Growing Flowers 165 



Soil that is used every year and kept more or less 

 moist should have a dressing of lime applied occa- 

 sionally. It should be put on after the soil has 

 been well cultivated and should be worked into 

 the soil for a depth of several inches. The fall 

 is the best time. 



Guano makes a good fertilizer when fertilization 

 is needed for growing plants. It is mild yet has a 

 very good effect. Half an ounce mixed in three 

 quarts of water and poured around the roots of a 

 plant will prove a satisfactory way of applying. 



When leafy plants have stopped blooming, cut 

 them and pile up the leaves to rot and make 

 humus. Grass, too, makes an excellent humus but 

 should be well rotted. Place well away from the 

 garden for insects are likely to breed. 



The three principal chemicals that plants require 

 are nitrogen, phosphate, and potash. Nitrates are 

 the energy givers. They constitute the tonic which 

 gives the plants an appetite, and should never be 

 given alone to any plant, unless to counteract the 

 effect of foods already given. Phosphoric acid, 

 which produces flowers, is really petrified bone and 

 is supplied by the excrement of vanished races of 



