when rain is threatening. The
quantity should not exceed 2- cwt. per acre. On the ce-
real and other grasses gypsum produces no very good ef-
fect, and it may be taken as a rule that it is in no instance
beneficial where the seed of a crop is the result aimed at;
but its benefits are shewn, where the increase of foliage is
sought, highly productive.

Liebig attributes the fertilising power of gypsum to the
interchange of principles between it and the carbonate of
ammonia contained in the soil. This is a probable theory,
and has almost been proved by actual experiment. The
rationale is this. Rain-water contains carbonate of am-
monia in solution, when it falls. When this comes in
contact with the gypsum, it is decomposed ; the sulphuric
acid of the gypsum (sulphate of lime) unites with the am-
monia, and forms soluble sulphate of ammonia ; while the
carbonic acid, which formed the carbonate of ammonia,
unites with the lime of the gypsum and forms carbonate
of lime, which we have shewn in our remarks on lime to
be of great benefit. We have thus two valuable agents
formed, both of well-known fertilising powers—carbo-
nate of lime and fixed ammonia, in the form of a soluble
sulphate. This is a rational hypothesis ; but, although
backed by the powerful authority of Liebig, it still re-
quires further confirmation from actual experiment

way in which the great German chemist tried his experi-
ment was first to obtain a soil free from any carbonate.
This he ascertained by testing it with acids. He then
mixed pure gypsum with it, and manured it with fresh
horse-dung, which contains carbonate of ammonia.
Some peas and beans were sown in it, and in dry weather
they were watered with spring water, free from all trace
of ammonia, and in wet weather the rain was carefully
excluded. Upon examining some of the gypsum a few
weeks afterwards, the whole was found to be converted
into carbonate of lime. This is the direction in which we
should try further experiments.

LIVERPOOL HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY, MARCH 11TH.
At the monthly meeting of this society, a spirited dis-
cussion was opened by Mr. Selkirk, upon the formation of
vine borders, in which most of the members joined. A
great diversity of opinion prevailed upon the question of
heating, but all were in favour of borders on arches ; and
Mr. Roberts's theory of feeding vines with carrion burned
in the border was condemned by all who had had an op-
portunity of seeing its effects. Mr. Selkirk stated that
from actual observation he found that the spongioles of
the roots invariably died when they came in contact with
the carrion. A stong impression also prevailed against
concrete borders. It was agreed to resume the subject at a
future opportunity. The principal speakers were Messrs.
Selkirk, Richardson, Thomas, George Davies, T. Mayor,
and Locksley. Mr. Salisbury exhibited a fine specimen
of Boronia Serrulata, well bloomed. At the April meet-
ing, Dr. Inman intends giving his second lecture upon
Structural Botany, illustrated by his powerful microscopes.

VISITS TO GARDENS

Charles Wilson, Esq., Beechley, Allerton : Mr. Wm.
Thomas, Gardener.—We visited this place for the pur-
pose of seeing two new houses which have been erected
since we last noticed it. The builder is the same we spoke
of in our last as having put up Mr. Joseph Shipley's new
houses, and their construction is the same. They are very
light and spacious structures, admirably adapted for plant-
growing. Some very nice specimens are already in a state
of forwardness, and are likely to do the proprietor much
credit at the ensuing exhibitions. Amongst the most con-
spicuous, we noticed in the first house or stove the cele-
brated Haked Victoria, the magnificent floral leaves of
which are said to make this plant one of the most showy
of all the gay Australian plants. Begonia albococcinea,
Ixora superba, I. Griffithsii, I. Javanicum, Stephanotis
floribunda, YEschynanthuspulcher, Aden ocaly mna comosa,
&c., were fine healthy specimens, growing with a degree'
of vigour which proved that the house suited them. In
the second or greenhouse we saw large show specimens of
Syphocampylos macrostemma, Selago corymbosa, Pimelea
spectahilis, P. Hendersonii, Pleroma elegans, Cytissus
racemosus superbus, Boronia serrulata, and Luculia
gratissima. The whole range, consisting of a handsome
conservatory and greenhouse, were in nice order, and
exhibing a profusion of plants in flower of the best varie-
ties of camellia and other plants of the season.