116 CORDON TRAINING. 



/flourished, and the blossoms were extremely 

 large, this being a most important matter, as the 

 \size of the blossom much regulates the size of 

 e fruit. 



Then the subject of soils is quite endless. It, 

 however, deserves a volume to itself, it is so im- 

 portant. 



* For example, in sandy districts which are so 



\very soon heated, the sand seldom dries deeper 



/ than ten or twelve inches, while sea-salt becomes 



\damp at night. On the other hand, clay heats 



/ very slowly, besides being too compact for the 



spongioles to penetrate, and retaining water. It 



( has, therefore, every bad quality. Sand, however. 



dries up too rapidly to be suitable by itself. _A 



inean_befegfieiL. these extreme cases is, therefore. 



\of_general use, with the addition of peat. These 



( exercise separate and counteracting influences. 



The loam consolidates; the , sand lightens; and 



the peat unites. This is, therefore, a perfect 



\mixture. 



\ Nevertheless, thaLloam which has ffip> m^ 

 calcareous matter is far the best, for calcaxejQtli& 

 .rth enters largely into the organisatiojw)f 

 plants. It also, according to Davy, depends 

 on the action of the lime and vegetable matter 

 together. Manures act, either by stimulating, 

 by absorbing the moisture, or by supplying food, 

 2. e. carbon and nitrogen. Carbonic acid, at least, 

 forms an essential part of the substances of plants. 



