Pioneer

Gardening Notes. If any reader who is in a difficulty with refer- ence to his garden will write directly to the address given beneath, his questions will all be answered, free of charge, in full detail, and by return of post.—EDITOR. NOTES ON APPLES. The largest and moL sustained yields are ob- tained in deep) rich, and well drained loams. Soils should be dry rather than moist, though dry. sandy ground is almost as undesirable as undrained" land. An open but not exposed site, sheltered from spring north-east winds, is to be preferred. Trees planted in valleys are liable to injury from frost in spring. Propagation is effected principally bv grafting, the stocks usually being obtained from seed and raound- lavering and it is best left to the professional nurseryman. Apple trees should be planted three vetM-s after grafting or budding, standards being placed 40 feet, and dwarf trained trees 15 feet apart each way. The branches of standard appl-es trees are usually started from the stem at a height of four to five feet, and a strong I framework of from three to five main branches is grown. When once the shape of the head is properly established, subsequent pruning is practically confined to the annual removal of dead or diseased wood, and the keeping of the top open by removing crowded limbs and such misplaced ones as aross the head or rub against other branches. Apple trees generally bear three years after planting and remain profita1)]el until from 25 to 40 years of age. A mature tree averages from 25 to 40 bushels of fru?t tree avei-a,,?,es fi-oiii 2,5  NOTES ON PLUMS. ) Plums thrive in any cool, moderately moist loamy soil, but do not take Kindly to sandy lands. The finest dessert fruits are grown on walls. Budding and grafting are the chief methods oi propagation, which should gener- ally be left to nurserymen. Plums are usually seb at two or three years from the bud or graft. Standards should be planted 20 feet apart, and dwarf trees 12 feet asunder. The heads of standard trees may be started at 3,1. feet from the ground or higher. Heading-in the top does not afffct fruiting. The plums are borne on small spurs at the ends and along the sides oi well-ripened shoots from one to three years of age, so that these spurs should be pre- served. Weak and unripened wood may be cut away in winter: but enough well-ripened young shoots should oe left to replace any old ones that raav die. Standard trees bear profit- ablv for from 20 to 25 years, from five to eight bushels of fruit being the average crop. NOTES ON PEARS, 1 ? I I I Pears require deeper ana cuiei ianu xnaxi apples, and succeed best in well-drained, fairly rich and loamy soils, of good depth, and per- fectly fn'è from stagnant water. Warm sit&s, "sheltered from cold spring winds, are desirable, a southern aspect being preferable for good des- sert varieties. Generally speaking, pears grown on walls mature the best fruit, and are most easily temporarily protected from inclement weather when in blossom, and for a time after- wards if necessary. Propagation is usually effected by grafting or Vudding on pear quince stocks, and should be left to the pro- fessional nurseryman. Standards are usually set t hree and dwarf pears two years after budding or grafting. Standard trees should be planted from 20 to 25 feet apart each way, while dwarfs are set from 12 to 18 feet asun- der. Pear limbs grow more upright than those of apples, and are therefore advantageous- ly started lower, four feet from the ground be- ing a convenient height for standards. Estab- lished trees must have their tops thinned yearly a.s advised in the case of apples though heavy pruning is most undesirable. The removal of some of the fruit spurs is an advantageous way (if thinning out the crop of fruit. Pears fruit three or four years after setting, and yield profitably until from 50 to 75 years old. A well-established and mature tree should yield an -average of from 25 to 40 bushels of fruit. NOTES ON CHERRIES Excessive moisture is more injurious than drought to cherries, which thrive in medium- light soil. containing sand and a littlQ lime or chalk. The trees will not do well on heavy i soils. In garden cultures the trees can be most conveniently protected when grown on walls. Cherries are generally increased bv budding or I grafting on the wild gean 8toCk, but propaga- tion is best left to professional nurserymen. Moreilo cherries are usually planted 20 feet apart. and other kinds 30 feet. The pruning of standard trees practically resolves itself into thinning out the centre to admit light and air, removing dead wood and inter-crossing branches and keeping the head well-balanced. Moreilo eherries fruit on wood of the preceding season so that the weakest shoots and some of the old woo d should be cut away to prevent overcrow-, ding. Garden trees can lie protected with bird netting but scaring by firing with blank cart- ridge is usually necessary in the cherry orchard. The condition of tillage of land exercises a great influence on the value of a fertiliser. In- deed, tillage does more than that, since it un- locks plant food already stored in the grouiAL In a. well tilled soil the fertilisers applied are distributed more evenly, and plants can utilise them more readily. There is too in such land more moisture to dissolve the fertilisers. Vigor- ous plants can use up with benefit much more manure than can weakly ones and vigorous plants can only be grown in well-tilled soil. The expert gardener uses manures to ensure extra yields rather than merely to prevent the ground becoming exhausted. Where gardeners are not prepared to give good tillage also the use of fertilisers is apt to be a wasteful process, Soluble fertilisers can be applied quite late in the season, particularly to friable and loose soils, but generally speaking, It is best to apply the artificial fertilisers for vegetable and fruit crops during the spring. The usual method of application is to spread the manure over the surface, and then lightly fork or rake it in. Both nitrate of soda and sulphate of ammonia are exceptionally soluble, and soon pass down into the subsoil beyond t'he reach of the plant roots, but this difficulty is overcome by only applying these manures as top-dressings to actually growing crops, which are ready to assimilate the nourishment thus provided. Unless the gardener has both time and space to make actual experiments to show what fer- tilising elements his soil requires, it is wise to apply a complete manure containing nitrogen, phosphoric acid, and potash in the proportions which experience has shown to be most suitable and usefuL Nitrogen tends to induce rapid foliage growth, and so to indirectly delay maturity, so that it must only be used sparingly and early in the season on crops which tend to late maturity. Where the soil and other conditions are fav- ourable ior plants, nothing conduces so much to luxuriance of crops as does an abundance of plant food just at the times when the plants require it.. Hence has arisen the practice of market gardeners, whose livelihood depends on their success, and who make it a general rule to apply artificial fertilisers in excess of what may be reasonably supposed to represent the needs of their crops. In these days of discrimination, garden pro- duce is valued as much for its quality as it is for its quantity; and both the palatibility and appearance of the product depend largely upon its having been grown continuously and rapidly. Many vegetables that are checked in growth or grown slowly become stringy and ill-flavoured. This is readil v llnderstandiMe when one con- siders that the improved quality of plants is at least partly due to the improved environment provided by the skilled grower. When the en- vironment is neglected and approximates more closely to natural conditions, the plants seem to revert more or less to the undesirable quality of the wild plants from which the strains were originaUy produced. E. KEMP TOOGOOD. F.L.S. F.R.illet.S,. pro Toogood and Sons, The King's Seedsmen, Southampton,

