MULCHING. 



123 



the fallen fruit from bruises. The rooting of a layer is 

 by some gardeners thought to be facilitated by placing a 

 flat stone oyer the buried branch ; the fact being that 

 the stone acts as a mulch, and prevents the soil around 

 the cut portion from drying out, and greatly favors the 

 rooting process. Even in the vegetable garden, mulch- 

 ing is found useful, especially with cauliflowers, which 

 find our summers quite too dry. The material of the 

 mulch is not of much importance, the effect being purely 

 mechanical, one kind of litter will answer as well as an- 

 other ; the material will be governed in great measure by 

 locality ; those living near salt water will find salt-hay, 

 as hay from the marshes is called, the most readily pro- 

 cured ; those who live near pine forests use the fallen 

 leaves, or pine needles as they are called ; in the grain 

 growing districts straw is abundant, and nothing can be 

 better ; it can be applied more thoroughly if run through 

 a cutter, though the thrashing machine often makes it 

 short enough. Leaves are nature's own mulch, and an- 

 swer admirably ; if there is danger of their being blown 

 away, brush laid over them, or even a little earth sprink- 

 led on them will keep them in place. Tan-bark and saw- 

 dust may serve for some uses, but they are very bad for 

 strawberries, their finer particles being about as objec- 

 tionable as the soil. One of the best materials to use for 

 summer mulching is the green grass mowed from lawns. 

 This applied to the thickness of two or three inches 

 around the roots of all kinds of small fruits, will be 

 found not only to greatly benefit the crop, particularly in 

 dry weather, but will save greatly in labor by preventing 

 the growth of weeds. One of our best private gardeners 

 in the vicinity of New York has adopted this summer 

 mulching with the grass from the lawn for nearly twenty 

 years, and has succeeded in growing all kinds of small 

 fruits in the highest degree of perfection. 



