202 HOME AND GARDEN 



mulching, it does not matter wlietlier it is old or new, 

 but as the decayed or short is the more valuable for 

 putting into the ground, it is a convenience in garden 

 economy to use the long for mulching. So it will be 

 seen that a mulch may be protective only, or it may 

 be both protective and nutritious. Nothing can be 

 better for the surface of a flower border than a mulch 

 a good two inches deep of stable stuff without the 

 straw. The sun soon bleaches it to a pale colour that 

 makes the bare places on borders rather too con- 

 spicuous, but by midsummer no ground will be seen 

 and the health and vigour of the plants will soon 

 show the virtue of the treatment. 



Mulching is also a great economy of water, for not 

 only does it keep the surface of the ground cool, so 

 that less watering is required, but when water is given, 

 none is lost by running off or wasted by evaporation, 

 but all goes in, carrying with it some of the richness 

 of the protective coating. 



So much, therefore, for the necessary operations 

 in naturally poor ground ; the same methods being 

 equally applicable to any place where the garden has 

 been neglected. 



It is obvious that when a garden is to be occupied 

 for a few years only, it is not worth while to do much 

 in the way of permanent improvement, though my 

 own wish would always be to do some one thing in 

 this way, so that I might leave the garden distinctly 

 better than I found it. So that we may leave out of 



