8 THE RHODODENDRON. 



Where the soil is of a different nature such excava- 

 tion may not be necessary, and in this each must be 

 his own judge. 



There is some difference of opinion as to the best 

 compost for the beds. The component parts are 

 peat, loam, and sand: the proportions, however, 

 need not be exact. 



Probably no two of our beds have been prepared 

 in exactly the same way, and yet in all the plants 

 have done perfectly well. As a general rule, we 

 have found a compost of five loads peat, five loads 

 loam, one load sharp sand, to be the best. 



Where peat is not easily obtained, it will be suf- 

 ficient to fill only the upper two feet of the bed with 

 the compost, the rest of the bed being good loam. 



By peat we mean the dark, black soil, composed 

 of decayed vegetable matter, often fibrous, but never 

 hard. It should be dug out in summer, and spread 

 in thin piles for exposure to the action of the vsdnter's 

 frost. In spring it will be of a loose and crumbling 

 texture, and ready for use. It should not be used 

 fresh, as it is then hard and sour : the more the frost 

 works upon it the better it is. 



If it is difficult to find peat, meadow mud, leaf, 

 mould from old woods, or any well-rotted vegetable 

 compost, may be substituted. 



Our first Rhododendron bed was made wholly of 

 soil obtained from an old wood, where the mountain- 

 laurel QKalmia) grew naturally, by scooping it out 

 from among the rootS' of the trees, and carting it 

 four miles. 



The loam should be good garden soil, free from 



