2 6 
MOSS. 
This is a sure sign that the soil is out of condition, and is generally caused 
by poverty, or the want of proper drainage. 
It is generally safe, and always less expensive, to assume that it is caused by 
poverty, and to eradicate it by following the directions on renovating (see page 6), 
unless there is very strong evidence to the contrary, when it will become necessary 
to follow the more expensive directions on drainage. 
MANURE STACKS. 
How to Prepare Dressing Composts. 
A represents layers of turf placed grass-side downwards, good light soil, sea sand, leaf mould, etc. 
B represents layers of manure—cow, farmyard, stable, peat moss, etc. 
WEED SEEDS IN SOIL. 
Very frequently freshly dug land and imported soil will produce a strong crop 
of weeds, both annual and perennial. How the weed seeds get into the soil, and 
how long they will retain their germinating power is a debatable matter into which 
it is not necessary for us to enter. Darwin tells us that seeds which germinated 
freely have been found in the little chamber at the end of a worm hole, at a depth 
of 8ft. In his opinion these seeds were taken down the holes by the worms, with 
the object of lining the little chamber in which they winter in a dormant condition, 
so as to prevent their skins, through which they breathe, from coming into contact 
with the cold, damp soil. 
There are a multitude of different ways in which weed seeds get into the 
ground, and the only way of making a good lawn upon foul ground is to allow it to 
lay fallow, and clean it by frequently disturbing the surface with a hoe for a small 
plot, and a harrow for a larger area. 
237, 238, & 97, High Holborn, London. 
