MULCHING 



soil and the air. This earth-mulch may itself be dust- 

 dry, but it protects the soil beneath. There is more or 

 less evaporation into the interstices of the earth-mulch 

 itself, and some of the moisture ascends through the 

 mulch and escapes into the atmosphere; but it has been 

 found by long experience and by experiments that the 

 earth-mulch greatly lessens evaporation. The frequent 

 stirring of the surface soil in summer is said to make 

 the land moist; as a matter of fact, it keeps it moist. 

 When it is impracticable to keep a surface mulch by 

 means of tillage with horse tools or a rake, it is some- 

 times advisable to use straw or manure. Mulching 

 newly set trees is often desirable when it is not possible 

 to till the land or not practicable to water them. The 

 ideal mulch to conserve moisture, however, is the loose 

 soil, since the stirring of the soil not only affords the 

 mulch but also sets at work various chemical and bio- 

 logical forces which make the plant-food more available. 

 All herbaceous plants and most shrubs are benefitted 

 by a mulch in the fall, no matter how hardy they may 

 be in the given locality. X:iture's mulch is the debris of 

 fallen leaves, grass anil other litter. The autumn leaves 

 which blow into the borders and the clumps of shrub- 

 bery, afford the very best winter mulch ; and yet 

 it is a common practice to scrupulously collect and burn 

 these leaves in the fall, and then if the plants are 

 mulched to apply manure. This is doubtful wisdom. 

 The herbaceous border will be benefitted by a loose, open 

 mulch, 6 to 10 inches deep. If the mulch is of such 

 character as to become very hard and dense, and to hold 

 too much water, it may be injurious. Leaf-mold, loose 

 muck or peat, autumn leaves mixed with some litter 

 which will prevent them from packing too hard, manure 

 which is not too strong in nitrogen and potash, fine 

 straw, sawdust, shavings, pine needles, evergreen 

 boughs— these are some of the materials which may be 



MUSA 



1037 



used as a mulch to good advantage. If the mulch has 

 thoroughly decayed by spring, it may be left on the 

 land and it will make a fine loamy covering which will 

 be much like the vegetable mold found in the woods. Too 

 often the passion for cleanness sacrifices the welfare of 

 the border. Persons will collect and burn every stray 



autumn leaf, but will not noti 

 which are really objectionable. 



The mulch keeps the surfaci 

 mellow because it protects it fro 

 rains and the weight of snow 

 which works into the surface als 

 of heavy clay soils from runnin 

 Soils which are covered with a i 



Whenever the mulch contains 

 soil receives the leachings an 



lat> 



;e many kinds of dirt 



f of the soil loose and 

 111 the beating of heavy 

 . The vegetable fiber 

 > prevents the particles 

 X together or puddling, 

 lulch do not bake, 

 soluble plant-food, the 

 1 is enriched. Stable 



ig^'^-^ 



1435. Mucuna pruricns. or Cow-Itch (X J:,) 



Uary 



cymes; scpais Tj. (.van- or laui-cM.lalf, imitiMi only at the 

 base ur in the lower third; petals 5, linear-lanceolate, 

 free, imbricate; stamens 10, free, inserted on an elon- 

 gated disk, the alternate shorter: ovary ovate, 2-5-celled 

 narrowed into a lung and finally deciduous style; stigma 

 capitate; ovules solitary or 2, superimposed or collateral 

 in each cell: fr. a small elliptical or round berry. Four 

 species in Indo-Malay region. 



ezAtica, Linn. Orange Jessamine. A very variable 

 evergreen shrub or small tree: young branches pubes- 

 Ivs. glabrous, 3-8-foliolate ; Ifts. oblique, short- 

 petioled, about 1 in. long, obovate or elliptical, entire, 

 shining above : fls. campaiiulate, % in. in diam., pure 

 white, very fragrant: ovary 2-celled: fr. a small berry, 

 elliptical, reddish, glandular-dotted, 1-2-seeded. India, 

 China, Australia and the Pacific islands.— A tender tropi- 

 cal shrub, with dense foliage and of upright -bushy 

 habit. Cultivated to some extent on lawns in southern 

 Fla. and S. Calif., and in hothouses. A fine ornamental 

 pot-plant, blooming when small. Miirrriifa exo/ica "needs 

 ample pot room and a liberal supply of plant-food. An 

 annual application of bone-meal when repotting in Feb- 

 ruary intensifies the color of the foliage, increases the 

 size of the flowers, and causes it to bloom more fre- 

 quently. When properly treated, the first crop of flowers 

 lly appears here [Georgia] during May, another dur- 

 ing Juh , and this is succeeded at intervals of from four 

 to SIX weeks until fall. For winter, give it the tempera- 

 ture of a tool greenhouse, but during summer it thrives 

 best when given full sunshine outdoors." P. J. Benk- 

 1, A F 11:1367 (picture). 



Kcenigii, Spreng. Lvs.'lO-20-foIiolate, pubes- 

 cent or rarely glabrous. Along the foot of the 

 Himalayas in India. — A small, strong-smelling 

 tree. The bark, leaves and roots of this species 

 are used in India as a tonic. 



elongata, DC. Lvs. 4-6-foIioIate, glabrous; 

 Ifts. 4-5 in. long, much longer and more lanceo- 

 than anv form of M. erofiea : bark on 

 slender branches pale yellow. Burma, 

 panicuiata. Jack. Satinwood or Cos- 

 metic Bark Tree. Arboreous : corymbs 

 few-fld. or fls. solitary. -The wood of 

 this species is considerably used be- 

 cause of its strength and endurance 

 and light yellow color. The bark is 

 used as a cosmetic. By some consid- 

 ered to be a form of M. exotica. 



H. J. Webber. 

 Mt^SA (named after Musa, the physi- 

 cian of Augustus). Scitamirtdcece. Ba- 

 nana. Plantain Tree. Large herbaceous or 

 slightly shrubby plants with immense undi- 

 vided leaves, forming a very conspicuous fea- 



