300 QUARTERLY JOURNAL. 



fine manure, it will be found the most convenient, and probably as 

 good for plants. A little wood ashes may also be used. The ar- 

 tificial soils are made by mixing loam, peat, decayed leaves — 

 forming what is called leaf mould — sand, and manure. 



Loam is the mixture of clay and sand, constituting the soil of 

 a garden, or old pastures, and should be taken from the surface, 

 or just beneath the sod. 



Peat is formed in low ground, by the decay of leaves, roots and 

 stems of plants which have grown upon the spot for centuries. 



Leaf mould is taken from the surface of the ground or rocks in 

 forests, and should form an important part in the soil. 



Sand should be taken from some place where it has had long a 

 free exposure to the air. 



Manure should be two or three years old, and well rotted, so as 

 to be easily reduced to fine particles. 



These substances, mixed in proper proportions, will form a soil 

 suitable for any plants. Some naturally grow in a soil more sandy 

 than others — some in a. soil principally or wholly of loam, and 

 others of mould ; and in these we have the means of suiting the 

 native habits of each. They should be well pulverized, and inti- 

 mately mixed, and always ready for use. 



It is often convenient to combine the flower garden with the 

 kitchen garden. In such a case, the best arrangement that can be 

 made, is to lay out a broad walk through the most convenient part, 

 and on each side of it a border about three feet wide for flowers. 

 This may be slightly raised by shovelling the earth which is taken 

 from the walks into these borders. Others may, if necessary, be 

 made around the sides or in the middle, by devoting a suflicient 

 space for the purpose, which can be laid out according to the fancy 

 or taste of any one. By having the two combined, a neatness and 

 grace is added to the utility of the kitchen garden, and both can 

 be taken care of together. No particular directions can be given as 

 to the form and plan of such a garden. Much will depend upon the 

 size of it, and more upon the taste of the one who takes care of it. 



II. OF MANURES. 



Let the soil of the garden be what it may, and let it possess all 

 other natural advantages, without the free application of manures, 

 the labor bestowed will meet with a very small return. If these 

 are necessary in the kitchen garden to insure a good growth of 

 vegetables raised there, they are no less important in the flower- 



