phere for their growth. This theory explains why too much
manure is bad. Not because we give too much food to plants, but because
excess of manure dries up the land. But whatever theory we adopt, we all
agree in the utility of fertilizers. And the experience of practical
farmers is of more value in aiding us to reach right conclusions, than
all chemical essays on the subject that have ever been written.

MARL.

This is one of the best distributed and most universal fertilizers. Marl
proper contains nearly equal proportions of clay and lime. Sand-marl is
spoken of, in which sand and lime are the main ingredients. Clay-marls
are to be applied to sandy and gravelly soils, and sand-marls to clayey
soils. Shell-marls are very valuable, and seldom contain clay. Marls may
easily be known, even by those not at all acquainted with chemistry.
Apply any mineral acid, or even very strong vinegar, and if it be a
marl, an effervescence will at once be observed: this effect is
produced by acid upon lime.

MARJORUM.

There are two varieties in cultivation--the _sweet_, an annual herb; and
the _winter_, a hardy perennial. They are grown and used as summer
savory--used green, or dried for winter. They give a sweet, aromatic
flavor to soups, stews, and dressings. The cultivation is, in all
respects, like other garden-herbs of the kind, whether for medicinal or
culinary purposes.

MELONS.

There are two species--musk and water melons--which are subdivided into
many varieties of each. These are among the most delicious of all the
products of the garden. A little use makes all persons very fond of
them. The climate of the Middle and Southern states is well adapted to
raising melons; much better than the same latitudes in Europe. The
following brief directions will insure success in their cultivation. A
light, rich soil is always desirable. There should always be a little
sand in the composition of soil for melons. If not there naturally,
supply it; it will always pay. The warm sands of Long Island and New
Jersey are the best possible for melons, especially for water-melons. It
may be well to trench deep for the hills, and mix in a little
well-rotted manure, and cover it with fine mould. A quantity of manure,
left in bulk under the hills, will dry them up at the worst possible
time. When you plant only a few in a garden, mulch your musk-melons with
chips or sawdust from the wood-yard, or leaves and decayed wood from
the forest,