AMONG SCHOOL GARDENS 



One who understands the nature of the soil to be 

 dealt with, and knows how to improve it can fol- 

 low intelligently the cultural directions on nearly 

 all seed packets or in catalogues of plants.* 

 No theoretical knowledge, no word knowledge, can 

 ever take the place of practical experience, but it 

 can materially help to prevent gross errors. First, 

 last and always, give your plants plenty of soluble 

 food and keep their feet dry. Very few love 

 any approach to a swamp. Give them good 

 soil conditions. "Tillage," or cultivation, ''is 

 the stirring of the soil in order to improve it." 

 Thorough tillage, whether with plough, hoe, 

 or cultivating stick, means to kill weeds; to 

 pulverize the soil that it may be open and uni- 

 form in texture; to create air spaces; to widen 

 pasturage for roots; to conserve moisture; to 

 admit sunlight and warmth; to admit rain, with 

 its solvent foods; to cause organic matter to be- 

 come humus; to turn over soil that its bacteria 

 may better work upon it; in short, to create 

 finely divided, nutritious, soluble soil particles. 



* See list of plants for nearly all soil conditions and all sorts of 

 places, in Appendix A, Note 7, 



108 



