226 GARDEN PROFITS 



and help to lighten the soil as well. Anthracite 

 coal ashes are useful for the latter purpose in the 

 absence of anything else, but they have no food 

 value. If you can choose, use them in building 

 drives and paths. 



MANURES THAT YOU DON't HAVE TO BUY 



The effects of green manures or growing crops 

 plowed under, are in general the same as those 

 of barnyard manure — i. e., the addition of humus 

 and raw plant food. But since they have not even 

 begun to decay, the second effect is much more 

 slowly developed. However, the great value of 

 green manuring for lightening clay sails and giving 

 a "body" to sandy areas should not be lost sight 

 of. If your garden doesn't plow and cultivate as 

 easily as you would like to have it, sow rye, or 

 barley, after you have harvested your main summer 

 crops, and plow all the growth under next spring. 



The clovers, like the beans, are legumes, and there- 

 fore especially useful in accumulating nitrogen in the 

 soil. Where these are not used, rye, barley, millet 

 or buckwheat is a satisfactory green manure crop. 



There have recently been developed strains of 

 cowpeas and soy beans, which require a sufficiently 

 short season to allow their cultivation in the North. 

 These legumes have already been found of much 

 value, but only in the Southern states where the 

 longer season permits them to mature. Keep 

 your eyes open for "cowpeas for northern sowing." 

 You'll find them mighty useful. 



