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warranted, because much of the material used in 
her pots, porch boxes, etc., was stump dirt, as she 
called it. This was rotted wood from stumps and 
logs, together with rotted leaves. I used to get it 
for her as a child with a wheelbarrow little larger 
than a toy. , 
When I began growing Holly and other natives, 
my grextest handicap was this experience with fer- 
tilizers and the belief I shared with my father that 
they would help any plant. The first few years were | 
full of disappointments. I took time to bring in 
many natives when father thought I ought to have 
been in the cornfield, or orchards. The fact that 
these became sickly looking as the months went 
by did not make it easier for me. 
LEARNED BY EXPERIENCE 
However, I persisted and learned as | went 
along. After much persuasion, my father, who 
did not want me to use good cultivated farm land 
for Hollies, consented to my using, in one of the 
best of our fields, a portion that had been cleared 
only two years, and on which a crop of corn had 
been poor—the ground was too sour. The whole 
field was plowed at one time and I planted the 
new portion in Hollies. It happened that some 
were put in the older ground. Before the year was 
over, the Hollies showed clearly the line where 
the old field ended and the results were the op- 
posite of the corn crop. 
This and many other things finally convinced 
me that I was working backwards with Holly, and 
success came with a rush when I stopped the use 
of chemical fertilizers and planted my Hollies in 
pure Oak Leafmold. Father did not deliver in those 
days, for there were no trucks. However, farmers 
often drove fifty miles or more to get our fertilizers. 
My Hollies were planted in full view of all who 
drove in and some, who took pride in planting 
their home grounds, added a Holly or two to their 
loads. Thus a hobby tumed into a business. But 
what a job it was to pursuade those farmers that 
the fertilizer they had just bought for their farm 
crops would work adversely on their Hollies! 
All this happened over forty years ago and since 
then great advances have been made in Holly 
growing. Better stock has been developed and most 
Hollies are now sold by name. Nothing, though, 
has done so much for Hollies as the use of Oak 
Leafmold. The planting directions we give are most 
simple — use lots of Oak Leafmold and do not 
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