LITTLE GARDENS 



with manures. He can, if he must, wait till the 

 snow is about to fall, so that the sight and odor 

 shall be quieted beneath the white of winter; yet 

 it is better to be brave and endure. You can use 

 phosphates, guano, poudrette, bone-dust and 

 higher-sounding things than these, but there is 

 nothing better than hennery and stable manure. 

 Never use it fresh, for the ammonia is then over- 

 powering, and will burn your plants, and put 

 you out of favor with the family next door. It 

 must be old and well rotted in the compost heap. 

 The manure, of whatever kind, is to be stirred 

 into the ground on a second spading or raking. 

 If plants or trees are standing in the yard during 

 this process no harm is likely to come to them 

 from stable manure, but the chemical fertilizers 

 are sometimes so sharp that moderation must be 

 used in applying them, and it is well not to have 

 them touch the roots of the plants. If the yard 

 is so large, and so open to the street as to admit 

 of plowing, the manure may be strewn over its 

 surface after that operation, and then harrowed 

 or raked in. Odorless manures are much in 

 favor for city use, but for actual value they will 

 never replace the stable sweepings and decayed 



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