28 STUDIES IN GARDENING 



soil. To prepare a border in this way entails a good 

 deal of trouble and some expense, but when once it 

 is done the border will need but little attention for 

 some years and the plants will not need to be renewed 

 constantly. 



It is only in a border so prepared that a great num- 

 ber of plants can be satisfactorily grown on a stiff 

 clay soil, and, further, it is only ia such a border that 

 farmyard manure can be employed so as to give the 

 best results. Manure, of course, adds to the fertility 

 of a heavy soil and also, to some extent, increases its 

 porosity; but it is also apt to rot the roots of plants 

 that come in contact with it in cold, wet weather, 

 and to turn sour and breed noxious gases, while its 

 juices can only be thoroughly distributed through 

 clay when it is made porous. 



Of course, many people will not be at the trouble 

 of preparing a border thus; but even so they may 

 protect their plants from some of the dangers of damp 

 and cold by thorough deep digging, and also by plac- 

 ing some drainage below the roots of particular plants 

 and surrounding these roots with humus and rubble. 

 Thus they will be protected during the winter from 

 the immediate contact of the clay. Many plants will 

 thrive on a stiff clay, which would otherwise damp 

 off in the winter, if they are planted in a border raised 

 haH a foot or a foot above the general level of the 

 soil. Such a border is particularly useful for the 

 culture of bulbs, such as Tulips and Daffodils, and of 

 those low-growing plants which thrive by nature 



