TWO] |s>otte 



21 



local paper would, doubtless, prove advantageous to 

 customer and purveyor. On hillsides along the road, 

 and places which the rain has washed, one may gather 

 quantities of pure white or grey sand for potting. 

 Yellow sand is not suitable for such use, as it contains 

 much clay and cakes badly after watering, while the 

 white or grey sand remains line and loose. 



Leaf-mould is not so readily procurable, as it must 

 be gathered from suitable patches through the woods, 

 and the farmers do not like to bother with it. Besides, 

 they are likely to dig up much undesirable under-soil. 

 It is better to go one's self for this. A still better way 

 is to make your own leaf-mould. Thus: when sod 

 is removed from the ground for any purpose, shake 

 out the fine soil that adheres to it for future use ; or 

 slice off the fine roots with a sharp knife just below the 

 crown of the grass. This is known as fibrous loam, 

 and, in combination with leaf-mould, old manure and 

 fine, sharp sand, makes the very finest potting soil. 

 Throw the tops of the sods in a heap in some out-of- 

 the-way corner and add the rakings of the yard in 

 fall and spring, all weeds pulled during the summer, 

 all vegetable refuse, potato-parings, apple-peelings, 

 corn-husks, and berry-hulls anything that has vege- 

 table matter and will decay. All dish-water and slops 

 that are not needed on the garden may be thrown on 

 the pile, which should be turned over occasionally 

 during the winter. By the following spring you will 

 have the finest kind of leaf-mould. Not all of the pile 



