162 THE SCHOOL GARDEN BOOK 



growing flowers. He realizes that generally such a flower 

 garden is ineffective and is likely to spoil the beauty of the 

 lawn as well. He chooses instead the borders of his grounds, 

 where he can plant to advantage a variety of hardy perennials, 

 as well as many annuals. And for such of the annuals as he 

 desires especially for cut flowers, he chooses some part of the 

 vegetable garden, or else a bit of ground behind the house 

 where such plants can be grown in rows, so that they are 

 easily tilled and supply the greatest number of flowers for 

 the smallest amount of care. 



In the preparation of the soil for the annual flowers it is 

 extremely desirable that all traces of witch-grass should be 

 dug out with greatest thoroughness. The fact that a bit of 

 ground is completely infested with this plant need not deter 

 one from utilizing it for growing flowers, for it is easily pos- 

 sible to eradicate the stems and roots by a thoroughgoing 

 treatment with a digging fork, and especially with the im- 

 plement commonly called a potato-digger, which serves ad- 

 mirably for pulling out the stems. Such infested ground 

 should not be dug up with a hoe, or even with a spade. 

 It is better to dig it up first with a tined digging fork and 

 then to go over it thoroughly either with the fork or a potato- 

 digger, pulling out all traces of underground stems, placing 

 them in loose piles to dry, and then burning them, being very 

 careful also, as a New England farmer once said, where you 

 put the ashes. 



In the way of fertilizers there is nothing so generally useful 

 as thoroughly decomposed barn-yard manure, as this not 

 only adds all the elements of fertility, but helps in the me- 

 chanical composition of the soil, and probably also in sup- 

 plying and furnishing the desired conditions for development 



