CHAPTER SIX 
THE SOIL OF THE GARDEN 
Every clod feels a stir of might, 
An instinct within it that reaches and towers, 
And, groping blindly above it for light, 
Climbs to a soul in grass and flowers. 
James RussELL LowELL 
THE roots of garden plants live in the soil. The 
fineness or coarseness of the soil, its looseness or compact- 
ness, its temperature, the food materials and the water 
present — all these influence the life and activity of the 
roots. Sometimes, an excess of substances like acids 
or alkalies is present; and the activities of animals 
and plants which live within the soil may benefit or harm 
the plant. The gardener can, in a large degree, control 
the conditions of the soil, and much of his success de- 
pends on his making them suitable to the needs of the 
plants that he grows. 
In all his efforts to handle and improve the soil 
for the growing of his crops, the gardener needs to have 
in mind three points relating to the condition of the 
soil : 
(1) The size and arrangement of soil particles, which 
we may refer to as the soil’s physical condition. 
(2) The richness in the various food materials which 
plants obtain from it. 
(3) The amount and kind of water present in the 
soil and the soil’s ability to hold water and supply it to 
the plant. 
While these conditions are closely interrelated, ‘hey 
may be considered quite separately. 
55 
