38 SOILS AND MULCHING 



cover the ground, say from 6 to 12 ins. deep, with a layer of newly fallen 

 leaves. In the event of a hard winter they keep the soil comparatively 

 warm, gradually decaying and settling down to a shallow covering, which 

 keeps the soil cool and moist during the following summer. The surface 

 roots of rhododendrons and most shrubs thrust themselves greedily into 

 this humus ; being light and easily permeated by air, it has not the evil 

 results that sometimes follow heavy top-dressings of loam or manure, 

 which, too frequently given, are apt to bury the plant unduly and set up 

 decay at the collar, just as deep planting does. 



Mulching. This term is applied to the practice of placing material, 

 usually of a feeding nature, on the surface of the soil permeated by roots 

 of trees and shrubs, as distinct from burying it in the ground. It has two 

 allied purposes : that of nourishing the plant, in which case the mulch is 

 usually some form of farm manure ; and that of keeping the soil warm in 

 winter, and cool and moist in summer. 



In the case of old and failing trees, or starved and weakly ones, 

 especially those of a surface-rooting nature like beech, elm, lime, maples, 

 and numerous others, no treatment aiming at their renovation is 'more 

 efficacious than a top-dressing of manure, loam and manure, or manure 

 and leaves, from 3 to 6 ins. in thickness. The ground should be lightly 

 pricked over before it is applied. If the tree is standing on a lawn the 

 grass should be taken off in turves and replaced after the mulching is 

 done. In this case leaves are unsuitable as part of the compost, because 

 they decay into such small compass that the ground settles much and 

 unevenly ; loam and manure should be used, or even loam by itself. If 

 possible, it is best to mulch lawn trees in early October, and leave the 

 ground open through the ensuing winter and early spring, re-turfing or 

 sowing with grass seed the following April. 



The commonest form of mulching, especially of shrubs, is the summer 

 mulch, designed to keep the soil and roots moist and cool in the broiling 

 heats of July and August, especially after transplanting. The material 

 should be of a loose, open nature, and perhaps, for general use, the best 

 of all is a mixture of short rotted manure and leaf-soil. For rhododen- 

 drons and the heath family generally, a four-inch layer of decayed leaves is 

 as good as anything. Such a top-dressing is remarkably effective in 

 keeping the ground moist better, indeed, than many waterings. Newly 

 planted shrubs and trees, and all those liable to suffer more than 

 ordinarily from drought, should always have this mulching. Surface 

 hoeing, persistently done, is an admirable means of keeping ground moist 

 during drought, maintaining, as it does, the top layer of earth in a loose, 

 open state. Mulching with a loose, open material is a still more effective 

 means to the same end and of less trouble, as one dressing is sufficient for 

 a season, sometimes for two or three. 



