The Portland daily press., 1868-10-24
Dead Leaves as a Fertilizer.

We remember well how industrious an cid
gentleman used to be in gathering up the
dead leaves of the noble elms in Church and
Federal streets before the great fire, and
spreading them upon his garden grounds.
Soon as the leaves began to ripen and fall to
give back to the soil in autumn what they
had taken from it in spring and summer, this
gentleman was seen early in the morning.
with rake and basket, gathering them and
carrying them to his garden. By so doing he
kept the streets quite clean and at the same
time enriched his soil. We thought then,
and think now, he was mnch wiser than
those that laughed at him for such morning
exercises. He is dead now, but his example
still lives, and farmers and gardeners would
do well to follow it.
We have tested the value of dead leaves as
fertilizers, and know that they will do much
towards reiuvenating soil that has been ex-
bausted and worn out by bad cultivation
Once we carted upon an acre of worn out
sandy loan many loads of leaves and plowed
them under in the fall. The land was near
wood-lot in which we found an abundance Of
leaves in the hollows which had been lying
there there some three or four years. These
were spread upon this acre, and the effects
the following season were all we could wish
or expect The soil had been so much ex-
hausted that it would have been difficult to
raise crop OF clover upon it or grow white
beans, but the dead leaves did the business
The soil was renewed and yielded an album
dant crop of corn, potatoes and other vege-
tables.
Farmers and gardeners ought not to suffer
the autumnal winds TO blow these leaves
away. If they do not remove tfem from un-
der the trees where they tall, they would do
well to bury them there. From apple and
other trut- trees large quantities of leaves tall
every autumn and furnish just such manure
as the trees that shed them need. Every
season the soil gives TO trees certain of Its
qualities which the trees give back to it in
the form OF leaves but if these are scattered
by the winds and are not taken care OF, the
trees must suffer the consequences. The law
OF compensation is common law in the
realm of Nature. The farmer. knows very
well tha, his woodlands keep the trees grow
ing without his aid. No one thinks OF ma
nuring such lands, and yet ii the leaves did
not fall on, and enrich the soil, the growth of
trees would be much less vigorous. In the
forests the leaves fall to the ground and the
wind does not blow them away, and hence
the soil is renewed every season with that
kind of fertilization which is exactly suited to
the wants of the trees.
1t would pay well to cart dead leaves upon
old orchard grounds and bury them about
the roots of the appletrees. Save what the
trees she'd every tall and add to them those
from the forest and woodlot if the distance
does not make the work too expensive
Leaves mixed with barnyard manure make a
rich compost tor the garden. Those who cul
tlvate vineyards or flowers understand this
and save all the leaves they can get at. The
wise cultivator OF the grape will always see
to it that all the leaves that fall from the vine
and the branches that are cut off in pruning
are buried about the roots. In this way
much may be done towards giving new life
to old orchards and bringing back worn out
lands to their primeval state.
Some months ago we wrote an article upon
this subject; but farmers do not always re-
member al they read, and seasons pass by
and the necessary work is not done. Now is
the time to save the dead leaves and bury
them in the earth where they are most need
ed. Don't let the autumnal winds scatter
and blow them away to places where they
will do no good. In many places in our city
the fallen leaves are over shoes, aud the flow
er beds and the gardens need them. The
farmers, too, in the country can enrich their
gardens and fruit trees by gathering up the
leaves and making manure of them. Every
season comes laden with Its own work, and
good cultivators always take time by the
| forelock.
| AGRICoLA,