FERTILIZERS AND PLANT REMEDIES 



when it rests for a month. Then we again 

 have asparagus for three weeks, and cease 

 cutting it while still bearing freely, for fear 

 of injuring the roots. 



The number of plant diseases increases so 

 rapidly that the harried gardener no sooner 

 has conquered one trouble than another 

 appears, and the spray-machine is in con- 

 stant use in the fight against insect destroy- 

 ers and microbe diseases. Vigilance which 

 enables one to detect an enemy in the very 

 beginning, and constant care, generally win 

 the fight against everything but the terrible 

 drought, where one is powerless. Even though 

 the water-supply remains sufficient, the con- 

 tinued dryness of the atmosphere, dewless 

 nights, constant winds, with the sun burning 

 down upon the lawns and gardens, destroy 

 their vitality and check their growth. In dry 

 weather, constant stirring of the soil to the 

 depth of a couple of inches to maintain a 

 loose mulch, or a mulch of leaves, lawn clip- 



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