THE COUNTRY HOME [chapter 



sod, old barn manure, lime or plaster, old heaps 

 of weeds, and old everything. If you have ten 

 acres, you will select, at convenient points, at least 

 three places, where you will have compost piles. 

 These should take in all I have named, and all 

 the wood ashes and the anthracite coal ashes you 

 can get possession of, with barn manure. 



In the fall add loads of fallen leaves. Such a 

 heap should be left undisturbed until late October 

 or November; then comminute it thoroughly with 

 a fork, and apply to the gardens just before the 

 winter sets in, or in the spring, very early. A 

 good gardener never uses raw or half-fermented 

 manures, for the waste runs from fifty to ninety 

 per cent. — in fact, manures applied in mid- 

 summer, broadcast, are sometimes absolutely 

 thrown away, with the exception of a very little 

 humus. Compost piles, if judiciously arranged, 

 need not mar the beauty and good taste of your 

 property. In spring prepare around the edges beds 

 for lettuce, radishes, spinach, and parsley. Then 

 plant on the top, and around the sides, hills of 

 squashes. You will, with a little care, secure mag- 

 nificent growth. Pumpkins will do just as well, 

 only they should be grown on piles separate from 



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