18 GARDENING FOR PLEASURE. 



face about as thick as the sand on a sanded floor. After 

 spreading on the dug surface, it should be mixed with 

 the' soil with a spading fork or long toothed rake to the 

 depth of five or six inches, bearing in mind that the more 

 thoroughly it is mixed with the soil the better will be the 

 result. If used in " hills " for corn, tomatoes, melons, 

 etc., the same proportionate quantity is to be applied, 

 and the mixing must be equally thorough. Wood ashes 

 are often a convenient fertilizer, and will be found to give 

 excellent results if used as advised for guano and bone 

 dust ; but three or four times the quantity will be re- 

 quired to obtain the same results. 



HOW TO USE CONCENTRATED FERTILIZERS. 



Whatever kind of concentrated fertilizer may be used, 

 I find it well repays the labor to prepare it in the follow- 

 ing manner : to every bushel of fertilizer add three bush- 

 els of either leaf mold (from the woods), well pulverized 

 muck, sweepings from a paved street, or, in the absence 

 of either of the above, common garden soil. In every 

 case the material employed must be as dry as it is possi- 

 ble to procure it. When guano is used, be careful to 

 have it thoroughly pulverized and broken up before mix- 

 ing with the other ingredients. The fertilizer must be 

 well mixed with the soil or mold used by turning it at least 

 twice. This mixing should be done in winter, or early 

 spring, and the material packed away in barrels in a dry 

 place for at least a month before using it. The main ob- 

 ject of this operation is for the better separation and di- 

 vision of the fertilizer, so that, when applied, it can 

 be more regularly distributed over the land ; besides this, 

 no doubt the fertilizing qualities of the leaf-mold or 

 other substance are developed by this treatment. Experi- 

 ment has shown that this method of using concentrated 

 fertilizers of nearly all kinds materially increases their 

 value. One of the most successful market gardeners in 



