10 



A SIMPLE FLOWER GARDEN. 



either side of the walk before described, — each fifty feet 

 long and three wide. All the directions, lists of plants, 

 etc., in this work have reference to these two borders. 



TO PREPARE THE BORDERS. 



A man must be employed to cut out the sod, shake out 

 and remove the turf, and fork up the soil. This will take 

 one day, and cost the sum of two dollars. The turf and 

 other refuse must not be thrown away, but carefully piled 

 in a heap for compost. 



MANURE 



is next in order. No soil will long maintain vegetation 

 successfully unless enriched by the addition of some fertili- 

 zer. The product of the barn or stable is perhaps the best 

 material for this purpose. It should be well decomposed 

 and broken up fine. To accomplish the first, let it be piled 

 in heaps for several months, and repeated turning of the 

 mass will do the rest. When it is known that all plants 

 take up their food dissolved in water, and cannot admit 

 into their pores the smallest visible particle of solid food, 

 the importance of having the plant-food finely pulverized 

 will be plain. The action of the soil upon the manure will 

 do this in time, but the process is hastened by the chem- 

 istry of decay and the mechanics of breaking and dividing. 



There are other materials used for the enriching of the 

 soil, such as marl, guano, and the various manufactured 



