MAKING LEAF MOULD

Every year I see boys and girls raking leaves from the lawns and either piling them in the street or in the back yard and then burning them. Nobody likes an outdoor fire more than I do, whether it is a real camp fire, a little back yard faggot fire just enough to roast a few potatoes and onions and play gypsy, or a big blazing bonfire, almost dangerous and wholly splendid. What I don't like is a sickly, smouldering pile of leaves sending out a suffocating smudge, bursting with sudden flame at night and having to be put out after you had your slippers on and had begun a new book. Such a fire is a nuisance to you and to the neighbourhood and no satisfaction.

Burning leaves is like burning money. That is quite another way of looking at it. "Why, most people have to pay out money to get their leaves taken away," you say. True, but that is because we are such a lot of wasters. We are just beginning to learn to be economical, because we must. To make a long story short, turn your leaves into money by composting them.

For greenhouse work pure leaf mould is a necessity and the supply of the real article is never equal to the demand. Ask the florist in your town where he gets leaf mould and how much it costs him.

Making leaf mould is simple. All you have to do is to rake the leaves into a pile where they can lie still and rot. To make a really neat job and lose none of your work or leaves make a frame of boards a foot high or so and as large as you think your leaves will require. Set this frame in some part of the yard where it will not look unsightly but as near the source of leaf supply as is permissible. If you have to carry the leaves by wheelbarrow you will see the force of this. Use a pony and cart for the job if you have them. A big box or barrel on a wheelbarrow is better than the wheelbarrow alone. Get a layer of leaves a foot deep, then tramp it. If water is handy, wetting them with a few pailfuls would make them pack well. Put on layer after layer of leaves if pure leaf mould is to be made.

Lay boards over the top to hold the leaves down or the autumn winds will scatter them for you. Forking over a few times will hasten the process of decay. A very small quantity of leaf mould for home use can be made in a store box or barrel. This should not be water tight. Let the leaves be exposed to all the elements; the rain, the air, freezing and thawing, help on the process of decay.

Leaves are a very valuable ingredient in the making of compost for the garden. I have from an expert gardener this receipt for his favourite

Compost these in alternating layers for one, two, or three years under cover. The result is a rich, brown, moist compound which, added to common garden soil at suitable times, is warranted to raise flowers and vegetables fit for the queen's table.

Now then, instead of burning your leaves, go out and gather all you can from the neighbour's yard as well as your own and make leaf mould. Combine the boys on the street into a "Leaf Mould Syndicate" and get the local florists interested in a home-made product.