Evening capital news. (Boise, Idaho) 1901-1927, 1917-11-19
BURNED LEAVES
CONSTITUTES A
SERIOUS Waste
Field iHorticulturist Of the
University Extension De-
: partment Points Gu t
Their Benefit to Plants.
Constitute Natures Humus
Supply and Instead Of
Being Consigned to Ashes
Should Be Used as Cover
ing to Lawns as Fertilizer.

The saving Of leaves now covering
the lawns surrounding many Boise
homes Is as important as the saving Of
food and should fulfill a mission OF
protection for grass and plants IL pro-
perly handled. instead of being wasted
by burning. e. r. Bennett, field hor-
ticulturist with the University of Idaho
extension department. gave out
timely statement Saturday covering
the necessity of their preservation.
Field Horticulturalist Bennett said:
Leaves have served their time Of use.
fulness on the trees but they have
not entirely finished the mission given
them by mother nature. Burning IL
waste. These leaves have a value. The
amount of fertility destroyed by burn
| ing the leaves In our towns and cltieA
| Is greater than Is usually supposed. No
material 40 quickly improves q soil
for garden or greenhouse work as de-
cayed leaves-the leaf mould of the
woods. y.e
| Greenhouse men gather great guam.
titles of leaves every fall-packins
them in open pits or boxes where they
become valuable material in a year or
| two. to mix with the potting soil for
plants.
II we must rake the leaves from the
lawn and street. why not make a Leaf
pit in the back yard or, still better,
bury them in a pit in the gardenf
All soils, particularly in arid coun-
tries, are greatly improved by the adj
dition to them OF decayed organic mat
ter-humus Leaves are natures
humus supply.
PROTECTION FOR ROOTS.
Falling leaves have another and more
immediate mission than fur nfShing fer
tility 20 the soil They protect the
; roots Of perennial vegetation from the
: drying and freezing Of the dormant
season.
, Our lawns and gardens may look
heater when the leaves are raked and
burned. but by doing so we expose the
grass and shrubs to the cold. dry winds
of our western winter A O. reauli
many plants and large areas Of lawn,
may be dead when spring comes,
Where the leaves lie on the ground
during the winter the soil Is kept
moist and largely free from frost. In
the forests OF the east It Is not un-
common to find the ground unfrozen
all winter under the snow and leaves
iRRloATE LAWNS.
>
care of plants should teach US a les
son in gardening. II we remove this
natural cover from our lawns and
gardens, we should at least replace the
moisture that Is lost. In fact more
harm will result from a lawn becoming
dry in winfvr than from an August
drought II we want our lawns to re-
, tain a good turf and become greer
early In spring. we should irrigate
them, filling the soil full Of water JUS
before the ground freezes for the
winter.
; For those who have shrubs. roses OF
, perennial flower garden the leaves
, will be found useful for mulchina
: thickly around and over the plants.
, We are learning our lesson on saw
ing food Why not also learn to save
, our fertility so that next year oui
, gardens may be just little better than
they were this year. and. also that VIZ
may live just little more closely In
AL at.nr