70 Gardening 
Fic. 44. Effect of lime on the growth of 
roots. These Swiss chard plants were 
planted at the same time and each had 
the same growing conditions, except that 
lime was added to the acid soil in which 
the plant at the left was grown. 
fromit. A very fertile soil is 
them finely granular. 
It tends to break. up 
compact, coarsely lumpy 
soils. Finally, lime in 
soil increases the activ- 
ity of certain bacteria 
which cause organic 
matter to decay and 
break down into plant 
foods. 
Thus lime, both di- 
rectly and_ indirectly, 
benefits garden plants in 
many ways, and _ its 
moderate application 
will improve most gar- 
den soils. 
A rich soil needed 
for the garden. Often 
the home vegetable gar- 
den is small and the 
main aim is to produce 
as much food as possible 
necessary for this kind 
of intensive gardening; for it is a well-known fact 
that many soils that will produce fair field. crops will 
yield only meager crops of certain vegetables. This is 
largely because most garden crops are heavy feeders, 
requiring especially large amounts of nitrogen and 
potassium. To yield abundantly they must grow on a 
soil that supplies them plentifully with these materials. 
