104 



THE BOOK OF NATURE STUDY 



a hot-bed, and afterwards, when spent, can be spread over the 

 beds. The cost of farmyard manure is from two shillings and 

 sixpence to five shillings per tumbril load, weighing about one 

 ton. Of artificial manures the only ones required are : (a) super- 

 phosphate of lime and steamed bone flour, which should as a 

 rule be applied together, because the bone flour helps to dilute 

 the acidity of the superphosphate ; (6) nitrate of soda ; (c) sulphate 

 of potash ; (rf) sulphate of ammonia. Clean white sand will be 

 required for making up potting mixtures, and also for bulb 

 planting. Leaf mould can be obtained from the surface of the 

 ground under trees. Dead leaves, which are required for the 

 hot-bed, can always be gathered from the roadside in November. 

 Another ingredient of the potting mixture, termed by the 

 gardener " yellow loam," is obtained by cutting sods from the 

 surface of an old pasture or from the grassy edges of the road 

 and piling these in a heap where the grass is left to decay for 

 three or four months. 



ALLOCATION OF THE GROUND TO THE STUDENTS 



As has already been stated, it is generally desirable in the 

 case of girls that their work should be confined to the cultivation 

 of flowers, salad plants, herbs, and 

 fruit. For outdoor flowers various 

 corners of the garden or playground 



FIG. 49. Preparing Ground for Borders. A, soil FIG. 50. Herbaceous Borders. A, 

 well broken up ; B, soil generously manured ; path ; B, B, borders ; C, C, boundary 

 C, loosened sub-soil. of borders. 



may be assigned to individual pupils, but if the girls' class is a fairly 

 large one an herbaceous border should be formed, four or five feet 



