6 BEGINNER'S BOOK OF GARDENING 



Surface mulchings of litter, moss, leaves, or manure act 

 in the same way as does the simpler mulch of hoed soil. 

 Of course the process of top-dressing with leaves or 

 farm-manure, in order to add to the soil the food 

 elements which they contain, is quite a different matter, 

 and cannot be replaced. 



Very few gardeners can be said to make anything 

 approaching adequate use of the soil which they 

 cultivate. The majority of amateur gardeners, and 

 not a few professional ones, never get their spade more 

 than a foot or, at the outside, more than eighteen 

 inches below the surface. As a matter of fact, all 

 garden soil should be dug to a minimum depth of two 

 feet, or, preferably, to a depth of three feet when 

 possible. 



