SOILS, MANURES AND FERTILIZERS 15 
much fertilizer in the soil, but that I would take so 
much out of the bag that it would be missed. 
Great indeed was my chagrin and disappointment, 
twelve hours after carefully setting out and 
watering my would-be prize plants, to notice that 
they had perceptibly turned yellow and wilted. 
And I certainly had made the soil rich. 
So the problem is by no means as simple as might 
at first be supposed. Not only must sufficient plant 
food be added to the soil but it must be in certain 
forms, and neither too much nor too little may be 
given if the best results are to be attained. 
Now it is a fact established beyond all dispute 
that not only food, but air and water, as well, must 
be supplied to the roots of growing plants; and 
this being the case, the mechanical condition of the 
soil in which the plant is to grow has a great deal 
to do with its success or failure. It must be what 
is termed a porous and friable soil — that is, one so 
light and open that water will drain through it with- 
out making it a compact, muddy mass. One of the 
things I noticed about my special fertilizer soil, 
mentioned above, was that it settled, after being 
watered, into a solid mass from which water would 
not drain and into which air could not penetrate. 
It is next to impossible to find a soil just right 
for house plants, so, as a general thing the only way 
to get a good soil is to mix it yourself. For this 
purpose several ingredients are used. If you live 
