We hear much of the difficulties of gardening on the lime soils of the West, or the heavy, sticky soils of the Southwest.

As most garden plants prefer a neutral soil, it will be neces sary in these locations to do one of two things: Either select and grow only those plants that thrive under existing condi tions, or else treat excessively calcareous soils with some such acid-reacting agent as ammonium sulphate, tannic acid, or humus from excessive acid areas. This treatment may have to be repeated, for the acids will leach away and the basic soil condition assert itself again.

For the Southwest, plants must be selected to withstand ex cessive changes in temperature, as well as strong winds. The heavy soils of Texas will have to be liberally supplied with humus-making material such as compost, straw, or peatmoss, or even cinders in liberal quantities. These heavy adobe clay and desert soils are basically rich in plant food, but the tight ness of their composition prevents the entrance of enough air and moisture to support luxuriant plants. The extreme acid soils of parts of Oklahoma and Louisiana will have to be given liberal amounts of lime to secure the best results. In the southern plains and Mississippi valley it has been demon strated that a heavy mulch, put right on after planting trees and shrubs, and left in place for at least a year, makes it pos sible to grow many plants heretofore considered unsuitable for this region.

Effect of Humidity

Humidity (moist atmosphere) has almost as much to do with successful gardening as soil. Where summers are long and excessively hot, and where water is at a premium, do not expect the lush growth of England or the Pacific slope. In these areas the warm rains and excessive moisture offer ideal conditions for plant growth, and the temperate climates en able gardeners to use a more varied list of material than else where.

Plants for the South

In the southern states much greater reliance is placed on annuals and biennials than on perennials. Many annuals used in the Northeast live through the winter in the South and begin to blossom very early in the spring. Annuals may be planted as late as the last weeks of June and still bloom before frost, although the best results are secured by planting the hardiest varieties in January and February, and the more tender ones in late March and April.

The use of perennials in the South depends more on loca tion than on any other factor. As the summer days are exces sively long and hot, it is important that the perennial borders be so located that they can be sheltered from the direct rays of the sun, at least for the first half of the morning and the last half of the afternoon.