MAIDEN LOAM. 171 



Heaths will pine away and die in it, but the Hydrangea 

 will produce the blue sort to perfection if grown 

 in it. 



The other class to which I refer in this work will 

 not only grow Heaths, but everything else, even 

 Cucumbers ; and when peat will do this it is composed 

 of rich and nutritious qualities, and is also free from 

 impurities. If a Heath will not grow in peat, it may 

 be looked upon as not safe for other plants ; for it 

 certainly possesses some dangerous compound in the 

 way of a mineral, or is poisoned by supersaturation 

 with mineral waters, &c. The peat alluded to in this 

 book is plentiful enough, but some distance has often 

 to be gone to get it. Epping Forest (around High 

 Beech), Wimbledon Common, &c., are the best places 

 to obtain it, but a few sacks of it can now easily be 

 had by railway. This class of peat, when handled, 

 feels plum, and does not contain great stones nor 

 coarse sand, but it adheres slightly together when 

 pressed with the hand, although it is dry. But the 

 other peats are harsh, and the Dartmoor peat contains 

 coarse sand, and will not cling together under the same 

 circumstances. 



Maiden Loam. 



" Maiden loam " is a term easily understood, but the 

 quality of it is a frequent source of anxiety to amateurs. 

 ■ By " maiden loam " is meant the top spit from a breify 

 common or a pasture. The best kind possesses a nature 

 similar to that of good peat, except that it contains no 

 sand, and bears good grass and herbage. It will grow 

 Cucumbers and Melons without any addition to it. 

 The best I ever knew came from the Lower Epping 

 Forest, although good maiden loam can be had in most 

 localities. I need scarcely add that the term "maiden 

 loam " implies that the top soil has not been cropped 

 beyond the natural herbage. This soil, as well as the 

 peat, should be dug up during the early autumn, turf 

 and all, in solid spits, and packed up in stacks, turf 

 downwards, out of doors — not under trees, but in an 



