166 WINTER PROTECTION OF PLANTS 



which manure is placed around the plants depends upon its 

 composition. When two-thirds of the manure is litter, a 

 greater amount can be piled around the plant, than when it 

 consists largely of solid matter. A conservative amount of 

 the ordinary horse manure to mulch the ground around a 

 plant is about 1 foot. The mulch should not be piled against 

 the plant but it should begin about 3 or 4 inches away from 

 it. When the mulching material is piled up against the plant 

 it often induces mice to harbor near it and these rodents some- 

 times eat the bark and cause the death of the plant. 



The beds of herbaceous perennial plants should be mulched 

 every fall. Plants like the peonies, rhubarb, asparagus, straw- 

 berries and many others respond wonderfully to such treat- 

 ment. Herbaceous perennial plants are usually set in beds 

 and placed rather closely together. Because of this method 

 of growing, it is better to cover the entire bed with the mulch. 

 Fresh horse manure which is composed largely of straw is the 

 best kind of a mulch. The mulch should be spread on the 

 ground before severe cold weather arrives. From 6 to S 

 inches of the mulch is the proper amount to use. The 

 material should be distributed uniformly over the bed. 



Spring Treatment of Mulched Plants. — The spring treat- 

 ment of plants which have been mulched, differs according to 

 the plant. The mulch around woody plants such as small 

 ornamental trees and bushes, like the roses, should not be 

 removed. By the time spring arrives the mulch will have 

 settled down and will hardly be noticeable. Two methods 

 of treatment are employed in such cases. If the plants are 

 not too small the mulch is usually left undisturbed and more 

 added each year as the old material rots and gradually 

 disappears by becoming a part of the soil. If the plants are 

 larger and the mulch has been extended to the limit of the 

 drip of the branches, it is usually spaded under and incor- 

 porated with the soil to make more plant food. 



For herbaceous plants a somewhat different treatment is 

 required. In such plants as the strawberries, rhubarb, aspara- 

 gus and peonies the mulch is gently raked from the crown of 

 the plants early in the spring, just as the new growth is start- 

 ing. The material used for the mulch should not be removed 



