Gardening for Amateurs 



access to all parts, and the result of these 

 three natural agents working on the soil is 

 surprising. Snow acts as a blanket and 

 keeps out frost, though it is of benefit in 

 protecting the roots of plants near the sur- 

 face. Bain, in passing through the soil, 

 mixes the constituents ; soluble substances 

 are carried through the ground and evenly 

 distributed, while moisture itself is a neces- 

 sity of fertility. When rain passes through 

 the atmosphere it absorbs carbon dioxide, 

 so becoming a weak solution of carbonic 

 acid, a substance much more powerful for 

 breaking up the soil and dissolving its 

 contents. 



Soil is not a heap of dead matter. Of 

 course, there is always a certain number of 

 animals and insects in it ; but, besides these, 

 there are countless myriads of micro- 

 organisms or bacteria in every good garden 

 soil. These extremely tiny beings are con- 

 stantly working, decomposing the humus, 

 changing the nature of the soil contents, and 

 rendering many of them available for plant 

 food. Some catch the nitrogen of the air 

 and so fix it that plants can absorb it as 

 a manure, while others are engaged upon 

 certain manures we apply to soil, altering 

 them so that they become of utility for 

 vegetation. One can now see clearly why 

 a border benefits by lying fallow or bare for 

 a season, because then these nutritive 

 elements accumulate and the reason why 

 some manures have to be added early 

 becomes apparent because in the original 

 state they are not in a form which the 

 plant can use. 



Worms live in nearly all soils ; they 

 burrow in the ground, and so facilitate 

 drainage and the ingress of fresh air to 

 fermenting manures ; they pass much soil 

 through their bodies and help to mix the 

 different strata, and they reduce the earth 

 to a finer condition. They should not be 

 regarded as pests, though they often dis- 

 figure a nice lawn ; the castings thrown up 

 by them form a fine mould on the surface, 

 which is an excellent medium for seed- 

 lings to grow in. 



Weeds are eyesores to every tidy per- 

 son. Their roots may help to break up a 

 stiff soil ; they may prevent manures being 

 washed away, and it is possible to dig them 



in before seeding to form green manure ; 

 but when they usurp the place of useful 

 plants, then, of course, immediate steps 

 must be taken to eradicate them. 



Chemical Composition of Soils. 

 Analysis of the soil serves as a guide for 

 future cropping ; but, after all, a good 

 gardener will judge what to add in the 

 form of manure more from his crops than 

 from anything else. Let him regard the 

 ground as a kind of workshop ; he wishes to 

 leave it as fertile after cropping as before, 

 because he has other seasons to look for- 

 ward to, and he must not rob the land. 

 The mechanical condition of the soil will 

 determine what " form " of manure should 

 be added ; the " amount " should be deter- 

 mined by the crop. A good loam contains 

 some 70 to 80 per cent, of sand and clay, 

 from 2 to 5 per cent, of chalk, about 5 or 

 6 per cent, of humus, and a varying amount 

 of chemical substances, consisting mainly 

 of iron, magnesia, soda, phosphates, sul- 

 phates, potash, and alumina. In a garden 

 in good condition for growing most crops 

 the chemical condition is really of little 

 importance ; the crops are more the pro- 

 duct of manure than of the land, and good 

 products will not be obtained without 

 manure. Rotation of crops prevents one 

 particular substance from being drained 

 away ; but if farmyard or other organic 

 manure be used this is scarcely likely to 

 happen, and though we do not hesitate 

 advising rotation for many reasons, yet too 

 great stress must not be laid on it or on 

 chemical composition. 



Drainage. The amount of water in soil 

 determines to a great extent its fertility. 

 Excess of moisture is without question bad, 

 for wet soils are cold, difficult to till, more 

 or less sour and barren, and a breeding 

 place for pests. If deep holes are dug in 

 the garden here and there when the soil is 

 vacant, they will soon decide whether 

 drainage is necessary or not. Should they 

 remain empty, then no drains are required, 

 but if they always contain more or less- 

 water, drainage pipes must be laid immedi- 

 ately. Drainage promotes the percolation 

 of water through the soil and prevents its 

 stagnating at the surface ; it is always 

 necessary in a heavy loam or stiff clay. 



