146 
HOUSE AND (GARDEN 
October, i qog | 
The purpose of this page is to set forth in the most direct, non-tec h- 
mcal form the fundamental principles of amateur gardening. Unlike the 
great mass of garden literature, it presupposes no knowledge of the subject, 
aiming to satisfy those who now for the first time want to know how to 
make things grow. The Editor will welcome any questions from begin¬ 
ners and will print in these columns the experience of contributors when 
they seem to have a wide appeal. 
.. There is one thing that surely is essential to a garden— 
without which there can be no garden; that is soil. 
And there is one thing just as essential to a gardener—without 
which he cannot be a successful gardener; that is knowledge 
of soil. To be sure it is not necessary to go into an ex¬ 
haustive study of the subject, but a general acquaintance 
with the physical characteristics at least of the various kinds 
of soil, is imperative. Nothing can make up for the lack 
of it. 
In the first place soil is classified in three ways: first, according 
to its origin, which means according to the rock from which it was 
derived—as limestone, sandstone or granitic for example; second, 
according to its chemical properties—as calcareous, alkali and so 
on; third, according to its physical or mechanical properties—as 
stony, gravelly or clayey, etc. 
But the first and second we will overlook, giving attention to 
the third only, at present — the mechanical or physical. 
Soil is made up of particles of broken down rock combined with 
decomposed organic or living matter. The size of these particles, 
their relation to each other, the proportion between them and the 
air and waterw'hich they retain in the infinitesimal crevices separat¬ 
ing them — these are the things which govern the physical charac¬ 
teristics and the soil texture; these, clearly understood, make it 
possible for anyone to follow a line of common sense reasoning 
and arrive at the right thing to do to put any soil in the condition 
most favorable for supporting vegetation. For soil may be modi¬ 
fied almost as one chooses, especially within the area of the average 
home grounds. 
Loam is the ideal soil most generally favorable to plant life 
because, being a combination of sand and clay—of large and 
small soil particles— in about equal proportions, it retains moisture 
in sufficient quantity to supply plant food in solution, and at 
the same time it is properly aerated. Air is an important 
factor in soil and needed by the roots of plants quite as much as 
water. 
The first thing toward actual garden making for the beginner 
to do, therefore, is to determine which side of the balance between 
sand and clay is overweighted in the soil with which he has to deal, 
and how much it is overweighted; there is a simple test which will 
show, approximately and near enough. 
HOW TO TEST 
SOIL 
Go out into the garden or where the garden 
is going to be, and turn over a spadeful of 
earth three days after a rain. Is it powdery 
and light? Then sand predominates—and when sand predom¬ 
inates organic matter is what is needed to bind the particles to¬ 
gether. Is it sticky and like putty, retaining the imprint of your 
fingers? That means a lack of sand, with correspondingly too 
much clay; so it is sand or some loosening agent that is the thing 
required. 
Ordinary manure is as good as anything you can get for sup¬ 
plying the needs of a too sandy soil, while deep plowing, which 
gives the water a chance to escape from clay, is often all that an 
ordinarily heavy soil that has lain unworked, requires to make it 
into a friable loam. If this does not lighten it enough, however, 
a dressing of lime should follow. 
Begin your garden now by doing this work with the soil. 
The weathering of it during the winter will help greatly, for the 
action of the frost and sun has a decided physical effect that 
should be taken advantage of whenever possible. With a 
spring beginning there is no time to wait for these to do their 
portion of the work—but with a start made now there are 
front six to seven months ahead, during which the elements may 
have free rein. 
With outdoors looked after, pay particular attention to all 
that the catalogues and garden books and magazines, which you 
are going to read during the winter, have to say about soil. You 
know what they mean when they talk about sandy loam, or clay 
loam, or just plain loam, and you know which yours is. What 
have they to say about your particular kind? Never mind if they 
do not agree with each other or with what 1 have said; read them. 
You will find something to think about — you’ll get ideas — and 
you will begin to appreciate how much there is of interest about 
this very common, ordinary dirt under our feet that we have al¬ 
ways taken for granted. Our very lives depend upon it, literally. 
Isn’t it worth studying a little bit? 
NOMENCLATURE 
staggering prop- 
meet it face to 
Plant nomenclature is a 
osition when you first 
face—but don’t get discouraged over your books and cata¬ 
logues. It isn’t really half so bad as it looks, nor as j it 
sounds when you begin trying to pronounce the words. And 
believe me, your enjoyment of every growing thing will be 
very much keener if you make its acquaintance under its 
own true name instead of under some dubious nickname which 
may or may not fit. The true botanical name has been 
bestowed upon it for some definite reason by students who knew 
what they were about. It fits—and it means something. Learn 
it; pronounce it in sections, just the way it is spelled; nine times 
out of ten you will have it right —and the tenth is not going to 
matter. 
Of course no one in his right mind will speak of familiar flowers 
under their Latin names in ordinary conversation. That is not 
why I urge you to learn them; but there are very many things 
which we already know commonly under their true name. Why 
not know all of them? By doing so you will find yourself able 
to trace relationships among plants and plant families which you 
have never dreamed of — and you can order the thing you want 
from any dealer under the sun, except possibly a Japanese, and 
be sure you are getting it right. 
Common or popular names vary in different parts of the coun¬ 
try so greatly that they are absolutely unreliable. Botanical 
names are fixed as the laws of the Medes and Persians — and they 
come easy, once you get started. 
