No. 6. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 799 



in the dark, dull days of winter, is that we dare not use water on 

 the foliage of roses too freely, else we run great risks of giving the 

 plants more waier than they need, especially on the leaves, and in 

 that way encourage diseases that are even worse if possible than is 

 the red spider. 



SOIL. 



Every tiller of the soil knows the importance of Mother Earth well 

 tilled no matter what the crop. Any good, loamy soil properly pre- 

 pared for a corn or any other farm crop, when the tiller is reason- 

 ably satisfied that it could not be improved upon, is all right to be 

 used for nearl^^ all plants grown in a greenhouse. If, however, the 

 desire is to go to a little more trouble, then a few loads of sod from 

 an old pasture should be secured and carefully piled up with some 

 rich cow manure and ground bone and wood ashes, the two latter 

 ingredients weight for weight in about equal proportions. The 

 cow manure will give all the elements of plant food, aod the 

 bone meal will give some ammonia and phosphoric acid, and the 

 wood-ashes some potash additional and some lime. Place the sod 

 grass side together and a layer of manure occasionally, about one 

 load of manure to five loads of sod or good loam will be in about the 

 right proportions, and an occasional sprinkling of the bone and 

 wood-ashes, about one hundred pounds of each to every five loads of 

 sod would make an excellent compost. If this pile is put up in the 

 fall, allow it to remain until the weather commences to get warm 

 in the spring, then turn the pile over, taking care to break up the 

 lumps and mix well the whole together. 



Soil for plants to be grown in a greenhouse should not be handled 

 when it is wet, no more than it should for a farm crop. When pre- 

 paring soil for large operations, the plan is to manure heavily a 

 piece of old sod if possible with cow manure in the fall, and just ns 

 soon as the grass begins to grow, and before it grows too long so that 

 it will plow down nicely and cover easily, it should be plowed without 

 further delay, then a heavy roller should be passed over the soil 

 a few times to compress same; then use the drag harrow freely, in 

 this way most of the little holes will be filled and an almost level 

 surface obtained. Then a good guaranteed quality of bone should 

 be evenly distributed over the whole, and the ground harrowed 



