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LEAF-MOULD FOR EXOTICS. 
adapted— and we have merely named a selection of them — be thus numerous, 
there is a far larger number to which a portion of leaf-mould in their compost 
would be advantageous. It may be substituted for decayed manure in most 
instances where that is generally used ; and for heath-soil, in varying proportions, 
where that is wholly or partially employed. For Gesneras, Gloxinias, and all the 
rapid-growing plants that have their soil manured, leaf-mould will be more suitable 
than manure, as it will give the desired richness without producing undue leanness. 
For that immense group of plants, moreover, which is grown in a compost of 
loam and heath-soil, and which comprehends almost all the dwarfer kinds that are 
kept in pots, a rejection of the heath-soil and a substitution of leaf-mould would 
be of great service. It would make the compost decidedly more open, and it 
would improve the appearance of the plants without decreasing their flowering 
tendencies. It should form a special constituent of all composts for dwarf New 
Holland shrubs, for Pelargoniums, for Camellias, for low stove shrubs, and for 
Calceolarias. 
As to greenhouse Heaths, the sudden loss of specimens, and the common 
damage done to them by the summer heat, is in great part attributable to the 
obstinate adherence to moor-soil among cultivators. Many of them, we are sure, 
would be renovated by loam, and all would be aided by leaf-mould. To some, 
leaf-mould, by itself, would be most applicable. But, as a remedy against extreme 
saturation, or the close binding up of the soil, and as a means of creating additional 
healthiness, we would certainly blend it with the heath-soil in every case where it 
was not considered proper to use it alone. 
Having now briefly glanced at the uses of leaf-mould, we shall suggest, as a 
conclusion, the mode of preparing it. As all who have gardens possess plantations 
or trees, they can easily make it for themselves, and the expense of purchasing and 
fetching heath-mould will thus, to a great extent, be done away with. The leaves 
of the oak and the beech are the best for the purpose, though they will not decay 
so soon as others. When collected, they may be used, first, to form a hotbed for 
rearing early potatoes, radishes, rhubarb, tender annuals, &c. This will facilitate 
their decomposition, and when the heat of the heap is exhausted, it may be removed 
to a spare corner and left to itself for a while. By turning it over occasionally 
afterwards, and drenching it with water when it gets too dry, the leaves will 
decay more rapidly than if they were left untouched. When they are in a pul- 
verized state, the soil is fit for use. 
Perhaps it may be worth while to remark to those who adopt the new method 
of potting lately described in our pages, that leaf-mould is almost a necessary 
constituent of every compost that is made use of according to that system ; since, 
from its porosity and its nutritiveness, it will at once enrich and help to drain any 
soil of which it is a part. 
