The Suitability of Silt in Agricultural Production

It is commonly said that among flowers and trees there are many varieties: thirty-nine kinds of bamboo, one hundred and twenty kinds of chrysanthemum, over one hundred kinds of peony, and ninety kinds of tree peony, all of which use first-grade sandy silt, only the orchid being different. Mengliang and Yushen should use yellow, clean, mud-free lean sand, for rich soil makes them rot. Wulan and Xianxia should use red sand of moderate coarseness, watered with fertilizer. Zhu, Li, Zaoshan should use sand accumulated by flowing water at the foot of hills. Jilao, Huizhike, Madatong, and the elder and younger Zheng should use black turbid sand from gullies and ravines. He, Zhao, Pu, Xu, the elder and younger Zhang, and Jinlengbian should be planted with red sand mixed with mud. From Chen Baxie and Xiyanghong onward, any sand may be used freely. The surface sand of the pot must be dry before fertilizer is applied, and ordinary watering is done in the same way. But watering and fertilizing differ: fertilizer is applied three times a year, water three times a month, and at Great Heat it is doubled; this is the method of sealing and tending. In the place of loving cultivation, Jingjie's chrysanthemum, Hejing's plum, and Lianxi's lotus all understood the true nature of things. The orchid by nature loves ventilation, so a terrace too high and too narrow traps the air, while one too low conceals the wind; the front should face south and the back should face north, wishing to welcome the south wind and block the northern blast. The orchid by nature fears close proximity to the sun, so ground too narrow traps the air, while too broad presses upon it with heat; the left should be near the open field and the right should lean on the grove, wishing to draw in the morning sun and avoid the western glare. When scorching heat sprouts it, shade it; when freezing cold comes, sun it. When earthworms coil about the roots, remove them with urine. When dead flies spot the leaves, wipe them with oil broth. Pick out weeds and remove spider webs. Within a single month, one must go round to tend it several dozen times. The orange crossing the Huai becomes the trifoliate orange, and the paper mulberry crossing the Ru dies. Gold often suffers when various orchids are carried on the shoulder to outer prefectures, to win the pity of wealthy families; this is not only unsuitable to the soil, but also loses the method of planting and tending, and after long they all transform into thatch. Therefore, by giving living sprouts to fellow enthusiasts, if a gentleman follows these humble words, then sewing them into garments and steeping them into drink, their vitality will flourish daily, and why stop at nine acres? [Song] Wang Guixue