The Plymouth tribune. (Plymouth, Ind.) 1901-1911, 1904-12-01
FERTILITY FROM DECAYING
LEAVES.

A great deal of fertilizer is lost
every year by destroying decaying veg
tation, instead of incorporating 1t Win
the soil, where it will furnish humus
and valuable mineral elements, tnus
greatly increasing the fertility OF the
soil.
The greater part of this decaying
vegetation is composed OF leaves, ana
we often see great piles of them being
burned during fall and spring, which
should be spread over the garden.
Some people use the leaves as mulch
during winter, but burn them in the
spring. Instead of this they should De
either forked into the soil around trees
and plants where they will rapidly de-
cay and be of use to the plants, or be
piled in a heap, adding all KINDS Oh
refuse from the garden, wood ashes
and a little soil, Stops from the house,
etc.. and let them rot in readiness lor
use as potting soil or for gardening
purposes. 1t is best not to make the
piles too large, as during some seasons
there is a tendency to excessive neat
ing which burns up much OF the most
valuable plant food. The mass should
be forked over occasionally, so that all
parts will be equally affected by sum-
air and rain.
1t is natural to suppose that valu-
able elements are contained In these
leaves, as the food of plants and trees
taken in through the roots passes
through the cells with the sap, and
when the leaves fal, they become dry,
and all the water being thrown OFF 1t
leaves only the solid matter which is
almost purely fertilizing matter that
has been taken from the soil.
This then, after serving its purpose,
should be returned to mother earth ex-
actly as it is when the tree is through
with it. When burned and applied to
the soil, only ash remains. This is
valuable in itself, but so much OF the
plant food has been destroyed that
it's value is greatly diminished.
Nature has made grand provision
in planning to have the leaves fall
under trees and shrubs, not only to
protect the roots during cold winter
and hot dry summers, but so the plant
food will be in just the place where
it will be needed again.
In the economy of nature, nothing
is lost, and these elements are used
over and over again. On this account
the soil of groves and wooded tracts
does not become worn out as other
land does, requiring to be heavily fer
tilted often to keep the growing crop
in good condition, though great growth
of timber is being made all the time
When all leaves are removed from
around the trees on the lawn in fall,
it often causes great harm, providing
a tidy looking lawn at the expense OF
the well-being Of the trees.
The leaves lying as they fail form a
blanket during winter which will keep
the moisture in the soil around the
roots. If the weather is very severe,
trees and plants are often killed on
account of the dryness- of the roots,
the soil freezing dry, then all the mois-
ture is drawn from the roots and they
are in no condition to Withstand ex-
IRENE cold.
The evaporation through the cells
of the tree is, of course, very much
less during the dormant season, yet it
goes on in a small way all winter, so
if there is not enough moisture in the
soil to keep up the supply needed, the
trees will often be killed.