HOW TO IMPROVE THE SOIL IN SMALL GARDENS.

Inangahua Times, Volume IV, Issue 45, 23 July 1877, Page 2

HOW TO IMPROVE THE SOIL IN SMALL GARDENS.

The first thing necessary is to study the character of the soil with which the amateur gardener has to deal. This mast be his guide as to the class of plants that he should attempt to grow. Pome flourish in light while others thrive in heavy soils, and his choice must be made accordingly ; but it is always possible in a small garden, by a little judicious outlay, to do much to alleviate the general character of the soil, whether of the one kind, or the other. Stiff, clayey soil, for instance may be lightened by the addition of sand, road scrapings, and vegetable manure ; while too light a soil requires the addition of clay or marl and rich vegetable earth. Many suburban gardens, attached to newly .built houses, and formed of meadow land recently broken up ; and the soil in these is generally sufficienity rich and fertile to form 'a basis for operations. Bat in other the ground which the gardener has to cultivate is thickly strewn or intermixed with brick and rubble, which must be carefully cleared away before he can do any good with it. Even this rubbish, however, will be useful in small quantities, as a little interspersed in the subsoil will assist in the drainage of the ground. It is a common mistake to remove all the stones from the earth or

mould. They assist in keeping the ground open, and making it porous, preventing it caking in the heat of summer, or being washed out of the beds on to the paths in heavy showers of rain. Moreover, in hot whether stones are highly useful in preventing the loss of moisture from tbe plants by evaporation; for, if yon remove a stone from the surface of the mould, yoo will generally find the earth damp underneath. Then, again, the soil may be shallow in depth, and require either that fresh soil should be imported or that the subsoil should be brought upby trenching-an operation which we shall hereafter explain, Lastly, and more commonly still, the freitfulness of the ground may have been quite exhausted by previous operations, in which- case plenty of manure must be dug well into it. Kotteo stable manure is. the best possible material for this purpose-, but many others are easily procured. Road scrapings, matter gathered from ditcb bottoms, all kinds of vegetable- refuse, with lime, soot, &c, are all useful io their way, according to the character of the soil and its condition. "Gardening," in "Cassell's Household Guide," Part