... Water Culture Vegetables and Flowers Without Soil By R. H. Stoughton, d.Sc. (Professor of Horticulture, University of Reading) and Capt. S. R. Mullard, M.B.E., M.I.E.E. THE growing of plants in liquid nutrient solution, or in sand or gravel watered with such a solution, has recently at- tracted much attention in fact, the deplorable word hydroponics, imported from California,' where it is ...

... by L. F. Newman THE post-war basis of agriculture turns on one fundamental question. Is the home food position so important that the production of basal foodstuffs must be encouraged even if the cost of production is uneconomic? In an ideal world where inter- nationalism and a state of assured peace are established, there is no doubt that wheat and meat should be imported. Low costs of ...

... by E. L. Hawke, M.A., F.R.A.S. OLD beliefs die hard. Over 2,000 years ago an astronomer named Geminus, who lived on the island of Rhodes, wrote a book in which he took it upon himself to declare that Spring and autumn began at the times of the equinoxes, about March 21 and September 23, and summer and winter at the times of the solstices, about June 21 and December 22. 1 hese definitions of ...

... THERE are reasons why farmers with empty silos should now be planning with energy and confidence to fill them all before the autumn. The demonstrators of silage making have been working overtime in very difficult circumstances of late, but the foundations of their work were so soundly laid last year that they no longer lack audiences or support. Where they were telling farmers last year how to ...

... By Our Flying Correspondent MANY rumours had been spread about the use by the Germans of troop-carrying gliders; but it was not until the attack on Crete on May 20 that any detailed information about this form of war became available in this country. As was to be expected, the Germans used their glider troops in conjunction with their parachute troops and they followed up the air attack with ...

... I KEY-WORD I Practical I TWEED COATS AND SPORTS FROCKS CAMOUFLAGE stripes flatter your figure in this unusual coat from Gorringes, Buckingham Palace Road. Of hard-wearing tweed, woven in a wide herring-bone pattern, it is made in either navy, black or brown with white, and costs 81 guineas. For more formal days, there is another model for the same price in wool romaine, wide-sleeved and ...

... C^ecldaili to Port SOUTH AMERICAN insect specimens once sent to Ger- many for identification now go to the United States. The Nazis, of course, are too busy sending their own insect specimens to the rest of the world and hoping they won't be identified. He I'll be utterly wretched when my leave is up and I have to go back. She: Oh, darling! If I felt quite sure of that I'd be terribly happy. ...

... By Ashley Courtenay THE Cotswolds are on gay parade. Wondrous clusters of aubretia and arabis fes- tooned her village streets. Wall- flowers and tulips have since joined this kaleidoscope of colour, and presently roses will enhance the beauty of the mellowed Cotswold stone. The Cotswolds are there to remind us that whilst the hand of man may be busy destroying, Nature, bright and beautiful, ...

... 1> fkJVT H /t r^llVTr^ Thoroughfare as a Derby Outsidei VlTJ Whitsuntide Sport Fast Times I FEEL that I must nip in before anybody else with the grand old cliché that this year's Derby is the most open Derby that ever was. It is only fair, after all, that the public, which gets so little for its money nowadays, should be stimulated by the thought that this is the problem of a century. And is ...

... By Our Horticultural Correspondent OUR annual struggle with the insects has commenced, though a little later than usual because the pests have had an un- comfortable time from the frequent severe night frosts. But present conditions favour them and the vegetable grower must overhaul his defensive weapons without delay. In large gardens a knapsack sprayer is almost indispensable. But the small ...

... Next Week's Work in the Garden Vegetables CLIMBING French Beans may now safely be sown out of doors. Their flavour is preferred by some to the runner bean and food value is said to be greater. Sow the seeds in a flat-bottomed drill 6 in. apart, in a double row. Light stakes 4 to 5 ft. high should be provided and the growing point of the plants pinched out when they reach the ton of them. Soil ...

... MR. GEORGE SIBLEY represents the fourth generation of wheel wrights in the picturesque village of Berden/West Essex The business was started by his grandfather's uncle in the year 1730, but the original premises no longer exist On two previous occasions the workrooms have been blitzed, not by bombs, but by serious fires caused by the thatch roofs catching alight. Mr. Sibley, however, has put ...