THE ART OF MAKING THINGS GROW 
lOI 
and meeting a shower have been caught for the moment in the 
fresh damp. Now. weeds are famous surface growers ; in the 
twinkling of an eye they strike root. At all events they make 
far better speed in getting above ground than most of our 
carefully planted seeds. The little beggars seem to under- 
stand, too, that at this stage, where so many tiny green shoots 
are just peeping up, a garden ignoramus will get bewildered 
and will not be willing to risk pulling them out. So they get 
at least one day’s grace. They have gained their point, and 
a fight with the pesky things is on. 
A gardener who means to win must use strategy. A true 
diplomatist therefore covers the ground with a sort of dust 
blanket or mulch. This is accomplished by gently stirring 
or pulverizing the surface as often as possible. Such treat- 
ment checks weeds, inasmuch as it takes the ground from 
under their very feet. In a big garden this is done at stated 
intervals ; in a little one, nearly every day. A blanket of 
this sort also protects the earth and enables it to conserve 
the precious moisture. So long as the earth looks wet, the 
moisture is pretty sure to be slyly escaping. Prevent this by 
spreading on a dry powder, and presto ! evaporation stops. 
Now water acts according to the laws of capillary attraction 
in the soil just as it does in a lamp wick or a lump of sugar. 
A simple experiment illustrates perfectly what goes on in the 
ground. Take a lump of sugar, lay on top a pinch of pow- 
dered sugar, and dip its lower end in water. The water will 
creep up through the lump, but no farther. Even after the 
lump is saturated and has begun to dissolve, the powdered 
sugar remains dry. Color the water, and its progress is even 
more noticeable. 
This stirring process is technically known as cultivation. 
Its value to the garden cannot be overestimated. Through 
its practice three important things are accomplished : It kills 