'Phone 597. 'Phone 387. WILLIAM TRESEDER, Ltd. THE NURSERIES, CARDIFF. WREATHS, CROSSES, CUT FLOWERS, &c. BEDDING PLANTS. Asters, Stocks, Dahlias, Marguerites, Lobelia, &c. Tels: TRE3EDER, FLORIST, CARDIFF.

Rheumatism Kidney Trouble. 1 FREE TREATMENT. Rheumatism is due to uric acid crystals in the Jomts and muscles, the result of excessive uri acid in the system that the kidneys failed remove as nature intended, to which every qualified physician agrees, and this acid is also the cause of backache, lumbago, sciatica, gout urinary trouble, stone, gravel and dropsy. The success of Estora Tablets, for the treat ment of rheumatism and other forms of kidney trouble, is due to the fa.ct that they restore tha kidneys to healthy action and thereby remove the cause of the trouble, whioh necessarily re- moves the ill-effects that. spring from it, and have cured numberless cases after the failure of other remedies, which accounts for them fast superseding out-of-date medicines that are sold at a price beyond all but the wealthy and so often fall short of the wonderful claims made that confidenoe has been lost in them. To prove Estora Tablets fitfly warrant thei." description—an honest remedy at an hones" price—one full box of 40 tablets will be sent to readers of the Pioneer as a free sample on receipt of this notice and 3d. in stamps to cover postage, packing, etc. Sold by chemists, 1/3 per box of 40 tablets, or 6 boxes for 6/9, For full box sample address Estora Co., 132 Charing Cross Road, London, W.C. Bargoed and Aberbargoed Agent—W. PARRY WMVLIAMS, M.P.S., Chemist.

