Now comes the chief opportunity of the year, in the form
of a liberal top-dressing of manure from the stable. If this is
spread evenly and not too thickly in November, and the coarser
remains of it are raked off early in April, the results will be
astonishing. A deep emerald hue will be imparted to the grass, and
the frequent cuttings required will soon produce a turf that
yields to the foot like a Persian rug. Any one who has walked over
the plain at West Point can understand the value of these regular
autumnal top-dressings. If the stable-manure can be composted and
left till thoroughly decayed, fine and friable, all the better. If
stable-manure can not be obtained, Mr. Parsons recommends Mapes's
fertilizer for lawns.
CHAPTER III
THE GARDEN
We now approach that part of the acre to which its possessor will
probably give his warmest and most frequent thoughts--the garden.
If properly made and conducted, it will yield a revenue which the
wealth of the Indies could not purchase; for whoever bought in
market the flavor of fruit and vegetables raised by one's own
hands or under our own eyes? Sentiment does count. A boy is a boy;
but it makes a vast difference whether he is our boy or not. A
garden may soon become a part of the man himself, and he be a
better man for its care.
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