ill
grow a little before being killed by the frost, when they will fall
down, thus affording a very beneficial mulch to the soil.

When farmers spread manure on their fields in the fall to be plowed
under in the spring, they benefit the land by the mulching more than by
the addition of fertilizing matter, because they give it the protecting
influence of the straw, etc., while they lose much of the ammonia of
their manure by evaporation. The same mulching might be more cheaply
done with leaves, or other refuse matter, and the ammonia of the manure
made available by composting with absorbents.

[Why is snow particularly beneficial?]

It is an old and true saying that "snow is the poor man's manure." The
reason why it is so beneficial is, chiefly, that it acts as a most
excellent mulch. It contains no more ammonia than rain-water does; and,
were it not for the fact that it protects the soil against loss of heat,
and produces other benefits of mulching, it would have no more
advantageous effect. The severity of winters at the North is partially
compensated by the long duration of snow.

It is a well known fact that when there is but little snow in cold
countries, wheat is very liable to be _winter killed_. The same
protection is afforded by artificial mulching.

This treatment is peculiarly applicable to the cultivation of flowers,
both in pots and in beds out of doors. It is almost indispensable to the
profitable production of strawberries, and many other garden crops, such
as asparagus, rhubarb, etc. Many say that the best treatment for trees
is to put stones about their roots. This is simply _mulching_ them, and
might be done more cheaply by the use of leaves, copying the action of
nature in forests;[AM] for, unless these stones be removed in spring,
they will sink and compact the soil in part during open weather.

WEEDING.

[What are some of the uses of weeds? Their disadvantages?]

If a farmer were asked--what is the use of _weeds_? he might make out
quite a list of their benefits, among which might be some of the
following:--

1. They shade tender plants, and in a measure serve as a mulch to the
ground.

2. Some weeds, by their offensive odor, drive away many insects.

3. They may serve as a green crop to be plowed into the soil, and
increase its organic matter.

4. _They make us stir the soil_, and thus increase its fertility.

Still, while thinking out these excuses for weeds, he would see other
a