55 



down, on a well-drained space adjacent to the greenhouse. 

 Convenient widths are 6 to 10 feet. On this layer place 

 two or three inches of well-rotted manure and sprinkle 

 pulverized lime on it say, a scant pailful to the square 

 rod. Repeat alternate layers of sod and manure until a 

 pile three to five or six feet high with sloping sides and of 

 any desired length has been made. It is an advantage to 

 make the top concave, so it will hold water when needed. 



Let the pile stand thus for two years or longer before 

 being used. Then slice with a sharp spade vertically 

 from top to bottom and 

 mix thoroughly by 

 throwing in a heap as 

 slicing proceeds. At the 

 same time, add enough 

 sand to be plainly visible 

 on the pile. 



Commercial green- 

 house men cannot usual- 

 ly afford so expensive a 

 soil as this because of 

 the cost of the turf and 

 the loam often $100 to 

 $200 an acre for the 

 surface three or four 

 inches. They, there- 

 fore, use a rich gar- 

 den loam with liberal quantities of compost and sand. 

 For houses where little of the earth is sold with the 

 plants the soil is returned to the field after being used 

 in the greenhouse and there liberally fertilized and made 

 to grow crops of clover, rye, buckwheat and grass, each 

 crop plowed under to fill the earth with vegetable mat- 

 ter for its next journey to the greenhouse. In such 

 cases the soil is generally run through a mixing machine 

 before it is used. Thus the soil area actually becomes 

 richer and more friable from year to year. 



FIG. 45 SIFTING SOIL 

 The hand meth 



FOR POTTING 



if getting rid of clods and 

 stones. 



