DETAILS OF SUMMER GARDENING 163 



when these are removed. Such plants as, for instance. 

 Larkspurs should only be cut down to within about a 

 foot of the ground, so as to leave them with some 

 leafage to absorb food from the air, just as bulbous 

 plants ought not to be cut down until the bulbs are 

 matured for the next year. Many herbaceous plants, 

 if they are thus carefully cut down, will throw up 

 new shoots and flower again in the autumn, since the 

 cutting down relieves them of the strain of seed bear- 

 ing. But this second bloom puts a yet greater strain 

 on them, and they must be well fed if they are not 

 to suffer from it. It is, therefore, a good plan to give 

 a mulch of some rich material, such as manure or 

 vegetable matter, to all plants of which a second crop 

 of bloom is expected after the first crop of bloom is 

 over. Such a mulch will also protect them from 

 drought through July and August. Mulches, espe- 

 cially of manure, are often applied at the wrong time. 

 Thus in a light soil all the nourishment of a mulch 

 applied in autumn often drains away before it can 

 benefit the plants; while a mulch of manure applied 

 in early spring, especially on heavy soils, often does 

 more harm than good if the weather is cold and damp, 

 since it holds the moisture and cripples the young 

 spring growth of the plants, and also harbours slugs 

 and snails. The best time for a mulch, therefore, is 

 when the plants most need immediate nourishment 

 and protection from drought — that is to say, in 

 the height of summer and during or just after their 

 blooming time. Such a mulch, especially on light 



