CULTIVATION 
stir it ; and it provides a dust mulch. Every writer upon 
gardening refers to the dust mulch, and urges that it be 
kept up. There is nothing mysterious about it. It is 
the simplest, and about the most effective thing, in the 
world. The dust mulch is a layer of loose, dry soil, 
three or four inches deep, upon the moist, deeper soil. 
Where it is present capillary attraction is broken up and 
the moisture in the earth, placed there by winter and 
spring rains, is prevented from evaporating rapidly, and 
held in the earth-reservoir for the support of plant-life. 
The searching roots find it. 
Weeds are a blessing in disguise. Were there no 
weeds human nature could be depended upon not to 
cultivate the soil to anything like the extent it is done 
at present. It is very important that air penetrate the 
soil. Plowing permits this, once or twice a year. 
Cultivation with hoe or rake introduces air, once or 
twice a week if, you wish. The eye can note the im- 
provement to young cabbage plants twenty-four hours 
after they have been hoed. The success of the China- 
man with cabbages on the Pacific coast lies in his prac- 
tice of walking around each plant twice a day. Pre- 
sumably John Chinaman carries a hoe in hand. Give 
this Oriental treatment to your dahlias twice a week 
instead of the hose or bucket one. A splendid crop of 
dahlia blooms, and tubers, can be raised in any region 
of fair annual rainfall if a dust mulch is kept up without 
intermission. It is not only important to have the dust 
mulch, but it is just as important that it be kept up. 
