SCHOOL GARDEN.

Press, Volume LXII, Issue 18682, 4 May 1926, Page 7

SCHOOL GARDEN.

(SPBCTALLT WRITTEN FOE "THE PSBSS.")

(By Gladius.)

Gladioli should all be lifted and dried J before the break-up for term holidays. To iucrease any particular variety, save the bulblets, or spawn, that 'will be found attached to the parent bulb. These may be planted right away, or put in in August. Bulblets should be given the whole season to develop. October is rather late—they require to be -veil watered if kept out of the soil till then. At those schools where this was neglected, the bulblets that were planted late will probably germinate in spring. At some schools they have done well, others the reverse, mainly because pupils have no idea of what a watering should be. It requires about 6 gallons of water to put an inch on a square yard, just one good day's rain. Let St. VI pupils confirm this statement, thus correlating their arithmetic with their gardpn operations. Nothing less than about an inch of water is of much value in dry weather. It may be noted that Chambers, Webster, and the Oxford dictionaries give the pronunciation of gladiolus as glad-eyn-olus, gladioli for the plural. With regard to the green manuring, it is a mistake to wait till May before sowing seed. There will be treble the foliage, and treble the amount of roots tc. turn under in September, when seed is sown in April. The main object is tn increase the humus content of the soil. The following facts should be known by the pupils, and recorded in their notebooks. The maintenance or increase of the humus in the soil is one of the main factors, if not the main factor, in the successful agricultural or horticultural operations. The farmer when he finds his yields decreasing, sows down to grass for a few seasons and feeds stock thereon. The orchardist sows vetches, field peas, oats, or mustard, and ploughs it under. It may be noted that when fed off with stock about 9-lOths of the nitrogen, 70 to SO per cent, of phosphoric acid, and nearly all the potash is returned to the land in the droppings. Humus disappears from the soil rapidly with cultivation, owing to the increased aeration that promotes decay. It is really a slow-burning. The carbon, of which it is mainly composed combines with the oxygen of the air, and disappears as carbonic acid. The acid thus produced, and that given off from the roots themselves, is very beneficial in rendering available dormant plant food in the soil. Furthermore, the addition of humus, opens up heavy soils, also helps to bind, and increases the water holding capacity of sandy soils. The value of "legumes, as nitrogen gatherers, should be stressed, and no Sz. VI. pupil should leave school without being impressed with the value of, and the necessity for, maintaining the humus content of the soil.