PROPAGATION OF PLANTS 



HE first requisite for the propagation and growth 

 of plants is a suitable soil. Most people take their 

 soil as they find it, adding much or little dressing 

 from the barnyard, or patent fertilizers, put in 

 their plants, and abide by the results, which are, that certain 

 things flourish well and others quietly disappear. This gentle 

 disappearance, usually attributed to the weather, the nursery- 

 man's stock, or pests, is the only protest a plant can utter 

 against an unsuitable diet. It generally gives a month's 

 warning that it is about to quit your service when it pines and 

 droops, and whenever you see a plant grow pale and languid 

 it is high time to consult authorities. I presume the best 

 all-around soil is a rich sandy loam, for this is adapted to the 

 majority of plants. By loam I mean the top soil of pasture 

 or grass-lands, just under the grass for a few inches. It is full 

 of fiber, and is the product of decayed vegetation, which has 

 been incorporated in the earth beneath and has enriched it. 

 It is generally brown or almost black, finely pulverized and 

 rich in humus. It varies greatly, owing to the character of the 

 soil beneath. In low wet lands it is black, heavy and some- 

 times a little sour, which last condition can be altered by 

 spreading out a pile of it to the sun and air, and letting it 

 freeze through a winter. In sandy districts it will be very 

 light, and will need manuring, and, if procurable, a little clay 

 and black muck well mixed with it, to give it body. In 

 gravelly places it will need leaf mold, black muck and per- 

 haps a little sand. A heavy loam resting on a clay subsoil is 



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