24 PRACTICAL GARDENING. 



would bear more. Onions, for instance, if the ground be 

 well prepared, and two pounds weight of guano, or two and a 

 half, be watered in a few days before sowing, and once or 

 twice with plain water afterwards, would thrive wonderfully, 

 if the guano be good. Guano ought to be always mixed with 

 twice or thrice its weight of peat-mould, or sand, or other 

 soil. 



Mael is a fattish loam, of use in light lands. It is a sort 

 of half-way stuff between ordinary loam and clay, and of 

 great use in impro^dng sandy soils. It would be of little use 

 to speak of the quantity required for a dressing : it would be 

 extremely difficult to give too much ; but " every little helps." 

 The benefit of a very light dressing is felt ; and liberal 

 dressing repeated would convert a desert into a garden. As 

 in all other soils, there are many qualities, but the sandy 

 soil of many commons, such as Wokiiig, and all the waste 

 lands south of London will be found good. 



Salt is useful to kill vermin when they are out of the way 

 of plants. It is used on gravel walks to kill weeds. The 

 danger is in allowing it to reach the verges or edgings, which, 

 unless you are careful, it will. Some dissolve it in water, 

 and distribute it with a water-pot ; and it often runs too far. 

 "Wlien Salting is resorted to, a dress ought to be dra^vn the 

 whole length of the walk, on both sides, two or three inches 

 from the edge, becauta that stops the salt water from reaching 

 the side. Others sow it, and leave the rain to wash it in ; 

 but there is more danger in this than in watering, because it 

 gets blown about. Salt is also used on as]Daragus beds, for 

 that is a marine plant. You may sow as much as will make 

 the beds white, and not risk hurting the plant, while it is 

 known to be a good and profitable dressing. 



Chemical Manures generally are now much used in farm- 

 ing ; and some particular experiments with them will form 

 the subject of an Appendix, because they are too varied to be 

 the groundwork of general instructions. The various chemical 

 agents which are now employed in thousands of experiments, 

 by rich farmers, will lead to some general rules for their use. 



The Sewage of Large Towns ^vill be turned to account. 

 It is worthy of remark, that we have in the United Kingdom 

 sent millions of loads of filth into the various rivers, thus 

 polluting our streams, while we have paid milhons for manure 

 of foreign produce, to impoverish us on the one hand, and 



