VI 



IRISH GARDENING. 



ducts, as they can all ))e utilized in one form or 

 otlier, though teuiporaiy difficulties may be ex- 

 perienced at times, in their proper disposal and 

 distribution due, perhaps, to a local glue, the 

 absence of a canning plaut. or the want of farm 

 animals which require fattening, &c. 



It is quite imnecessary to be plumbed up with 

 scientific facts and data delving deep into the 

 intricate, but a rudimentary knowledge is in- 

 dispensable, however attained. There are many 

 who are entirely ignorant of the component parts 

 of their soil, yet have made their business and 

 labour a fine success. Why ? They are successful 

 by rote; they know by experience that turnips do 

 well where the previous crop was peas, and soil 

 nnist be kept in a state of tilth by constant hoeing. 



If one asked for an explanation why they did 

 that, they might answer by a vague or indefinite 

 reply. A theorist might say precisely : legumi- 

 nous plants such as pisum and faba, collect and 

 store nitrogen in the soil, and capillary attraction 

 is disconnected and moisture conserved by 

 hoeing. 



Practical men are apt tV) regard theoretical 

 teachings as all stuff and nonsense, and to see 

 these modern decimal values per acre of sub- 

 divided, remote chemicals; one's sympathies are 

 with the man thirsting for information. The 

 certain road to successful cultivation is education, 

 however gained, and it therefore behoves one to 

 be acquainted with the physical elements of the 

 soil, in addition to a sound, practical experience. 



What is SiiU?— If one tendered a handful of 

 the earth's vitality to an average townsman and 

 to ask for an explanation, he would invariably 

 call it dirt ; but call it dirt, mould, earth or soil, 

 it is nevertheless a mass of minute particles of 

 irregular shapes, with widely different chemical 

 substances. It has been formed by slow process 

 through countless ages, by constant destruction of 

 rock masses and decay of vegetable and animal 

 remains. 



The chief agents which wear rock to soil are 

 firstly running water with its denuding action; 

 secondly, still water with its solvent action, and 

 thirdly, frost, which has a very strong expanding 

 action on rocks. This last action results in the 

 splitting up of - rock formed with greater force 

 by breaking up into particles and afterwards into 

 fine powder or sand ; eventually other agents come 



into play, as the cycle of plant life, and finally 

 cultivation. ■ '-C ■■' '' '.'■[ 



Frimary Constifuents of CuUivatcd Hoih.— 

 Humus is the decaying animal and vegetable 

 matter which is so noticeable in dark soils, and the 

 result of this decay is that (CO.,), (H.O) and 

 nitrates are formed. The physical effect is firstly, 

 that it is very retentive of water, and secondly 

 (COo) is given off in its decomposition, absorbed 

 by water in soil, and assists in dissolving mineral 

 salts. 



In well-cultivated soils humus ranges from 2 

 to 9 per cent., and where it is more than that, sand 

 and road drift shoidd be introduced. 



Sand is a mass of fine particles of l)roken rocks, 

 and its physical character is that it absorbs water 

 most greedily, but it is not retentive. Its chemical 

 properties as a plant feed are useless, but a,s a 

 soil constituent it is most valuable, for it makes, 

 the soil light and open, and acts for proper drain- 



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