frost was over, I would harrow in buckwheat and plow it under as it
came into blossom; then sow a second crop and plow that under also. It
is the characteristic of buckwheat to lighten and clean land, and the
reader perceives that it should be our constant aim to impart
lightness and life to the heavy soil. Lime, in addition to its
fertilizing effects, acts chemically on the ground, producing the
desired effect. It may be objected that lime is not good for
strawberries. That is true if crude lime is applied directly to the
plants, as we would ashes or bone-dust; but when it is mixed with the
soil for months, it is so neutralized as to be helpful, and in the
meantime its action on the soil itself is of great value. It must be
used for strawberries, however, in more limited quantities than for
many other crops, or else more time must be given for it to become
incorporated with the soil.

The coarse green straw of the buckwheat is useful by its mechanical
division of the heavy land, while at the same time its decomposition
fills the soil with ammonia and other gases vitally necessary to the
plant. A clay soil retains these gases with little waste. It is thus
capable of being enriched to almost any extent, and can be made a
storehouse of wealth.

Where it can be procured, there is no better fertilizer for clay land
than the product of the horse-stable, which, as a rule, can be plowed
under in its raw, unfermented state, its heat and action in decay
producing the best results. Of course, judgment and moderation must be
employed. The roots of a young, growing plant cannot feed in a mass of
fermenting manure, no matter what the soil may be. The point I wish to
make is that cold, heavy land is greatly benefited by having these
heating, gas-producing processes take place beneath its surface. After