298 BERTHA'S VISIT TO HER 



to apply just the right proportion ; that is, 

 enough to kill the worms, but not enough to 

 render the ground sterile which a great quan- 

 tity of salt certainly does. In talking of this to 

 my uncle, it occurred to him that the stuff 

 called salt dross, which is often thrown away, 

 would be a mild form of applying salt ; and he 

 was so kind and indulgent, that he procured, 

 not without much trouble and difficulty, a boat- 

 load ; it is of an odd purplish brown colour, and 

 retains many saline particles. 



To each of my intended carnation beds, which 

 are about six feet long and two feet broad, we 

 put a wheelbarrow full of this stuff, which the 

 gardener dug in, and thoroughly mixed with the 

 earth. The beds were then thrown up in high 

 ridges, to remain so for the winter, during which 

 the salt will, my uncle thinks, destroy these 

 mischievous worms, as well as the snail eggs. 



If this succeeds, it will be a very satisfactory 

 experiment, but many months must pass before 

 we can ascertain its success. 



This was done a few days before my uncle 

 went to town. 



22nd. I have had another walk with my 

 uncle to-day, in the beech-walk, of which he 

 has made me so fond. I took that opportunity 

 of asking him why some trees lose their leaves 

 in winter, and others preserve them ; for the fall 



