16 MAKING OF A FLOWER GARDEN 



clay soil, on the contrary, is excellent for a rose gar- 

 den when lightened with well-decayed manure and a 

 proportion of leaf mold and sand ; such a soil may need 

 underdrainage of tile or of broken stone and the like, 

 but will not be lacking in fertility. 



A too sandy and light soil may be remedied by the 

 addition of manure and leaf mold, or the decayed 

 earth from the compost heap and from decayed sods, 

 and so brought to a high degree of fertility and being 

 light and warm will be in condition to work much 

 earlier in the spring than the colder clay soil. Good 

 loam such as produces a good crop of corn is an ex- 

 cellent foundation for a garden as by the addition of 

 muck and manure it may be adapted to a wide range 

 of plants. 



Where a soil is in good mechanical condition, that 

 is, soft and easily worked by the spade and fork, but 

 seems dry and lacking in vitality, the addition of old 

 well-rotted manure in the spring or fresh manure in 

 the fall or late winter will put it in condition for the 

 planting of most garden flowers. The proper pro- 

 portion of manure is a wheelbarrow load to every 

 square yard of soil. If the manure contains consider- 

 able straw, this, decaying, will furnish a certain 

 amount of humus which will counteract the dryness 

 of the soil by retaining the moisture which a sandy 

 soil allows to leach away. Sand forms a perfect 

 drainage table by itself, but when combined with loam 



