106 
large leaves, but to this 
there is one very strik- 
ing exception. Most 
people are now more or 
less familiar with the 
giant water lily (Vic- 
toria regia), specimens 
of which are not un- 
commonly to be seen in 
botanical gardens. Per- 
haps few are aware that 
this plant is an annual, 
the whole of its enorm- 
ous growth being made 
in a few months. On 
account of the fact that 
the edge of the leaf of 
this water lily is turned 
up, its supporting 
power is very consider- 
able. Wery fine ‘€x- 
amples! shave) been 
known to bear a man 
sitting on a chair, al- 
though it is only fair to 
say that the average 
leaf would not support 
such a weight. 
In reviewing the 
question of big leaves 
AMERICAN HOMES AND GARDENS 
The banana leaf is one of the largest grown in nature 
March, 1909 
it would be out of place 
not to refer to what 
man has done to in- 
crease the size of the 
foliage of plants for his 
own ends. This is well 
instanced in the case of 
the cabbage, a plant for 
whose ancestry we must 
look to a most insignifi- 
cant species with small 
leaves. It is perhaps 
one of the greatest tri- 
umphs of the horticul- 
tural world that out of 
this useless plant (Bras- 
sica oleracaea) has been 
created such a vast num- 
ber of varieties of such 
great value to the whole 
race of mankind. The 
cabbage only produces 
its large leaves because 
it has been made to do 
so, and it will soon re- 
vert to something like 
its natural state if left 
unsurrounded by all the 
stimuli of artificial cul- 
ture for any time. 
The Compost Heap 
By Ida D. Bennett 
NE of the first necessities of gardening is 
good soil; this is not always available, as 
the entire land at command may be of a 
nature unsuited for the growing of either 
flowers or vegetables; this is especially apt 
to be the case in small city lots where gravel, 
hard pan and the earth thrown out in ex- 
cavating for the foundations of the house form the bulk of 
the soil. Leaf mold or humus, which being translated means 
simply vegetable matter decayed, without the aid of water, 
in distinction from muck, which is produced by the decay 
of vegetable matter in contact with water, as the muck of 
marshes or that at the bottom of ponds, is available to the 
dweller in the country or village to some extent and forms 
one of the most practical means of renewing or building up 
a wasted or impracticable soil; but as leaf mold is often un- 
obtainable from natural sources, there is no reason why 
one should not manufacture their own leaf mold or humus, 
as the materials are always close at hand demanding disposal 
of some sort. 
If all the rubbish in the way of dead leaves, plants, manure 
and the like is piled in some out of the way corner to decay 
it will in time result in a fine black soil or mold. Mingled 
with a clear, sharp sand, they together form an ideal potting 
soil for many varieties of plants, and also an important in- 
gredient in good compost, and, as a top dressing for a poor 
soil, is unsurpassed. 
There is very little decayed vegetable matter or other 
matter, except animal, which may not be turned to account 
to increase the fertility of the soil—feathers, old paper and 
rags, bones, sawdust and all the vegetable matter which is 
removed from the yard in the spring and fall cleaning and 
which accumulated during the summer. The slops from the 
laundry and kitchen should, if possible, be deposited on the 
compost heap; manure may be added to it with advantage, 
and the whole mass may be forked over occasionally to 
facilitate decay. Of course the leaves from the lawn will 
form the nucleus of the heap, and leaves produce the very 
finest of leaf mold—just that quality we procure from the 
woods—and it seems a great pity that such great quantities 
of them are destroyed each fall by fire when, with a little 
thought, so valuable an addition to the garden could be 
secured. 
Having provided for the leaf mold it may not be amiss to 
secure a reasonable amount of fibrous loam for the compost 
which will be needed for the geraniums and roses; for this 
one may pile sods in alternate layers with cow manure, lay- 
ing the sods grass sides down and forking them over occa- 
sionally to hasten decay and the breaking up of the sod, or 
sods may be cut and the under surface of the earth cut away 
just below the crown of the grass, and the soil thus obtained 
piled in a heap ready to use, the grassy top being relegated 
to the compost heap. This mixed with leaf mold and old, 
well-decayed manure makes the compost best suited for the 
potting of the majority of house plants and those grown in 
tubs for terrace and piazza decoration in summer, and, it 
goes without saying, is all that can be desired for the flower 
garden. 
The compost heap need not necessarily be an unsightly 
object, as it may have some easily grown, rank vine planted 
about it to cover and adorn—as gourds, some of which are 
very ornamental. It should be inclosed in a frame of wood 
or pickets to keep it within tidy bounds; especially is this the 
case if exposed to the depredations of chickens, which aid 
materially in its reduction to the desired condition. Old 
window blinds make an excellent frame. 
