MANURES, AND HOW TO USE THEM 49 



burnt wood ashes, or the refuse of the bonfire heap, soot and 

 lime these all supply useful plant food and may be used with 

 perfect confidence in any part of the garden. 



Farmyard manure may be applied to the ground at any con- 

 venient season of the year, but it should never be used in a raw, 

 " green " condition. If it is in this state when it is purchased 

 it had better be placed in a heap and be allowed to mature for a 

 week or two, turning it over once or twice before using it. If 

 it contains a large quantity of long fresh straw, this should be 

 allowed to rot somewhat, and then be used upon clayey, heavy 

 soil. It should be dug in a foot deep in the autumn and early 

 winter, and it will then help both to fertilise and to break up the 

 ground. Opportunity should be taken of hard frost to wheel 

 the manure on the ground, so that it shall be ready for use when 

 the conditions become suitable for digging. 



For enriching light, sandy soils nothing can exceed the value 

 and efficacy of cow manure. Besides being an admirable plant 

 food it will help to supply the binding qualities that such light 

 soils require. But it is impossible to use it in its fresh state, and 

 it is necessary therefore to stack it in an out-of-the-way corner 

 for twelve months, if possible. It will then become easily manage- 

 able and can be employed freely. Similar use may be made of 

 the refuse of the pigsty, after it has been treated in the manner 

 suggested for cow manure. 



Leaves form an excellent plant food if in the late autumn they 

 are collected, buried in a hole in the ground to decompose, and 

 disinterred and dug into the soil after the lapse of a year. If 

 manure be mixed with the leaves during the filling up of the hole 

 decomposition will be assisted. Such a collection of leaves and 

 manure can be turned to excellent account in the following late 

 spring if it be used as a bed for marrows, or, if a frame be placed 

 over it, as a suitable compost in which to grow cucumbers or 

 melons. After the crop has been gathered the leaves and 

 manure can be used with splendid results, either in the flower 

 border or on the vegetable plot. 



Do amateur gardeners thoroughly appreciate the value of soot 



