348 MULCHINfi. 



through to the subsoil, and aid in the decomposition 

 and recombination of those substances which fur- 

 nish nutriment to vegetable life. If the earth is 

 wet when it is worked, it will lie even more close 

 than before, and assume that condition which is 

 described by the farmers as " baked," and thus the 

 very object aimed at be lost. 



Mulching. This consists in covering the earth, 

 to the depth of an inch or two, with some porous 

 material. It is always, and under almost all cir- 

 cumstances, attended with beneficial, and sometimes 

 with remarkable, results. It is indispensable to the 

 most successful production of fruit. Many of our 

 best fruit-growers consider it so necessary that, 

 should they be obliged to omit any of the important 

 operations of cultivation, this would be among the 

 last. It prevents, to a great degree, the cracking 

 of fruit, and causes those varieties which are gen- 

 erally spotted and defaced, to become clean, and 

 covered with a rich bloom. 



The material to be used is not of so much im- 

 portance ; yet it is well that it be some substance 

 which contains fertility, as thus a double object is 

 gained in its application. Stable-manure, tan, saw- 

 dust, peat, or anything of this nature, will answer 

 the purpose. Such as the second and third should 

 not be fresh, for the gases generated might be un- 

 favorable, or positively injurious. The time of 

 application must be determined by the end which 