Welsh Societies, CONFERENCE AT MERTHYR, I There was a large attendance at the annual conference of the Union of Welsh Societies, held in the Y.M.C.A. Buildings, Merthyr, on Sat- urday, Alderman John Jordan, Llansamlet. presiding. Mr D. Lieufer Thomas. M.A., Pontypridd, wrote resigning his position as president owing to other duties. The resignation was receiv- ed with regret, the conference expressing its earnest hope that he would continue to help and patronise the' Welsh Society movements. Mr E. T. John, MP, was elected as the new president, Mr R. Edwardes James, president of the M&rthy! Cymreigyddion Society, in welcoming the Union to the "town, referred to the import- ance of Merthyr as a entre for the iron and coal industries before Birmmgham, Middles- brough, and many other English centres of similar industries had gained 'any pre-eminence in the commercial world and long before Gar-I diff had set out upon that career of commercial conquest that had made her the metropolis of I Wales and the largest export port in the world. He expressed regret at the death at Loos of Lieutenant Rlatvo, vice-president of the Union, and to the great loss Merthyr had sustained by the death of Mr Llywarch Rey- nolds— one of the most nainstaking and eru- dite of Welsh scholars, and a keen lover of the finest ideals of Welsh literature. The conference expressed its appreciation of the support increasingly given by education authorities and educational institutions to the teaching of Welsh and rejoiced in the proper recognition now given to the celebration of St. David 's Dav. Coun. William Lewis. Merthyr, moving a resolution commending the various schemes for the relief of wounded and necessitous soldiers, referred to Brigadier-General Owen Thomas' excellent servioes. and outlined his proposals. The Rev, E. Bavies, Waunarlwydd, Councillor J. Powell. Cwmllynfell, and others spoke in favour of practical measures of help and not resolutions of sentiment only. The resolution was carried, but the conference decided not to commit itself to any particular scheme or fund. A procession of delegates and friends, headed by the president and officers of the local Cym- reigyddion, visited haunts associated with the narries of four local worthies—Thomas Ste- phens (author of Literature of the Kytnry"), Joseph Edwa.rds (the sculptor), Penry Williams (thl: artist) and Dr. Joseph Parry (the musician) —4me last three of whom were born in Merthyr. Lter, a Welsh ev ming-of a literary and jnusioai eharaoter-was spent at the Drill Hall, presided over by the Mayor (Coun. J. Harpur.)

Merthyr Colliery Shares. I GRAHAM NAVIGATION CO.'S NEW STEP. I The directors of Graham's Navigation (Mer- thyr) Collieries (Limited) have issued a circular to sha,reholders informing them of a proposal to convert the existing R5 shares into shares of £1 -each, and to inorease the capital of the company from £ 30,000 to £ 42,000 by the crea- tion of 12.000 -61 Six per Cent. Preference Shares The company propose to distribute these to the shareholders, in the proportion of two preference shares for every five £ 5 .share. An extraordinary general meeting of the com- pany will be held on June 5. at which a resolu- tion will be submitted for carrying those pro- posals into effect

r II ..III II .1 1 IOOWUUS CO-OPERATIVE SOGIElf, Limited, j i 16, 17, 18, and 19, Union teet, Dowlais. | 1 DRAPERY DEPT. j j I We are now showing a Large Ass&ri?ent of New Goods for the I. i coming Season:— 1 != Household Une?. B!a?kets. Quilts. Sheets. [ B Carpets and RUgSM I j i'~ iHimm iiNwiwm'wi 'inmi I'liiii'ii 1 nin ■ i MILLINERY DEPT* I I Costumes. Jackets. Blouses. Ladies and I:   1 Children's IViilSinery. |fi IS VALUE. AND QUALITY GUARANTEED !F YOU BUY AT I I a 16, 17, 18 & !9, Union Street, Dowlais. )! Is PaMtsca8!o?, DowSais. Caeha???s, Dcwlais. |I High Street, Penydarren* j Station Terrace, BedUnog" I Into t U lei

