The citizen. (Honesdale, Pa.) 1908-1914, 1912-03-20

ture where willows, poplars. birch,
red maple, black ash and elms thrive.
Wet soils must be drained in order
that they may become available for
farm purposes, but it is better for
grass than for either grain or fruits.
Where the hickories or black walnut
grow we find a strong, fertile, rich
soil. A light and thin soil will grow
rye, corn, vegetables and small
fruits, and is just what is needed for
successful culture of the chestnut.
Soils are known as loamy, clayey,
peaty and chalky. A loamy soil is
best suited for most purposes, but
the others can be improved by fur
nishing such mineral constituents as
lime or chalk will make up the de-
ficiency in a clayey soil, and clay
gypsum or loan will build up
sandy or gravelly soil The most
fertile soils are those that are loose
in texture-neither so light as to
become readily dry, nor so heavy
that they will get too wet in rainy
weather.
The N Dst fertile field can sooner
or later be brought to state of ex-
haustion by severe cropping, in
which more nitrogen is removed from
the soil in the crop than is formed
and stored up in the soil during the
same period. A sterile soil is one of
apparently good texture, or peats,
containing sulphate of iron, or any
acid matter Yet such a soil can be
remedied by top dressing with
lime, which converts the sulphate in
to manure. By the application of
sand or clay a soil in which there Is
an excess of limy matter can be i'm
proved. A dressing of clay, mari or
vegetable matter will likewise bene-
fit soil that is too abundant in
sand. Peat will improve light soils,
and peats by a dressing of sand,
though the former in it's nature is
but temporary improvement.
Planning the Garden.
The season is fast approaching
for vegetable gardening, and there is
no better time than now for looking
up the location for the springs op-
erations. 1t is important, too, that
the seed catalogues be secured, that
an intelligent selection may be OBJ
tanned. The orders should be sent
in early, thus not only avoiding a
that some of the tempting articles
will be all gone later on.
In order to grow a good crop of
superior vegetables it is necessary to
have soil that is suitable, reliable
seed and thorough cultivation. For
the majority of vegetables, soil of a
sandy nature is best, provided there
is a good subsoil for drainage. Such
a soil will grow fine crops of lettuce,
spinach, radiShes, cucumbers, beets,
asparagus, rhubarb, parsnips, peas,
beans, celery, tomatoes and early
cabbages. But for onions, late cab
bage, early celery and summer let
tuce, heavier soil, with clay sub
soil, would be best. A sandy soil
can be cultivated much earlier than
the heavier soils, and in this there is
a declued advantage, as two or three
crops can be produced in a season,
while only one can be grown on a
heavy soil.
In order to secure the best expos
ure to the sun, the rows should run
north and south, making the garden
rectangular, having the rows as long
as possible, so as to save labor in
cultivating. If the space will af-
| ford enough spare ground for berry
| bushes and such permanent vege-
tables as asparagus, rhubarb and
crops that stay in the ground all
winter, these should be planted at
| one side, so that the rest of the
| ground will be clear for plowing and
| digging. 1t is a good idea to make
map of the garden spot, and on II
note the number of feet that will be
sown to each crop. In that way one
can quickly determine just what
ought to be expected.
How to Use Manure.
Fresh stable manure should not
be used at planting time, as the fer.
mentation burns the roots of the
plants. If fresh manure is plowed
in the soil in the fall, it leaves the
! ground rough all winter, so that the
alternate freezing and thawing will
crumble the soil. At planting time
only well-rotted manure should be