SOILS AND HOW THEY WORK 



know about the soil, but we do know that lime or 

 wood ashes and humus mixed with the soil always 

 makes a good garden. 



If you live on prairie land that is new you may 

 not need much of anything in your garden the first 

 year, but I would test it just the same. 



If you live on "shale" land, you will need plenty 

 of humus, and probably no lime. If you live on 

 "sandy loam," you will need both lime and humus. 



You see, humus holds moisture like a sponge, so 

 the more we have in our gardens the better they 

 will be in times of dry weather. If you cannot get 

 leaf -mold from the woods, get some well rotted 

 manure, and work it into the ground when spring 

 comes. 



Let us suppose a garden is on a steep hillside, 

 and that is the only place you can have one. Then 

 you will have more work to do than the rest of us, 

 for you will have to make a shelf called a "terrace" 

 for your garden. 



Here is a hill, and here is your terrace garden. 

 You see, you will have to dig a regular step in the 

 hillside and plant your crops on the flat surface 

 you make. I hope many of us will not have to do 

 it, for it is a good deal of work, but you have this 

 advantage : all the rainfall from the hill above your 



5 