A Book Worth Reading. i i it seems strange to talk or think about books in these exciting days, when many of our com- rades are engaged in trying to clog the mili- tary machine by refusing to obey its orders; and a fierce contest is raging in Ireland over the rights of a "small nationality." Stronger still is it when this particular book is one which was published before war broke out in 1914. It is "The Ragged Trousered Philan- throphists," a novel written bv Robert Tressal, a Socialist house-painter; and as it outlines in a remarkable fashion the horrors of peace, it is perhaps worthy of mention. It may also re- mind us of a bloodless fight beyond the present once, which must continue after peace breaks out." The manuscript of this book was handed by chance to Jessie Pope, who, as she savs in her preface, found it to be a remarkable human document. With grim humour and pitiless realism this working man' has revealed the lives and hearts of his mates, their opin ion of their betters, their political views, their at- titude towards Socialism. Through the busy din of the hammer and the scraping-knife, the clang of the pail, the swish of the whitewash, the yell of the foreman, comes the talk of the men, their jokes and curses, their hopes and terrors, the whimpering of their old people, the cry of their children." No one but a wage- slave could have written it. This house-painter "recorded the criticism of the present scheme of things, until, weary of the struggle, he slipped out of it. The cut-throat competition, the shoddy work, the slave-driving foreman, the fear of unemployment—these, and many other features of the capitalist system are clearly shown. The painters, in one chapter. are talking ab- out the distress which exists in their town of Mugs borough, and they have come to the con- clusion that the foreigner is to blame because he sends cheap foreign goods to England. Owen (the Socialist) listens to their talk for a while, -and then says the following words, which might be adopted by the Anti-German Union at present:—" Some of you seem to think that it was a great mistake on God's part to make- so many foreigners. You. ought co hold a mass meeting and pass a resolution something like this: This meeting of British Christians hereby indignantly protests against the action of the Supreme Being in having created so many foreigners, and calls upon Him to rain downnre, brimstone and mighty rocks forthwith upon the heads of those Philistines, so that they be utterly exterminated from the face of the earth, which rightly beiongs to the British people.' A little further ou. (in Chapter 2), this pass- age occurs from which the book receives its ti- tle. Owen was listening to the bullying fore- man as he threatened to sack some of the men if they did not move faster and he (Owen) thought of his past life and the future which lay in front of his son. "As Owen thought of his child's fture there sprung up within hint a feeling of hatred and fury against the majority of his feilow-workmen. They were the enemy —those ragged trousered philanthropJst5 who not only submitted like so many cattle to their miserable slavery for the benefit of others, but defended it. and opposed and ridiculed any sug- gestion of reform. They were the rpall oppress- ors—the men who spoke of themselves as 'the likes of us,' who, having lived in poverty and degradation all their lives, considered that what had been good enough for them was good enough for „ the children they had been the means of bringing into existence. It was because they were indiffer- ent to the fate of THIEII children that he would be unable to secure a natural and human life for his. It was their a pa thy Or active opposition that made it impossible to establish a* better system of society under which those who did their fare share of the world's work would bt) honoured and rewarded. Instead of helping to this, they abased themselves and grovelled before their oppressors. and compelled and taught their children to do the same." They were the people who were really respon- sible for the continuance of the present sys- tem. How many pioneers have thought such thoughts in moments of depression In another part of the book, Owen pays a visit to old Jack Linden, who had been dis- missed by Mr. Rushten (their master) beoause he (Linden) had been found smoking in work- ing hours. He cannot find a job because of his age and the scarcity of work. His son had been killed in the Boer War; and so, besides his own wife, his son's wife