54 GARDENS AND THEIR MEANING 



The garden having thus been properly inclosed, the next 

 consideration will be that of soil. Just as no site is hopeless, 

 so no soil is beyond reclaim. And yet one must not assume 

 from this remark that good earth is not quite as necessary as 

 a good location. The difference is that if the soil does not 

 come up to the required standard, it can be made to order. 



Portable soil is a term that explains itself. It appears that 

 for some years the small gardeners near Paris have stipulated 

 in their renting contracts that when they quit their tenancy 

 they may carry away the soil down to a certain depth. A 

 recognized expert says quite truly, " Instead of searching for 

 soil, we are learning how to make it." In city gardens, in- 

 deed, the necessity of making the soil is virtually a foregone 

 conclusion. 



But whether the garden is in town or country, if it has any 

 soil worth the name, the first step is to examine the earth 

 carefully and then undertake to supply what it lacks. The 

 way is to take up a handful here and there, in order that all 

 parts of the land shall be fairly represented, then bring the 

 samples indoors so as to examine them thoroughly and to 

 determine whether the ingredients are chiefly sand, clay, or 

 loam. That this is a practical method is indicated by one 

 of the recent devices at the Iowa experiment station. It is 

 what is known as a soil sampler, something on the plan of an 

 apple corer, by means of which a solid core of soil, three 

 inches in diameter and of any depth up to fifteen inches, can 

 be taken out. 



The school gardener will usually like to go on and make 

 a few simple tests. 1 Just an ordinary magnifying glass will 

 reveal something of the character of these grains of earth. 

 For one thing, it will show what a surprising amount of water 

 is contained in one crumb of earth. Even when soil looks 

 1 Public School Agriculture, Massachusetts Agricultural College. 



