340 AGRICULTURAL REPORT. 



thrive best in a more moist soil. A situation on a southerly slope, if the elope is 

 very slight, near the foot of a knoll or moderate elevation, is desiruble. The surface 

 may be worked into terraces, or cultivated on its natural inclination. Such a 

 location affords a shelter which most garden vegetables Require in their early 

 and tender stage. 



When situated near the house the garden will be more frequently visited by 

 the women and children of the family, and they will become more interested 

 in its products and cultivation. There should always be a dry and well-kept 

 walk from the house to the garden, and, if practicable, this walk should be 

 bordered by shrubs and flowers, so as to tempt the feet of visitors, as well as 

 the inmates of the house. Such a path is not one of those flowery cues that 

 lead the young astray, but, like the " straight and narrow way," it leads to 

 virtue and peace, and should be made, in every respect, as inviting as possible. 

 As farm buildings are usually erected without reference to a garden, it cannot 

 always be located in the most desirable situation. 



PROPER SOIL FOR THE GARDEN. 



The best location that circumstances will permit having been secured, the 

 next step will be to get such a soil as will best suit a majority of the plants we 

 wish to cultivate. It is a mistake to suppose that some specific soil is indis- 

 pensable to success. There is probably no farm in the country that does not 

 afford a spot near its buildings which, by skilful management, may be made to 

 produce all the varieties of fruits and vegetables adapted to the climate ; but 

 there is a diversity in them, and if we do not find such as we desire prepared 

 by nature, we must resort to art. Soils perform at least three grand functions 

 in reference to vegetation. They serve as a basis on which plants may fix 

 their roots, and sustain themselves in their erect position ; they supply food to 

 vegetables at every period of their growth, and they are the media in which 

 many chemical changes take place that are essential to a right preparation of 

 the various kinds of food destined for the growing plant. 



The character of the soil, by which I mean its capacity to afford a habita- 

 tion to the plant appropriate to it, and at the same time to afford the required 

 aliment, as all gardeners must see, is of the first importance. 



First, it should be such as to afford sufficient moisture to the roots, and to 

 admit the air to penetrate it freely. The soil consists of decayed vegetable 

 matter, mixed with particles of rock reduced to fineness by the action of the 

 atmosphere and of water, and sometimes by the roots of plants. It is unneces- 

 sary to describe the different kinds of soils in regard to adaptation to supplying 

 moisture. 



Secondly, it should afford a supply of carbonic acid. This is furnished by 

 the decay of vegetable matter, or by absorption from the atmosphere. This 

 fiiculty of absorption is assisted by mixing v.'ith it charcoal, muck, or other 

 matters having great absorbing power. Charcoal consists chiefly of carbon ; 

 and it has been found that plants will grow more luxuriantly in soil containing 

 a large proportion of carbonaceous matter, if well supplied with water, than in 

 any other soil. Charcoal is not only a medium of absorption, but when water 

 is present it is decomposed, and its oxygen combining with the carbon of the 

 charcoal, carbonic acid is furnished to the vessels of the plant. 



Thirdly, the soil should be capable of furnishing a supply of ammonia to the 

 roots. This is also much assisted by the presence of gypsum or charcoal, 

 which absorb it from the atmosphere. The usual mode of supplying it is by 

 the addition of animal matter from the stable." Ammonia imparts its nitrogen 

 to the plant, and it is to this that much of the nutritive value of the cereal 

 grains and many esculent vegetables is due. 



Fourth, it should contain those mineral ingredients which are necessary to 

 the growth of plants. These, if wanting, must be supplied. The usual modes 