and her two child- ren were dependent upon him. When Tom was called up to go to tbte war.' said the young woman bitterly, Mr Rushton shook hands with him and promised to give him a job when he •r oame back. But now that poor Tom's gone and they know that me and the children's got no one to look to but father, they do THIS.' In one of their after dinner chats, the men discuss the effects of machinery in displacing human labour, and they agree that machinery is an evil. But Owen clearly shows that it is the private ownership of the machinery which causes the mischief. If you think that- the machinery which makes it possible to produce all the necessaries of life in abundance is the cause of the shortage, it seems to nie that there must he something the matter witl your minds." At another dinner time talk they disetts". parsons" and "religion." The following art some of the remarks:—"That's just wot get's over ME," said Harlow. It don't seem right that, after living in misery and poverty ah our lives, workin' and slavin' all the hours that God A'xnighty sends, that we're to be* ——— well set fire to and binned in 'ell ior j all eternity It don't seem feasible to mB. y<? i? know. V "Yes," said Harlow. they (the parsons) lives on the fat 0' the land and wears the hastJ;, of every thing a.nd they does nothing f oi, but talk a lot of twaddle two or tt,.ree tirli-es week. The rest of the time they spend cadgin' money orf silly old women" who think- i* s a, sorter fire insurance." If I was the Harchbishop of Canterbury, said another, "I'd take my pot and brushes down to the office and sliv '(,in through the- ———— winder, and teU ole Misery (the boss) to* go to 'ell." One could go on quoting, but space for- bids. The chapters entitled "The Money Trick". and "The Oblong" are worthy of being re- printed as Socialist pamphlets. Economics,- f treated in such a simple way is anything but. a dismal science.' Manv a housewife wouhJ I be interested in the chapter on "The Financi- ers wherein the husband attempts to sboiff his wife how to wisely spend the income; be is soon. disgusted with his attempt, and finds j fehat even with improved management cannot make sixpence do the work of a shilling. In the Town Council interested parties are busy selling their out-of-d ate electrical plant to the Council, and the Councillors are invest- ing the money, received from the sale, in ¡,>: rival, concern. c Owing to the weak state of his own Trad> I Union, Owen does not realise the future which lies before the Trade Unions, and the V&vV they will play in the future organisation society. His Socialism might be described State Socialism, and the mighty task of e-1 1 ing the workers to creating a political ,<>. Jr.: sation. with that scheme in view, nllec hi "'r with despair. The above contains only very brief sampl- of the contents of this book. It is a bo^b I which Socialists should circulate. It is wo/th5 of a cheap reprint which would bring it -w-'tll- in reach of the modest purse of the proletarIat. Is there any way m which this demand for 0 cheap reprint could be voiced? At any r^,I\ if it remains beyond the purchasing power o individuals, ;ut it in your' library, and If t&' reading it you will/echo the title of this i-(,a.din2? ,,r 1%?ill'e(.-ho the 't,itle '0f this re-: Hie Ragged Trousered .Philanthropist," ?' 'I. 'riie -]?,.afg??d Richards, 6/- Ti?? jj I: obtainable second-hand. j

j635 Fine, £ 15 Costs. PENTREBACH BREACH OF THE MINES11 ACT. 1 The adjourned summonses against Mr The' mas, manager of Pentrebach Colliery for ii-41 lect of electrical regulations ended in lines a.,Ilr ounting to L3?5 and £ 15 costs being imposBd. Nine summonses were preferred against t? manager, and also against the agent of ? t colliery (Mr W. W. Green) but one of the sun1' |I monses against the former was dismissed Mr A. C. Vaohell, Cardie, prosecuted ? behalf of the Home O&ce, an? Mr C. EcDsho? r ?AbeT(?are) defended.  The Stipendiary said he was satisfied tb? l the agent had done all that could reasonabJ? ? be expected, and the summonses against hi^i were dismissed. The manager, however, h^ ample opportunity of observing the condit'O of tli(, p,l?a:rlt. The matter invoill,? the safety of hundeds of men. No doubt, t, e\ electricians were primarily liable, .and had, }I,i' thaught, been guilty of gross negligence, b'' the manager shouJd see that the subardina? carried out their duties. The fines against Mie manager ranged f,fiI £ 2 10s to LIO.

PLEASE MENTION THE PIONEER "I", WHEN ANSWERING ADVERTS.