SUBTROPICAL VEGETABLE- 

 GARDENING 



CHAPTER I 



SOILS FOR VEGETABLE-GARDENING IN WARM 

 COUNTRIES 



THE earthy matter in which plants grow is commonly 

 known as soil; it is finely pulverized rock intermixed 

 with more or less organic matter. The thin upper stratum 

 in which plants grow is all that we are interested in for 

 the present. The dark color in this stratum is due to the 

 partial oxidation of the vegetable matter here present. 

 The oxygen is mainly derived from the air. The part 

 that is dark is usually called the soil, and that immediately 

 below has been designated the subsoil. The soil is usually 

 more fertile than the subsoil, especially in the South. In 

 some of the alluvial bottoms, the soil is of the same con- 

 sistency for a considerable depth. 



The black vegetable mold in the soil, which we commonly 

 call humus, is an important factor. In it is contained the 

 mineral matter once extracted from the soil by the plants 

 whose rotting produced the humus, in a good condition 

 to be taken up again by other plants. Besides containing 

 food for plants, it keeps the soil in good condition for 

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